In 1936, Helen Rodeck collected this mason bee (Hoplitis albifrons) likely at what is now the CU Mountain Research Station in Nederland, Colorado, about 23 miles from CU Boulder’s main campus. Helen was married to Hugo G. Rodeck (BioChem’28; MA’29), who became the long-serving director of CU’s Museum of Natural History three years later. The museum’s entomology curator of nearly 30 years, Urless Lanham (Btny, Zool’40), identified this bee in 1939.
CU research associate Adrian Carper found this specimen again as part of his National Science Foundation grant awarded to allow for historic bee specimens to be photographed and added to a gigantic digital network that will feature more than 5,000 bee species worldwide.Â
The museum’s entomology collections manager Virginia Scott has discovered that Colorado is home to nearly 1,000 bee species — about a quarter of all the bee species found in the United States. Boulder County has the highest recorded number of species in the state, said ecology and evolutionary biology assistant professor Julian Resasco, because of its extensive natural areas and the university’s long history of bee research.Â
“In just one small meadow at CU’s Mountain Research Station, I’ve recorded almost a hundred species of bees including Hoplitis albifrons,” Resasco said. “It’s very rewarding to admire the beauty of bees and learn about their natural history.”
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