Wild About Utah Archives - Page 4 of 145

August 4, 2025August 5, 2025

Pollinator Camp: Bees

Blue Orchard Bee, Osmia Lignaria On California Five-Spot Flower Courtesy USDA ARS Jim Cane, Photographer — Blue Orchard Bee, Osmia Lignaria
On California Five-Spot Flower
Courtesy USDA ARS
Jim Cane, Photographer

By Kate Hunter, Leer en español
In late June of this year, we at Stokes Nature Center held our first pollinator camp. In this period, we worked with a local beekeepers, visited the USDA U.S. National Pollinating Insects Collection at Utah State University, and we fed hummingbirds from the palm of our hands. In spite of the short attention spans that summer brings, there were moments of pure uncut interest from the middle school age campers. Here, I’ll describe some bees and I want you to think if these would hold the attention of any teenagers in your life. Images of these bees and many more can be found online at the flikr page of the USGS bee lab, links to this page are online at WildAboutUtah.org and UPR.org

A Fairy Bee, Perdita minima ( Courtesy DiscoverLife.com, Copyright John Ascher, Photographer — A Fairy Bee, (*Perdita minima*)
Copyright John Ascher / Discover Life

When I say fairy bee, what do you think of? Small? Adorned with jewels? The fairy bees of the genus Perdita are a group of very small bees, with the largest of them being just 10 mm long (or the length of two grains of rice put together end to end). The smallest bee on the earth, Perdita minima, or mini fairy bee is just 2mm-the width of a grain of rice. Though they may seem easy to miss, they are numerous and right under our noses. These fairy bees are one of the most common types of bees in desert ecosystems, like that of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah. These bees are other-wordly, sometimes a blonde or light brown or dark with white metallic reflective markings perhaps like a jewel.

What about a blue bee? Do you know much about what pollinates your fruit trees? The Blue Orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, is a shiny blue bee that pollinates many fruit trees here in Utah including apple, apricot, almond, plum, cherry, peach, nectarine, and pear. They’re more efficient than the honeybee when it comes to fruit production per individual and there are great efforts to understand their future as a managed pollinator at the Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research unit here in Logan UT.

Sweat bee (Halictidae) Courtesy USDA ARS, Scott Bauer, Photographer — Sweat bee (Halictidae)
Courtesy USDA ARS, Scott Bauer, Photographer

Here’s my last marvel-the sweat bee. Have you ever noticed a small insect landing on you in the heat of day that might have been black, green, or green up top and striped on the bottom? This might be a sweat bee! This name sweat bee encompasses many types of bees-with 4,500 species in this group of all varieties of shapes, sizes, colors. One of my favorite for its fascinating clashing color combination is the bicolored striped sweat bee, Agapostemon virescens. This sweat bee has a green upper body reminiscent of a wicked green witch with a yellow or white and stripped lower body.

I could go on, as there are 21,000 species of bees each with their own outfits and lifestyles, with Utah being home to an estimated 1,100 species. But for now, I’ll leave you be.

I’m Kate Hunter, Director of Education at Stokes Nature Center, and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Spanish Version: Carlos Ramos, Facilities, Stokes Nature Center https://logannature.org/staff/
Images: Blue Orchard Bee, Courtesy USDA ARS, © Jim Cane, Photographer
A Fairy Bee (Perdita minima), Copyright John Ascher / Discover Life
Sweat bee (Halictidae)
Courtesy USDA ARS, Scott Bauer, Photographer https://aglab.ars.usda.gov/fuel-your-curiosity/insects/buzz-about-bees
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Anderson, Howe, & Wakeman
Text: Kate Hunter & Carlos Ramos, https://logannature.org/staff
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Kate Hunter https://wildaboututah.org/author/kate-hunter/
Wild About Utah Pieces by Carlos Ramos https://wildaboututah.org/author/carlos-ramos/

Summer Camps, Stokes Nature Center, https://logannature.org/camps

USGS Bee Lab Flickr Account, https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/

USU Insect Collections including Bees (Hymenoptera), https://artsci.usu.edu/biology/research/insect-holdings/

Cane, James H., Gardening and Landscaping Practices for Nesting Native Bees, USU Extension/USDA ARS, May 2015, https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/20800500/gardland-nativebees.pdf

Cane, James H., Gardening for Native Bees in Utah and Beyond, USU Extension/USDA ARS, January 2013, https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/20800500/Gardening.pdf

Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research: Logan, UT, (USDA Bee Lab, Logan UT), USDA ARS, US Department of the Interior, https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/logan-ut/pollinating-insect-biology-management-systematics-research/

August 4, 2025August 5, 2025

Sobre las abejas y el ser abeja

Por Kate Hunter, Read in English
Estudio las abejas. Las he observado, capturado, diseccionado, registrado y he enseñado sobre ellas.

