Big Event 3: Return of the Bees

Hello, Flog!

Today Team Echinacea tackled our third Big Event, “Big Event 3: Return of the Bees” (or “Big Event 2: Electric Boogaloo 2: Electric Boogaloo” for those who are more “systematic” as Will puts it). It was a hot and early morning, but the pollinators were out, so we were too! I worked with Riley in this event, and while I can’t speak for everyone, I can say we saw a fairly large number of correct bee visits; when we weren’t jumping to shoo away bees from plant 24-37 (which had over 200 anthers shedding pollen during the event).

Once temperatures hit over 90 degrees around 10:30, the team decided that it would be a good idea to head inside for a break.

Just kidding. Once the temperatures hit 90 degrees around 10:30, the team split up into task forces to accomplish the remaining goals for the morning. I went to move tents for Kristen’s project (no 100% confirmed capture of any bees yesterday, but there might have been one). Other task forces tackled Staffanson and P1 phenology, working through the scorcher like it didn’t even phase them.

During lunch, we had an… enlightening discussion about what constitutes a sandwich, with each team member weighing in on that age-old question: “is a hot dog a sandwich?” A few came down firmly on one side or the other, with Andy saying, “no, a hot dog is not a sandwich because if you asked for a sandwich and someone gave you a hot dog you would be surprised,” and Riley saying that hot dogs, tacos, burritos, and even pie constitute a sandwich.

It was predictably heated.

After lunch, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up, leading to a much cooler afternoon, much to the relief of the whole team. While the measuring of plants in P7 wasn’t quite as successful as we hoped it would be, we did manage to locate a source of aphids near Hegg lake, as well as mark the location of most flowering, non-native E. pallida in the area. Also, my day was brightened by this lovely butterfly milkweed, of which this is the only plant I’ve seen this year.