Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Rocky Mountain Beeplant



A few days ago I actually got out of the office for a bit. I checked a couple of reservoirs built specifically for wildlife (many of the reservoirs are built to provide water for cattle). Along the way I found this plant blooming on the shoulder of a remote gravel road. I didn't have my plant ID books with me and had to send a photo to Dad for ID. He identified it as a Rocky Mountain Beeplant (Cleome serrulata). It certainly lived up to its name. In addition to the bees there was a circus of insects on each plant - beetles, flies, butterflies, wasps, and ants. There were probably more species of insects on those beeplants than the total number of bird and mammal species I had seen that day combined.

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