Utah Pollinator Pursuit

07/07/2026

Pruinose squash bees ( ), 2025's are active in the summer when your squash and melons are blooming. Their range across North America has expanded as the cultivation of Cucurbitaceae plants has spread, even documented as recentlyas the last few decades. Squash bees specialize on the pollen from plants in this family, and are extremely efficient and valuable pollinators for producers, especially of pumpkins and fall squash varieties. They're also incredibly cute 💛

Keep your eyes peeled on those squash blossoms early in the morning and you might spy one or two!

06/09/2026

06/01/2026

Celebrate Diversity 💜❤️🧡💛💚💙🩵 This Pride Month, it's worthwhile to take notice of the many obvious and more subtle ways we are healthier in diverse spaces. Our landscapes are healthier with representation of more species and lifestyles, and our human communities similarly thrive when there is space for and understanding of different ways of life.

Diversity also adds to the beautiful complexity in every community! Here's a picture of my native plant garden to demonstrate the point!

03/07/2026

12/30/2025

Strong winds and torrential rains slammed California on Dec. 24 and 25, and the monarch population rapidly dropped at the most densely populated sites, though numbers could climb again as the weather becomes more favorable.

Sensing approaching storms bearing changing winds, monarchs often move to a more secure location for protection. The monarchs apparently left their overwintering sites in California in droves during the two big recent Christmas storm events, with counts just after Christmas lower than they were before the storm.

We'll see what the coming weeks bring, and whether monarchs return to these sites once the storms have passed.

Photo: Diana Magor in Santa Cruz before the storms

12/11/2025

There are many connections between beavers and pollinators, including overall improvement to habitat health. In Utah, we also get to celebrate our partners Sageland Collaborative and Becky Yeager who are working hard to improve landscapes for beavers, pollinators, and so much more!

Their dams cause floods, and that gets them in trouble with humans. But in the right place, more water can be a big help.