Category: Insects

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Leafy Bee Nests

Mason Bee at the entrance to a nest tube Courtesy & © Lindsie McCabe, Photographer
Mason Bee at the entrance to a nest tube
Courtesy & © Lindsie McCabe, Photographer
Today’s story is in both English and Spanish, to hear the Spanish translation tune in Wednesday evening at 9 or online at UPR.org

Osmia bruneri Female Courtesy & © Michael Branstetter, Photographer
Osmia bruneri Female
Courtesy & © Michael Branstetter, Photographer

Osmia bruneri Male Courtesy & © Michael Branstetter, Photographer Osmia bruneri Male
Courtesy & © Michael Branstetter, Photographer

Filled and Leaf-capped Nest Tubes Courtesy & © Anna Goates, Photographer Filled and Leaf-capped Nest Tubes
Courtesy & © Anna Goates, Photographer

Female Osmia bruneri Harvesting Leaf Material Courtesy & © Anna Goates, Photographer Female Osmia bruneri Harvesting Leaf Material
Courtesy & © Anna Goates, Photographer

When you think about what a bee needs to live, you probably think of flowers and a big hive. Bees do need flowers, and some live in a hive, but many bees also need other materials to build their nests. Some of my favorites build nests with mud, small rocks, pieces of leaves, sap from trees, flower petals, or even the fuzzy hairs that grow on plants. These bees are often solitary, relying on just one strong mama to take care of the whole nest.

It’s almost my favorite time of the year, when I get to watch these moms emerge and start their nests. Some solitary bees, like the ones I study, make their nests in holes in wood. Usually this means nesting in a wooden tunnel drilled out by a beetle, but it also means that they will nest in manmade nesting boxes. These nesting structures consist of a wooden block with long dead-end drilled holes where each hole belongs to a different mom, like rows of single story condos.

If I stand patiently next to a nesting box, I’m rewarded with the sight of a mama bee backing out of one of the nesting holes. She rests for a moment at the entrance to her nest, basking in some sun. She rubs her back legs together and wiggles her abdomen a bit. Then, she takes flight. I watch her buzz away to a leaf where she lands and rapidly chews on the leaf edge. Her motions are quick and urgent. Then she buzzes back to her nesting hole. She hovers for a moment, and pokes at the neighboring hole before landing back at her own and depositing the small bit of chewed leaf. She begins drywalling her new nursery, several trips of collecting, chewing up and puttying this bright green leaf pulp will result in a wall that protects her babies. Those babies develop throughout the rest of summer and fall and go into hibernation for the winter. When temperatures warm up, these new bees will chew through that leafy wall to enter the world.

My name is Anna Goates. I am a student at Utah State University and I study bees at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit. I’m studying the nesting of one species of bee, Osmia bruneri, a bee that’s native here in Utah and throughout the Great Basin area. Like many other bees, bruneri need more than flowers. Bruneri bees use leaf pieces to build their nests. A mama bee will bring lots of pollen to her nest using fuzzy hairs on her belly. Then she lays an egg on top of the pollen and builds a wall out of leaf pulp. Female bruneri are a shiny metallic blue, and male bees are a metallic lime green with a fuzzy white mustache on their faces. If you don’t look closely, you might think they are flies.

As spring approaches, bees and other insects will start coming out from their winter hideaways. I’m excited to see my little bee friends again.

I’m Anna Goates, a volunteer for Stokes Nature Center, and I’m wild about Utah.

Credits:

Images: Capped Nesting Straws & Leaf-harvesting Osmia Female, Courtesy and Copyright Anna Goates, Photographer
Male & Female Osmia bruneri, Courtesy and Copyright Michael Branstetter, Photographer
Bee at tube entrance, Courtesy & Copyright Lindsie McCabe, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman..
English Text & Voice: Anna Goates, Stokes Nature Center Volunteer, https://logannature.org/volunteer
Spanish Text & Voice: Carlos Ramos, Stokes Nature Center, https://logannature.org/staff
Additional Reading Links: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Wild About Utah Pieces by Anna Goates, https://wildaboututah.org/author/anna-goates/

Bruner’s Mason Bee — Osmia bruneri. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved on April 5, 2026, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IIHYMA2610