A finales de junio, en Stokes Nature Center impartimos un campamento de polinizadores durante dos días. En ese tiempo, ayudamos a un apicultor local a agregar alzas para miel a sus colmenas, visitamos la Colección Nacional de Insectos Polinizadores de EE. UU. en la Universidad Estatal de Utah y alimentamos colibríes desde la palma de nuestras manos. A pesar de la corta capacidad de atención que trae el verano, hubo momentos de puro e intenso interés por parte de los campistas de secundaria. Voy a describir algunas abejas y quiero que pienses si estas llamarían la atención de los adolescentes en tu vida. Algunas Imágenes de estas abejas y muchas más se pueden contrarlas en línea en la página de flikr del laboratorio de abejas del USGS; los enlaces a esta página están en Wild About Utah.

Cuando digo abeja hada, ¿qué te viene a la mente?

¿Pequeña?

¿Adornada con joyas o con brillo?

Las abejas hada del género Perdita son un grupo de abejas muy pequeñas, siendo la más grande de ellas de solo 10 mm de largo (o la longitud de dos granos de arroz juntos).

La abeja más pequeña del mundo, Perdita minima, o mini abeja hada, mide apenas 2 mm, lo que equivale al ancho de un grano de arroz.

Aunque parezcan fáciles de pasar por alto, son numerosas y están justo bajo nuestras narices. Estas abejas hada son uno de los tipos más comunes de abejas en los ecosistemas desérticos, como el Monumento Nacional Grand Staircase Escalante en el sur de Utah. Estas abejas parecen de otro mundo, a veces rubias o marrón claro, u oscuras con marcas blancas metálicas reflectantes, tal vez como una joya.

¿Y qué tal una abeja azul?

¿Sabes qué poliniza tus árboles frutales?

La abeja azul de los huertos, Osmia lignaria, es una abeja azul brillante que poliniza muchos árboles frutales aquí en Utah, incluyendo manzano, albaricoquero, almendro, ciruelo, cerezo, melocotonero, nectarino y peral. Son más eficientes que la abeja melífera cuando
se trata de producción de fruta por abeja individual y hay grandes esfuerzos para entender su futuro como polinizador manejado en la unidad de Investigación de Biología, Manejo y Sistemática de Insectos Polinizadores aquí en Logan, Utah.

Aquí va mi última maravilla: la abeja del sudor. ¿Alguna vez has notado un pequeño insecto
posarse sobre ti en el calor del día que podría haber sido negro, verde o verde en la parte
superior y rayado en la parte inferior?

¡Podría ser una abeja del sudor! Este nombre abarca muchos tipos de abejas: hay 4,500 especies en este grupo, de toda variedad de formas, tamaños y colores. Una de mis favoritas por su fascinante combinación de colores es la abeja del sudor rayada bicolor, Agapostemon virescens. Esta abeja tiene la parte superior del cuerpo verde, similar a una bruja verde malvada, y la parte inferior amarilla o blanca y rayada.

Podría seguir, ya que existen 21,000 especies de abejas, cada una con su propio atuendo y estilo de vida, y Utah alberga unas 1,100 especies. Pero por ahora, te dejaré en paz.

Y recuerda..Las mejores cosechas son aquellas en las que nuestro apoyo inconcicional vuela a nuestro alrededor, no olvides ver, escuchar y entender estas pequeñas criaturas que nos ayudan a tener un mundo mejor.

Soy Carlos Ramos y estoy apasionado por Utah.

