Our lab conducts several outreach events each year – from public talks, to workshops, to sharing materials on bees and flowers at special events. We’ve worked with city and state governments, K-12 educators, beekeeping groups, non-profits, and agricultural companies.
If you’re interested in having John or any lab members speak with or work with your group, please email John at john.mola[at]colostate.edu
Ongoing Lab Programs and Shenanigans
- Annual First Bumble Bee of the Year Contest — find the first bumble bee in Larimer County or on Campus, and prove it, and you can be an invited guest of honor at a Mola Lab Happy Hour!
Outreach and Extension Materials by the Lab
- 2024. Mola, J.M., L. Falcon. Where do bees go to sleep in the Winter? Fort Collins Recreator. Spring 2025 Issue. https://issuu.com/parksandrecfc/docs/24-26974-2025_spring_recreator_web (Pages 10-11)
Recommended Outreach and Extension Materials by Others
- 2022. Mitchell, N., Anderson Weaver, S., Crandall, R. M. Bees and Fire: How does Fire in Longleaf Pine Savannas Affect Bee Communities? https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR454 — Although this document is from Florida, much of its information likely applies to historical Ponderosa Pine landscapes in the Western US!
- CSU Extension, Creating Pollinator Habitat: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/creating-pollinator-habitat-5-616/
- CSU Extension, A Beginner’s Field Guide to Identifying Bees: https://extension.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/BeginnerBeeFieldGuide_LowRezWeb_28Feb2022.pdf
Resources for Identifying Bees
- Bumble Bees of Colorado by Abigail Wright, Crystal L. Boyd, M. Deane Bowers, and Virginia L. Scott — this guide is great, though there are some morphs that I feel are not locally represented/accurate. We also now have Bombus bimaculatus in the state, which has not yet been incorporated.
- Bumble Bees of North America by Paul Williams, Robbin Thorp, Leif Richardson, and Sheila Colla
Getting Involved with Bee Science
Recorded Webinars and Talks
- 2023 Denver Bumble Bee ID Workshop Slides by John M. Mola
- Native Bee Watch Bumble Bee Webinar Slides (Youtube Video of the Webinar) by John M. Mola
- Bringing Forest Ecology to Bumble Bee Conservation. A presentation to the Society of American Foresters by John M. Mola.
Links to Media Coverage
2024
- Smithsonian Magazine, “Can the Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee Survive?” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-the-endangered-rusty-patched-bumblebee-survive-180984894/
- Sierra Magazine, “Community Science Ignites Hope for Bumble Bee Conservation”. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/community-science-ignites-hope-bumble-bee-conservation
- Minnesota Public Radio: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/04/09/study-finds-minnesota-state-bee-in-tough-shape
- Politico E&E News: https://www.eenews.net/articles/big-dna-study-yields-clues-to-help-endangered-bumblebee/
- CBS Minneapolis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HztyR1pNZtg
- Entomology Today: https://entomologytoday.org/2024/04/09/genetic-analysis-conservation-endangered-rusty-patched-bumble-bee/
- CBS Colorado, “Experts say Colorado pollinators declining due to climate change”. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/john-mola-arvind-panjabi-pollinator-hummingbird-bees-bird-conservancy-csu/
- Fox31 Denver Interview on Butterfly Pavilion and CSU partnership. Denver, Colorado. Link.
- 9News Denver Interview on Butterfly Pavilion and CSU partnership. Denver, Colorado. Link.
- Denver Community Media – “It’s in Our Nature”. Denver, Colorado. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sRo7G_7C60
2023 and prior
- Bees Knees Podcast. https://pod.link/1664743900
- CSU WCNR’s The Source article, “Salazar Center, Denver Parks and Recreation Fund Climate Research by CSU Team.”
- Buzzes, Drones, Wasps: Disc Golf Courses as Pollinator Paradise on Parked: A Disc Golf Blog. https://parkeddiscgolf.org/2021/06/07/buzzzes-drones-wasps-disc-golf-courses-as-pollinator-paradise/