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Nidos de abejas y hojas

Abeja albañil en la entrada de un tubo nido, Cortesía y © Lindsie McCabe, fotógrafar
Abeja albañil en la entrada de un tubo nido
Cortesía y © Lindsie McCabe, fotógrafa
La historia de hoy está en inglés y en español. Para escuchar la traducción al español: la noche del miércoles a las 9 pm o en línea en UPR.org

Osmia bruneri hembra, Cortesía y © Michael Branstetter, fotógrafo
Osmia bruneri hembra
Cortesía y © Michael Branstetter, fotógrafo

Osmia bruneri macho, Cortesía y © Michael Branstetter, fotógrafo Osmia bruneri macho
Cortesía y © Michael Branstetter, fotógrafo

Tubos nido llenos y cubiertos con hojas, Cortesía y © Anna Goates, fotógrafa Tubos nido llenos y cubiertos con hojas
Cortesía y © Anna Goates, fotógrafa

Hembra de Osmia bruneri recolectando material de hojas, Cortesía y © Anna Goates, fotógrafa Hembra de Osmia bruneri recolectando material de hojas
Cortesía y © Anna Goates, fotógrafa

Cuando piensas en lo que una abeja necesita para vivir, probablemente piensas en flores y en una gran colmena.

Las abejas sí necesitan flores, y algunas viven en colmenas, pero muchas también requieren otros materiales para construir sus nidos.

Algunas de mis favoritas hacen sus nidos con barro, pequeñas piedras, trozos de hojas, savia de árboles, pétalos de flores o incluso los pelitos que crecen en las plantas.

Estas abejas suelen ser solitarias y dependen de una sola mamá fuerte para cuidar todo el nido.

Ya casi llega mi época favorita del año, cuando puedo ver a estas mamás salir y comenzar sus nidos. Algunas abejas solitarias, como las que estudio, hacen sus nidos en agujeros de madera.

Normalmente esto significa anidar en túneles hechos por escarabajos, pero también pueden hacerlo en cajas nido hechas por personas.

Estas estructuras consisten en un bloque de madera con agujeros largos y sin salida, donde cada agujero pertenece a una mamá diferente, como una fila de pequeños departamentos.

Si me quedo pacientemente junto a una caja nido, puedo ver a una mamá abeja salir de uno de los agujeros. Ella descansa un momento en la entrada de su nido, disfrutando el sol, se frota las patas traseras y mueve su abdomen.

Entonces, alza el vuelo.

La observo ir hasta una hoja, donde aterriza y rápidamente muerde el borde.

Sus movimientos son rápidos y decididos.

Luego regresa zumbando a su agujero.

Flota un momento, revisa el agujero de al lado y finalmente aterriza en el suyo para dejar el trozo de hoja masticada.

Así empieza a construir la pared de su nueva guardería;

varios viajes de recoger, masticar y pegar.

Esta pulpa verde formará una pared que protegerá a sus crías.

Esos bebés se desarrollarán durante el resto del verano y el otoño, y luego hibernarán en invierno.

Cuando suben las temperaturas, las nuevas abejas morderán esa pared de hojas para salir al mundo.

Este artículo es escrito por Anna Goates. Estudiante de la Universidad Estatal de Utah y estudia abejas en la Unidad de Investigación de Insectos Polinizadores del USDA-ARS. Ella está investigando el anidamiento de una especie de abeja, Osmia bruneri, una abeja nativa de Utah y de la región de la Gran Cuenca.

Como muchas otras abejas, bruneri necesitan más que flores.

Las abejas bruneri usan trozos de hoja para construir sus nidos.

Una mamá abeja lleva mucho polen a su nido, deposita un huevo encima y luego construye una pared de pulpa de hoja para proteger a su cría.

Las hembras bruneri son de un azul metálico brillante, y los machos son de un verde lima metálico con un bigote blanco y peludo en la cara.

Si no miras bien, podrías pensar que son moscas.

A medida que se acerca la primavera, las abejas y otros insectos empiezan a salir de sus escondites de invierno.

Me emociona volver a ver a mis pequeñas amigas abejas.

Es admirable el esfuerzo que haces para sobrevivir una temporada más, siendo fuerte para ver que tus pequeños crezcan mejor que tú.

