As part of a NPS award, I hired a team to inventory plant-pollinator interactions in Colorado and Dinosaur National Monuments! Here's a few highlights from our first trip out. Colorado was a little late for the early bees, but it snowed in Dinosaur!

I refer to Morrison's bumble bee, Bombus morrisoni, as the teddy bear bumble bee. Just look how thick and plush! This one was foraging on a thistle in Colorado National Monument. 

Spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, and the bees are buzzing. While trying to snap a photo of a female mining bee (Andrena sp.) forging in a pasqueflower, a male flew in and began harassing her: pulling her antennae with his mandibles, aggressively trying to copulate, and being an all around jerk. Eventually the female kicked him off and flew off to another flower to continue foraging. No means no, even for bees, ya jerk!