Excited to see so many wonderful summer blooming plants in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat this month. The butterflies and bees are in large numbers and it is great to be in the habitat watching all the activity. Rosinweed, tall thistle, chicory, brown-eyed Susan, pitcher’s sage, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, cup plant and Joe-Pye weed are all blooming now. All these plants are fairly easy to start from seed.
MJ Frogge
In May, I replace a row of nesting blocks in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat solitary bee house. I checked the blocks the end of July to look for nesting activity. The leaf cutter bees have been very active! Leafcutter bees will snip discs of leaf material, about a quarter inch, from ash trees or roses. They take the leaf discs and fold them to construct small tube shaped nests inside pieces of wood or holes in trees. Inside of each cell an egg is placed with some pollen.
To make a solitary bee house, read this NebGuide ‘Creating a Solitary Bee House’: https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/g2256.pdf
To learn more about leaf cutter bees, visit this site: https://byf.unl.edu/topics/leaf-cutter-bees
MJ Frogge
Happy Pollinator Week! This week our office is hosting 4-H Clover College. Twelve youth signed up for my session called Pollinator Party. We discussed what crops need pollinators. They looked at the list and circled foods they eat. I then asked them to highlighted a favorite food. I asked how they would feel if they could never have that food again. The shocked look on their faces was clear. They are starting to understand the importance of pollinators.
It was a beautiful day to be out in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. They notice the native flowers that were blooming. Many were fascinated by the solitary bee house and watching the leaf cutter bees fill the holes that were drilled in the wood blocks. They planted dill and zinnia seeds to benefit caterpillars and butterflies.
After exploring the habitat, each youth made a solitary bee tube house to take home and place in their landscape. It was a fun morning and by the end of the session, the kids had a better understanding of our native pollinators and how their habitat is important to protect.
MJ Frogge
Thanks to our colleague Dr. Jonathan L. Larson for providing this information. Dr. Larson is an Extension Educator in Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties
Bumble bee on Pitcher’s sage.
Pitcher’s sage (Salvia azurea) has been blooming in the habitat for a few weeks. It has an amazing blue color. This native perennial is in the mint family, but is not an aggressive spreader. The stems are tall and erect, with the plant reaching a height of 2-5 feet. Plant it in full sun. Nearly every day this month, I see bumble bees on the flowers of this plant. They love it and so will you.
MJ
Pitcher’s sage in the Cherry Creek Habitat.
Its HOT! Bees and other pollinators need fresh water to drink too. Add a bee water station in your yard for bees and other animals to get a drink. Bird baths work fine too. Place a rock in the water station for the insects to land on when they visit.
MJ
Bee water station in Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat.
Honey bee visiting a birdbath.
Prairie ragwort is a native plant that blooms May through June. This wildflower is a biennial or short-lived perennial that is approximately one foot tall. It attracts many pollinators like bees, flies, moths and butterflies.
MJ
Prairie ragwort blooming now in the Cherry Creek Habitat.
Yesterday Soni and I were presenters at the Outdoor Discovery Program held at Platte River State Park. The weather was perfect, sunny, with a slight breeze. We taught 4th graders about pollinators and what they need for a habitat. We discussed one out of every three bites of food we eat is there because of pollinators. We asked the youth if they could make a list of pollinators and they easily mentioned bees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds. The kids were surprised to learn that flies and beetles could be pollinators too. We talked about native solitary bees and showed them bee houses.The youth were able to view pollinators in action since it was a beautiful spring day and there were blooming wild plums near our site. The kids were provided journals so they could record their observations. Thank you Nebraska Game and Parks for providing youth this wonderful educational opportunity.
M J
Waiting for kids to arrive.
Bee Nest Box for the Cherry Creek Habitat
Now’s a great time to be working on your native bee nesting blocks and insect hotels. Make your structures simple or complex, basic or creative. The native bees won’t care – you’ll just want to provide a variety of hole sizes in the blocks or tubes you provide.
Check out Attracting Pollinators to Your Landscape. This resource also includes directions on how to make native bee nesting blocks. Once you’ve made your nesting blocks/structures, you can set those out in your landscape this spring.
Speaking of spring…It won’t be long and we’ll start to see “spring” in the Cherry Creek Habitat. You can enjoy the seasons with us on the live cam. The native bee nesting box structure and insect hotel are on the north side of the habitat – near the back of the camera view. Enjoy – watch live here.
Here’s to Sharing the Buzz!
Soni
Nebraska Extension provides research-based information to help you make informed decisions any time, any place, anywhere – http://lancaster.unl.edu
Common milkweed seeds ready to relocate by the wind.
Another beautiful fall day! It is a perfect day to collect seeds from native plants. Our milkweeds are going to seed, so it is important to collect some before they all go poof in the wind. After collecting the seeds, you can replant them in a new location as soon as possible. They will germinate next spring. If you are saving the seeds, be sure to give them time to dry out completely before you store them. They will rot if not dried properly. Be sure to label the envelope or container you store them in.
Monarch Watch needs milkweed seed donations to continue their Monarch habitat restoration efforts. Monarch Watch is a nonprofit educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas. Visit their website at monarchwatch.org to learn more about their efforts in saving monarch butterflies.
MJ
Swamp milkweed seeds.
The Buzz at Cherry Creek 