¿No crees que las abejas Bruneri son un ejemplo de esfuerzo y valor?

Soy Carlos Ramos y estoy loco por Utah.

Créditos:

Imágenes: Tubos nido llenos y cubiertos con hojas y Hembra de Osmia bruneri recolectando material de hojas, Cortesía y © Anna Goates, fotógrafa
Osmia bruneri macho y hembra, Cortesía y © Michael Branstetter, fotógrafo
Abeja albañil en la entrada de un tubo nido, Cortesía y © Lindsie McCabe, fotógrafa
Audio destacado: Cortesía y derechos de autor Anderson, Howe y Wakeman
Texto y voz en inglés: Anna Goates, Stokes Nature Center Volunteer, https://logannature.org/volunteer
Texto: Anna Goates y Carlos Ramos, Stokes Nature Center, https://logannature.org/staff
Lectura adicional: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Lectura adicional

Artículos de Wild About Utah por Anna Goates, https://wildaboututah.org/author/anna-goates/

Artículos de Wild About Utah por Carlos Ramos, https://wildaboututah.org/author/carlos-ramos/

Bruner’s Mason Bee — Osmia bruneri. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved on April 5, 2026, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IIHYMA2610

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Mourning Cloaks and Witchy Skies

Nora's embellished May Swenson poem: "Unconscious Came a Beauty," as a butterfly-A means to emphasize the butterfly poem subject. Poem copyright acknowledged-Photo Courtesy Shannon Rhodes
Nora’s embellished May Swenson poem: “Unconscious Came a Beauty,” as a butterfly
A means to emphasize the butterfly poem subject.
Poem copyright acknowledged
Photo Courtesy Shannon Rhodes
I’m sitting here today with first grader Nora Baggaley and USU student teacher Ashlyn Prince. Just steps away from where we spend our days at Edith Bowen Laboratory School on the campus of Utah State University, we find Swenson Park, built on the lot where May’s childhood home once stood. She spent her elementary school days here, she was a student at Utah State Agricultural College, and she moved east to become a writer. During her lifetime May Swenson wrote her way into fame by recording memories riding her willow horse, enjoying strawberry juice dripping down her chin, and describing the relationships that develop when a baseball bat, ball, and mitt meet. Eventually she became Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. I love that she wrote shape poems about simple things like insects.

Insects? Did you say bugs? Coming into student teaching, I wasn’t too thrilled when I heard about the focus we have on bugs. From the beginning of the school year, we were already in the Logan River, digging out stonefly larva. By the second week, I was already writing a book for my students about why I do not like bugs. Here’s some of my book “Definitely NOT the Bug Girl.” I loved butterflies; they had beautiful wings. That was until I saw them closer. They looked an awful lot like grasshoppers with wings, and if you were paying attention, I hate grasshoppers! Why did I never think they were big, sticky, scary insects too? They did come from caterpillars…I should’ve known!”

Throughout the semester, from katydids flying at my head to being chased at recess with grasshoppers, I’ve grown to love the stories and discoveries the children have with bugs. Now today, I see a bug and instantly start to wonder: How did it get here? Where is it going? What would my students think about this? I could almost say I love bugs…

Mourning cloak butterfly (pinned), Courtesy & Copyright Don Rolfs 2010
Mourning cloak butterfly (pinned)
Courtesy & Copyright Don Rolfs 2010 https://wildaboututah.org/springs-earliest-butterflies/
Well, I love bugs.

Swenson’s “Unconscious Came a Beauty” captures an encounter with a butterfly. She isn’t certain about which kind of butterfly, so she offers two choices based on her descriptors. She must have been outside writing when one landed on her hand long enough for her to notice it, know it well enough to describe it.

I like how her words are in the shape of a butterfly and the wiggly way she typed the title.

When I wrote “Definitely NOT the Bug Girl,” Nora and her classmates encouraged me to include even more chapters about different kinds of insects. They wanted chapters of how I felt about roly polys, katydids, and ladybugs. I never really had an opinion about ladybugs. They were cute but a little frightening when they would fly. Finding them at recess became not so scary to me. Did you know they start their life as black and orange larvae?

