Colorado's new Native Pollinating Insects Health Study was released at the start of this year! In conjunction, PPAN will be highlighting one of Colorado's native insect species in each edition of our monthly eNewsletters! Know someone who may enjoy getting PPAN's eNews? Share this link so that they can subscribe. Be sure to check out our NEW interactive map!
The Colorado Hairstreak butterfly (Hypaurotis crysalus) became Colorado's official state insect in 1996, thanks to a campaign led by 4th graders from across the state!
These beauties are found throughout Colorado and are closely associated with Gambel Oak shrublands, essential for their lifecycle. Gambel Oak is commonly found along the foothills of the Front Range, in southern Colorado, and in the foothills and lower montane zones of western Colorado.
The striking iridescent purple of this butterfly is actually well-camouflaged against the bark and leaves of the oak due to the underside of their wings being grayish with small black and orange spots. Caterpillars of the Hairstreak feed on oak leaves in spring, while adults feed on sap and aphid secretions from these trees (rather than flower nectar). At the end of summer, these pollinators mate and lay eggs that overwinter on the oaks—beginning a new life cycle upon hatching in the spring.
Tegeticula yuccasella, a species of Yucca Moth, shares an important mutualistic relationship with Soapweed Yucca (Yucca glauca), common across Colorado's arid prairies and foothills. In spring, the adult moths emerge from their cocoons in sync with yucca flowers. Female moths collect pollen, mate, and deposit eggs across various individual yucca plants, facilitating vital cross-pollination and seed production. Emerging larvae consume only some of the yucca seeds in a way that ensures the plant’s continued reproductive success.
In turn, the yucca plants support a variety of other wildlife, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and other insects. This is just one example from the intricate web of interactions that sustain our state’s ecosystems!
Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetles (Cicindela theatina), named for their distinctive coloring and predatory behaviors, are found only in Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park. This unique habitat supports over 1000 species of arthropods (insects, spiders, centipedes, millipedes), including several other species of insects that are found nowhere else in the world!
Adult Tiger Beetles actively hunt other insects using their long legs and powerful jaws; while the buried larvae are sedentary and ambush smaller insects like ants moving across the surface of the sand. Adults are active during the day in August, and despite facing extreme temperature variations on the surface of the dunes, they have developed several behaviors that help them maintain optimal body temperatures for hunting and foraging.
The Blue Orchard Bee (Osmia lignaria) stands out with its eye-catching metallic blue-black color! Like most of Colorado’s 1,000+ native bee species, these solitary bees build individual nests, rather than live in colonies, and often select natural cavities found in wood or hollow stems.
To ensure direct and efficient pollen transfer between flowers, they carry collected pollen on the undersides of their bodies. This trait, along with their tendency to revisit the same type of plants, makes them invaluable for pollinating fruit trees, such as apples, cherries, and peaches. And, since they often opt to use man-made nesting materials, they are excellent candidates for more managed native pollination in our state’s orchards and gardens!
American Rubyspot damselflies (Hetaerina americana) add a splash of color to stream and river habitats across North America. Males have vibrant red spots at the base of their wings, and contrasting bright green abdomens, while females are generally metallic green and gold.
Damselflies are sensitive to pollution and their presence or absence can be an important indicator of the health of our critical freshwater ecosystems. Males aggressively defend territories at the edge of flowing water where females lay their eggs.
Young damselflies are fully aquatic predators, and along with the adults, they provide population control for other insects like mosquitos. In addition to this important service, damselflies also support other animals higher on the food chain including many species of fish and birds!
The Pueblo Digger Bee (Anthophora pueblo) is named in honor of the ancestral Pueblo peoples, who built cliff dwellings in the Four Corners region more than 700 years ago. These industrious, solitary bees use their mandibles to chew away at the sandstone—creating a network of tunnels and nesting chambers for egg-laying and larval development. Nesting sites have been found in Utah, California, Nevada, and Colorado, including Mesa Verde National Park.
Sandstone is more durable than most other nesting options and may provide protection from environmental hazards like flashfloods, and reduced risk from predators and pathogens. As a generalist pollinator with strategies for surviving harsh, arid conditions, Pueblo Digger Bees are an important contributor to the health of Colorado’s southwestern desert ecosystems.
Agapostemon coloradinus (the Colorado Striped Sweat Bee) is a colorful creature named after a colorful state! Males have dazzling metallic green upper bodies, and abdomens with distinctive yellow and black stripes. Females lack stripes, but do have bands of short white hairs on their undersides, which help them carry pollen to their underground nests.
These non-stinging solitary bees have been found in a variety of habitats, and while their range may stretch across the Southern Rocky Mountains, little is known about their specific behaviors or needs. Their numbers have likely declined as our native grasslands and prairies have been converted to agricultural lands and lawns, dramatically reducing the diversity of native plants that are critical to supporting our native pollinators.