Créditos:

Versión en español: Carlos Ramos, Facilities, Stokes Nature Center https://logannature.org/staff/
Imágenes: Abeja azul de huerto, cortesía del USDA ARS, © Jim Cane, fotógrafo
Abeja hada (Perdita minima), derechos de autor John Ascher / Discover Life
Abeja sudorosa (Halictidae)
Cortesía del USDA ARS, Scott Bauer, fotógrafo https://aglab.ars.usda.gov/fuel-your-curiosity/insects/buzz-about-bees
Audio destacado: Cortesía y derechos de autor Anderson, Howe y Wakeman
Texto: Kate Hunter y Carlos Ramos, https://logannature.org/staff
Lectura adicional: 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/
Campamentos de verano, Stokes Nature Center, https://logannature.org/camps
Cuenta de Flickr del Laboratorio de Abejas del USGS, https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/
Colecciones de insectos de USU, incluyendo abejas (Hymenoptera), https://artsci.usu.edu/biology/research/insect-holdings/
Cane, James H., Prácticas de jardinería y paisajismo para la anidación de abejas nativas, USU Extension/USDA ARS, mayo 2015, https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/20800500/gardland-nativebees.pdf
Cane, James H., Jardinería para abejas nativas en Utah y más allá, USU Extension/USDA ARS, enero 2013, https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/20800500/Gardening.pdf
Investigación sobre biología, manejo y sistemática de insectos polinizadores: Logan, UT, (Laboratorio de Abejas del USDA en Logan, UT), USDA ARS, Departamento del Interior de EE. UU., https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/logan-ut/pollinating-insect-biology-management-systematics-research/

July 28, 2025July 28, 2025

Apricots Feeding Families

Collecting the harvest Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley — Collecting the harvest
Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley

Picking the last apricots Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers — Picking the last apricots
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley

We got there too late
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

One of several sharing locations
“Take what you need.
Leave what you can.”
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches.
But the apricots kept coming.
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky Van Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers — Picking the last apricots
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley

We got there too late
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

One of several sharing locations
“Take what you need.
Leave what you can.”
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches.
But the apricots kept coming.
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

When I started writing for Wild About Utah, I made myself a promise that each piece would be a journey of learning. This meant I had to actually get in my car and go learn something. This month my journey led me to a venerable old apricot tree in a quiet neighborhood in SW Logan. I was tagging along with volunteers from Utah State University’s club Harvest Rescue.

Harvest Rescue is a community engagement club dedicated to harvesting fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste, and then distributing to people in need.
So last week’s journey began with a phone call from owners of a house in Logan who had moved. The new owners had not yet moved in. The apricot tree next to the house was bursting with apricots ready to pick.

Harvest Rescue posted the address on its volunteer page and a note to be there at 7:30 am on July 24. Five pickers showed up. The tree hadn’t waited for us. Lots of the ripe apricots had fallen to the ground. “Not a problem,” said the lead volunteer. “We’ll pick them up and take them to USU’s compost bin.”

The owner of the house had told us the house was built in 1925. The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches. But the apricots kept coming. She had loved to look out her kitchen window at the bright orange fruit nestled up to the green leaves. “I took so many pictures!”

Just as we were finishing gathering the fallen apricots, the Harvest Master van showed up. This van is a real showstopper –bright green with bicycles and dancing vegetables painted on its sides. The van even had a name, “Sparky,” which was emblazoned on the front with the proud words, “I’m 100 % Electric.”

We unloaded ladders and buckets and got to work. In less than an hour we had that tree picked clean. We now had 113 pounds of apricots that we packaged into small paper lunch bags, about twenty to a bag.

It was now time for the second leg of the journey. We drove to a quiet residential street in North Logan and pulled up in front of what looked like an ordinary house. But a closer look revealed a sign saying, “Families Feeding Families.” It was explained to me that food insecurity in Utah is often hidden. Even people working more than one job can hit a rough patch and need a temporary helping hand. Families Feeding Families reaches out to these people by operating four porch pantries in Cache Valley. Their sign says “Take what you need. Leave what you can.” No questions asked.

This house had devoted the entire left side of its wrap around porch to shelves of donated canned goods and other items. Around the corner was a working refrigerator/freezer. We put the apricots in the refrigerator because they were ready to eat.

The next day I couldn’t resist going by the house and peeking into the fridge. Most of the apricots were gone. The Circle of Giving was complete. I felt a little overwhelmed to have been able to witness such kindness and concern for others on the part of the USU volunteers and the community residents.