How’s this for a poem inspired by May’s shape poem?
Hungry crawls a lady bug larva
To our recess rock riddled with yellow aphids dots
And stopped our games
Orange-striped black
Alligator-wiggling on its six legs
We sat wondering, and Asher brought one to class
Where it crept out overnight as a familiar friend.

Aurora Borealis from Logan Utah Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
Aurora Borealis from Logan Utah
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
Besides bugs, did you know May also wrote about space topics we know, like astronaut landings, gibbous moons, shadows, and her ghost moon? She called it, “the albino bowl on cloth of jet.”

In November, every student, and teacher, was given a nature journal paper to observe the full moon that night. Sadly, the sky was full of clouds and only a faint glow was visible. Amazingly enough though, we could see the northern lights a few days later! It was a beautiful sight, and made up for missing the November Beaver Moon.

 

 

 

Night Sky Nature Journal Entries by Ashlyn and Nora Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
Night Sky Nature Journal Entries by Ashlyn and Nora
Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer

This is a two-voice poem we call “Witchy Sky.”
The beaver moon reminds me of cotton candy in the dark.
         It reminds me of a flashlight shining through my finger.
The northern lights are Glinda and Elphaba.
         I notice a lot of thick clouds.
I can’t really see the shape of the moon in the clouds but still it glows through them.
I wonder what does the moon feel like?
         How bright would the sky have been if there were no clouds tonight?

May Swenson remembered classmates folding paper airplanes and releasing them in the classroom when their teachers’ backs were turned. In a clip from a 1969 recording “Poetry Is Alive and Well and Living in America,” she says, “My poems sail away like that, I don’t know who picks them up, who may be reading them. It’s lovely to think that people are reading my things, especially that they are being stimulated to write their own poems.”

Don’t worry, May. We are inspired by your Mourning Cloak, Ashlyn’s aphid-eaters, Nora’s night sky auroras, and students, young adult and age 6, immersed in words every day.

This is Nora Baggaley, Ashlyn Prince, and Shannon Rhodes, and we are Wild About Utah, May Swenson, night sky poetry, and of course, bugs.
Well, maybe bugs.

Nora, Shannon & Ashlyn in the Studio Courtesy & Copyright Stu Baggaley, Photographer
Nora, Shannon & Ashlyn in the Studio
Courtesy & Copyright Stu Baggaley, Photographer

Credits:

Images: Classroom art Courtesy & Copyright Shannon Rhodes, Photographer
         Mourning cloak butterfly (pinned), Courtesy & Copyright Don Rolfs
         Nora, Shannon and Ashley in the UPR Studio, Courtesy & Copyright Stu Baggaley
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text & Voice:     Shannon Rhodes, Nora Baggaley, and Ashlyn Prince, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Shannon Rhodes

Additional Reading:

BEETLES Project, The Regents of the University of California, https://beetlesproject.org/resources/for-field-instructors/notice-wonder-reminds/

Hellstern, Ron. June Fireflies, Wild About Utah, June 19, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/june-fireflies/

Ross, Fran, 1969. Poetry is Alive and Well and Living in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKRjiqGizQ&t=1s

Spencer, Sophia with Margaret McNamara. Bug Girl: A True Story. https://www.amazon.com/Bug-Girl-True-Story/dp/0525645934

Strand, Holly. May Swenson, Wild About Utah, April 14, 2009, https://wildaboututah.org/may-swenson-a-utah-poet-and-observer-of-nature/

Swenson, May. Unconscious Came a Beauty. Poets Speak, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6LSVzBTKs&t=6s

Tevela, Irina. May Swenson in Space, Washington University in St. Louis, July 19, 2019, https://library.washu.edu/news/may-swenson-in-space/

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Marie y su chaqueta amarilla.

Western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) on a fennel flower (Foeniculum vulgare), Courtesy Wikimedia, Por Davefoc - Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Chaqueta amarilla occidental a.k.a. Western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica)
on a fennel flower (Foeniculum vulgare)
Courtesy Wikimedia, Por Davefoc – Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Marie and Her Yellow Jacket.
Today’s story is in both Spanish and English. To hear an English version listen on Monday Morning after 7:41 am and again in the 8 o’clock hour, or online here and at UPR.org

Hemos pasado dias de calor, en los cuales hemos podido disfrutar de rios, lagos, piscinas, pero lo que mas disfruto durante este tiempo es el poder pasearme por los senderos de este hermoso valle donde vivo.

