Category: Colorado Native Insects

Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Plants

By Karim Gharbi While I appreciate the advances in horticulture that have allowed us to feed 8 billion people, that appreciation does not extend to the pesticide industry. This idea that we can dominate nature with “quick fixes” like insecticides or herbicides is hubris. Mother Nature developed the tools to self-regulate long ago, we need […] Continue reading "Attracting Beneficial Insects with Native Plants"

Plant Spotlight: Rocky Mountain Juniper

By Karen Vanderwall and Kristine Johnson I know, just the thought of planting a juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) on purpose in or near your garden of all places seems unlikely–or at least way down on the list of interesting plants you’re “pining” for. But you may want to give the humble native juniper some consideration. Juniperus […] Continue reading "Plant Spotlight: Rocky Mountain Juniper"

Ask CSU Extension Anything: Keeping Dead Perennial Plant Stems for Insect Nesting

QUESTION: Do I need to keep dead perennial stemsfor three years in order for them to be of benefit topollinators?ANSWER: While it seems like “new” information, the three-year timeline for perennialstems is derived from the life cycle of stem-nesting pollinators. Your first reaction might be,“Three years!,” but it isn’t as dramatic as it would seem—you […] Continue reading "Ask CSU Extension Anything: Keeping Dead Perennial Plant Stems for Insect Nesting"

More Native Bees Equals More Local Food

By Jody Gardiner, Wild Ones Front Range chapter member Join us in saving our bees and the world’s food supply, ONE YARD AT A TIME! Not all bees are alike. Most of us are familiar with honey bees. Less familiar to most of us are the cross-pollinating solitary (hive-less) native bees, like mason and leaf cutter bees, […] Continue reading "More Native Bees Equals More Local Food"