Then I heard that someone had shared a recipe for apricot sauce on the Families Feeding Families website. This recipe had worked well for her. For me, it was one more reason to smile.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Living in Utah

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers as well as Giselle Bandley
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Anderson, Howe and Wakeman.
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Wild About Utah Postings

Porch Pantry Locations
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Families Feeding Families

Utah Families Feeding Families, https://www.utahfamiliesfeedingfamilies.com/

How to Grow Apricots in Your Home Garden, Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/apricots-in-the-home-garden

Harvest Rescue, Christensen Office of Service & Sustainability, https://www.usu.edu/service-sustainability/

July 21, 2025July 21, 2025

Lakes

USGS scientist Robert Baskin takes a boat out on the Great Salt Lake to conduct research
Courtesy USGS, Jennifer LaVista, Photographer — USGS scientist Robert Baskin takes a boat out on the Great Salt Lake to conduct research. Baskin is best known for his innovative research on Great Salt Lake, collaborating with the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and University of Utah to provide information vital for effective lake management.
Courtesy USGS, Jennifer LaVista, Photographer

I’m a lake person born in the Great Lakes region, land of Hiawatha’s “shining big sea waters”. Fishing, hunting, swimming, and boating were at the center of our culture.

Now having lived three fourths of my life in Utah, I’ve found it a well-watered desert with all descriptions of lakes from the intermittent, seasonal, inches deep Sevier Lake to the plunging depths of Bear lake. Utah’s Great Salt Lake has brought us international acclaim, more than any other physical feature, as the Great Lakes have to Michigan. Following the Jordan River a relatively short distance upstream from the Great Salt Lake, freshwater Utah lake glitters in the sun, once thriving with monster Bonneville cutthroat trout, coveted by native peoples and pioneers alike.

Aerial view of Bear Lake, USGS boat, and employees on a water-quality platform, Courtesy USGS, Jake Seawolf,Photographer, (Volunteer for USGS, full-time professional photographer for the US Army. — Aerial view of Bear Lake, USGS boat, and employees on a water-quality platform
Courtesy USGS, Jake Seawolf, Photographer, (Volunteer for USGS, full-time professional photographer for the US Army.

Fish Lake
Courtesy USDA Forest Service

Fish Lake, Courtesy USDA Forest Service — Aerial view of Bear Lake, USGS boat, and employees on a water-quality platform
Courtesy USGS, Jake Seawolf, Photographer, (Volunteer for USGS, full-time professional photographer for the US Army.

Fish Lake
Courtesy USDA Forest Service

Moving to our northern border the turquois Bear Lake beauty startles the senses. A tectonic, earth fractured lake over a quarter millennium old, it is uniquely different from our other naturally occurring lakes, which were created during the last ice age, many formed less than 12,000 years ago.

Heading south, you will find the dazzling Fishlake, our largest high-altitude lake, six miles in length, a mile wide, approaching 9000’ elevation.

Beyond these, our Uintah Mountains are dappled with a head spinning thousand plus glacial lakes, ranging in size from the 1200 acre Mirror Lake to the half acre Boulder tarn lake. (tarn: a small mountain lake) Most occur above 10,000 feet elevation.

“Gods eye” wrote Herny David Thoreau describing Waldon Pond. I often sense the same as I peer into the crystalline depths of our pristine glacial lakes.

Our many artificial reservoir lakes are the most highly visited providing endless pleasure and relief from summer heat. Often their beauty is unmatched for artificial lakes, Flaming Gorge, Lake Powell, Jordanelle, Pineview, Sand Hollow to name a few.

A bit of lake ecology. There are four major categories of lakes from the deep, cold, low productive Oligotrophic like Bear lake, to the highly acidic, dystrophic bog lakes found in the Uintah high country containing little aquatic life. Between are the mesotrophic- Pine View reservoir, Willard Bay, and the eutrophic, highly fertilizer enriched Utah Lake, often suffering from algae blooms, which are becoming more common with a warming climate.

Our deeper lakes enjoy a spring and fall phenomenon called “overturn”. Deeper lakes experience stratification, or stagnation, similar to our atmospheric inversions, with warmer water sitting on top, and colder, heavier water toward the bottom. This causes an oxygen deficit in lower layers, and nutrient deficiency in the upper layers. Once water reaches its highest density of 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which occurs during spring warm up and fall cool down, the surface water will sink, forcing nutrients from the depths upward, and bring oxygen from the surface downward. This mixing favors aquatic life from top to bottom of the water column, a joyous occasion!

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I am Wild About Utah’s Great Lakes.