Cache Valley tiene una forma geografica unica en el mundo, podemos salir a poca distancia de nuestras casas y encontramos belleza natural que nos atrapa y nos hace perdernos en el tiempo dentro de paisajes hermosos tales como the First Dam, the Second Dam, The Wind Caves, Stokes nature center trial, Tony grove, Bear lake entre algunos ya que me llevaria un libro completo enumerar cada sitio.

Entre cada belleza que este verano dejo es el poder vivir experiencias unicas como el avistamiento de luciernagas, la experiencia de alimentar colibries, y que las personas pueda aprender acerca de especies nativas por expertos en el tema.

Todo esto me hace recordar que vivo en un lugar magico, donde hay vida y donde todos quisieramos vivir para siempre y que el tiempo se detenga aquí.

Comienzan a caer algunas hojas, los paisajes comiezan a pintarse de colores naranja, café, dorado eso me hace recordar que viene el otoño y pronto llegara el invierno. Es tiempo de ir alistando mi pequeña casa, he trabajado recogiendo fango de las orillas del Logan river, pero no dejo de ver a todos aquellos que toman fotografias, que cantan y dicen palabras de amor, felicidad y esperanza a sus seres queridos, incluyendo a sus mascotas.

Mi familia y yo estamos casi listos para descansar y esperar que este invierno sea tan agradable como todos los anteriores y que las personas puedan disfrutarlo con sus caminatas y abrigos, con sus tablas y zapatos raros, que los niños puedan correr y deslizarce con sus caritas rojas por el frio.

Talvez te preguntes quien soy porque ya te di un par de pistas de donde vivo, mi familia y yo hemos pasado muchos años aquí cerca de ti, viendote pasar de cerca, en muchas ocasiones te he asustado y me has dado aplausos por mi buen papel.

Somos muchas las que vivimos aquí ademas tengo muy buenos vecinos como las serpientes que siempre descansan cerca de las rocas o a orillas del rio, los pajaros que vuelan cada dia para buscar sus semillas, las ardillas que atrapan su comida y corren hacia los arboles, ya sabes quien soy?

Gracias por comprender que somos importante, gracias por estudiar y aprender de mi, gracias por regalarme hoteles fansy para poder vivir y pasar tiempo.

Aunque siempre me gusta construir mi casa de barro, la que nos protege de lluvia y nieve.
Soy yo esa pequeña amiga tuya, esa que ayuda a polinizar, siempre tengo una chaqueta amarilla por si me agarra el mal clima fuera de casa. Si esa soy Marie the yellow jacket wasp.

Recuerda que nuestro lugar magico esta aquí, vivimos en comunion unos con otros y que esto exista para siempre depende de nosotros, ayudame a que nuestro lugar de paz y tranquilidad sea para muchas de nuestras generaciones.

Soy Carlos Ramos y estoy loco por Utah.

Créditos:

Versión en español: Carlos Ramos, Facilities, Stokes Nature Center https://logannature.org/staff/
Imágenes: cortesía del Wikimedia Commons, Davefoc, – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Audio destacado: Cortesía y derechos de autor Anderson, Howe y Wakeman
Texto: Kate Hunter y Carlos Ramos, https://logannature.org/staff
Lectura adicional: Kate Hunter y Carlos Ramos, https://logannature.org/staff y Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Lectura adicional

Artículos “Wild About Utah” por Kate Hunter https://wildaboututah.org/author/kate-hunter/
Artículos “Wild About Utah” por Carlos Ramos https://wildaboututah.org/author/carlos-ramos/

Western Yellowjacket drinking water, Wikimedia Commons, Katja Schulz, Author/Contributor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Yellowjacket_drinking_water_-_Flickr_-_treegrow.jpg
Originally posted to Flickr by treegrow at https://flickr.com/photos/86548370@N00/8137488317

Western Yellowjacket Wasp: Western Paper Wasp, Mischocyttarus flavitarsus–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischocyttarus_flavitarsis

Yellow-legged Mud Dauber: Sceliphron caementarium, Wikimedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceliphron_caementarium

Bald-faced hornet: Dolichovespula maculata, Plant Health, Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/planthealth/ipm/notes_nuisance/baldfaced-hornet