insects Archives - Wild About Utah

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/

October 31, 2022November 1, 2022

You and I and the Winged Things

One of the greatest magics of these late autumn evenings is that of midges, gnats, flies, mosquitoes, and bugs which flitter about in the humble stratosphere of their world between the intermittent cold snaps. They loop and spiral, as if on spiritual roller coasters, gently refracting the setting sun through and upon their bodies so that they seem to glow and become prescient of the night’s stars soon to bloom. When the cool November sun begins to set low, I can look out amongst the naked shrubs and thinning trees, the tall shaggy grasses and dead kaleidoscopic leaves, and see those hidden creatures who only dance in unlovely places the splendid slow waltz of autumnal joy.

Through the cascading shadow, the dance of the waning wing-bearers becomes even more dramatic. As the sun continues to slide below the mountains, the insects increase their pace it seems, and then begins the cataclysm of the birds. Small gray and off-gray birds with different flecks, inflections, songs, and hearts, though unified as the kind that would easily build a good hardy nest in an old dilapidated mug, begin diving through the midges and gnats and flies and mosquitoes. The birds are trapeze artists. Starting from a perch in a nearby tree, they swoop with grace through the air in a dramatic arc. At the nadir of their swing, the snare roll abruptly halts, a sharp inhale of silence descends like thunder and is followed in quicktime by a cymbal crash as the acrobats catch their purse in midair. Then, gently arching back up to the adjacent branch across, a great applause raptures. Like this, the birds dive and breach, avian orcas earning their rich protein in preparation for the imminent changing of the season. The horizon of thin times drives the orchestra of life onwards.

As I watch the fading insects, bugs, winged things, and other wonders I ponder as to why many see them as pests. In the evening glow, it seems an impossible identity for these fellow inhabitants of our world. Do people fear them? Not understand them? Believe they belong in one place and not another? Watching them in that moment, the thought escapes my mind and I am glad. I am glad to forget their supposedly assigned state, and I instead reforge my memories anew in the present, watching them as sparks in the swiftly quenching day. The perpetual creation of the world continues along, with I and you and all we’ve ever known and will know wrapped within it.

I’m Patrick Kelly, and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & © Friend Weller https://upr.org/
Audio: Courtesy & © J. Chase and K.W. Baldwin https://upr.org/
Text: Patrick Kelly, Director of Education, Stokes Nature Center, https://www.logannature.org
Included Links: Patrick Kelly & Lyle Bingham, Webmaster, WildAboutUtah.org

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Posts by Patrick Kelly

Top 20 Identified Insects, Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab, Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/uppdl/top-20-insects