Credits:

Picture: Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake, Courtesy USGS, Fish Lake Courtesy USDA Forest Service
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/ and Anderson, Howe and Wakeman.
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, and Jack Greene, Author, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack’s Wild About Utah pieces.

Judd, Harry Lewis, Utah’s Lakes and Reservoirs, Inventory and Classification of Utah’s Priority Lakes and Reservoirs, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, January 1997, https://lf-public.deq.utah.gov/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=458257

Utah’s Priority Lakes and Reservoirs 1999: Watershed Management Program, Utah Department of Environmental Quality, https://deq.utah.gov/water-quality/watershed-protection/utahs-priority-lakes-and-reservoirs-1999-watershed-management-program

Utah’s 1982 Priority Lakes and Reservoirs List from “Judd” above.
Each lake name is linked to a Google map:

Anderson Meadow Reservoir
Ashley Twin Lakes
Baker Dam Reservoir
Barney Lake
Bear Lake
Beaver Meadow Reservoir
Big East Lake
Big Lake
Big Sand Wash Reservoir
Birch Creek Reservoir #2
Blanding City Reservoir#4
Bridger Lake
Brough Reservoir
Browne Reservoir
Butterfly Lake
[Zelph] Calder Reservoir
Causey Reservoir
China Lake
Cleveland Reservoir
Cook Lake
Currant Creek Reservoir
Dark Canyon Lake
Deer Creek Reservoir
DMAD Reservoir
Donkey Reservoir
Duck Fork Reservoir
East Canyon Reservoir
East Park Reservoir
Echo Reservoir
Electric Lake
Fairview Reservoir #2
Ferron Reservoir
Fish Lake
Flaming Gorge Reservoir
Forsyth Reservoir
Grantsville Reservoir
Gunlock Reservoir
Gunnison Bend Reservoir
Gunnison Reservoir
Hoop Lake
Hoover Lake
Huntington Lake North
Huntington Reservoir
Hyrum Reservoir
Joes Valley Reservoir
Johnson Valley Reservoir
Jordanelle Reservoir
Kens Lake
Kents Lake
Kolob Reservoir
Koosharem Reservoir
Labaron Reservoir
Lake Mary
Lake Powell
Little Creek Reservoir
Little Dell Reservoir
Lloyds Reservoir
Long Park Reservoir
Lost Creek Reservoir
Lower Bowns Reservoir
Lower Box [Creek] Reservoir
Lower Gooseberry Reservoir
Lyman Lake
Manning Meadow Reservoir
Mantua Reservoir
Marsh Lake
Marshall Reservoir
Matt Warner Reservoir
Meeks Cabin Reservoir
Mill Hollow Reservoir
Mill Meadow Reservoir
Miller Flat Reservoir
Millsite Reservoir
Minersville Reservoir
Mirror Lake
Mona Reservoir
Monticello Lake
Moon Lake
Navajo Lake
Newcastle Reservoir
Newton Reservoir
Nine Mile Reservoir
Oak Park Reservoir
Otter Creek Reservoir
Palisades Lake
Panguitch Lake
Paradise Park Reservoir
Pelican Lake
Pine Lake
Pineview Reservoir
Piute Reservoir
Porcupine Reservoir
Posey Lake
Puffer Lake
Pyramid Lake
Quail Creek Reservoir
Recapture Reservoir
Red Creek Reservoir
Red Creek Reservoir (Iron)
Red Fleet Reservoir
Redmond Lake
Rex’s Reservoir
Rockport Reservoir
Rush Lake
Salem Pond
Scofield Reservoir
Scout Lake
Settlement Canyon Reservoir
Sevier Bridge Reservoir [a.k.a. Yuba Reservoir]
Sheep Creek Reservoir
Smith and Morehouse Res
Spirit Lake
Stansbury Lake
Starvation Reservoir
Stateline Reservoir
Steinaker Reservoir
Strawberry Reservoir
Three Creeks Reservoir
Tibbie Fork Reservoir
Tony Grove Reservoir
Trial Lake
Tropic Reservoir
Upper Enterprise Reservoir
Upper Stillwater Reservoir
Utah Lake
Wall Lake
Washington Lake
Whitney Reservoir
Wide Hollow Reservoir
Willard Bay Reservoir
Woodruff Creek Reservoir
Yankee Meadow Reservoir