May update #2 - From Colorado

Since my last post, the weather has been a roller coaster ride.  It can be snowing in the morning, the snow melting and sky clearing up by mid-day, but then back to snowing in the afternoon.

Anyways, while it is snowing really hard outside right now, I have entered the data I collected yesterday, sorted my photos taken the past few days, and then decided to write this post.

May 9th

My labmate was examining cocoons and saw these spirally frass inside a cocoon.  Based on the orange colour, we suspect it is one of the composite-specialist bees - either Osmia montana or O. coloradensis.

Fauna/flora surveying in Gatineau Park (2014)

Today, I helped out with a long-term project studying the phenological patterns of fauna (i.e., pollinators) and flora at Gatineau Park.  It was my second time visiting the park so I was very excited to be here again.

The project involves three main components: surveying flora, collecting bees,