Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas- First hike of the year in Colorado!
- Shelli Quattlebaum
- May 31, 2025
- 2 min read
The Mountain States Bumble Bee Atlas focuses on tracking the bumble bees of Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. As a volunteer you need to go through an online or in person training offered before the season starts and attend a field training if possible in the summer.
There is an art to catching bumblebees. You need a quick snap of the wrist and a little flip of the net to keep them in the net once you get one. Below is picture of me catching my first bumblebee of 2025. Perfectly times by friend Lauri.
LEVEL OF STOKED!
1,0000
These bumblebees are captured in a net and placed in a sample jar, then to chill in a cooler of ice until they are sedated.
Once the bee curls up, they are asleep and I can remove the bee and document it for the Atlas. Side view, face, tail, wings spread and underside.
Once the bee warms up, they fly away and go back to foraging like they were when I found them.
To learn more about the Mountain States Bumblebee Atlas go to the link below
Side view
Face
After I was finished with my first survey, we stopped to find a nice place to eat lunch.
On a boulder in the middle of the river looked Iike the best place.
Yes, that is charcuterie board loaded with different honey, cheese's and meats.
Lauri doesn't mess around with snacks while hiking.
We turned around at the Comanche Peak sign and headed back to the car.
On the way back, I saw a random white "rock" just off the trail.
Once I dusted off the soil, I realized it was a spring Puff Ball Mushroom.
Such a fun day in the Colorado mountains!
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