A new exhibit, “Beyond the Hive: Discovering Colorado’s Bees,” opened Sept. 12 at the Butterfly Pavilion. The exhibit is a collaboration between Butterfly Pavilion and Colorado State University, involving CSU’s Animal-Human Policy Center, the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Bee Ecology and Education Lab and the CSU history department. Through videos, photography, quizzes and live bees, the exhibit showcases and celebrates more than 1,000 of Colorado’s native bee species.

“Through this collaboration, Butterfly Pavilion and CSU seek to engage people of all backgrounds, fostering community stewardship, supporting vital conservation efforts, and encouraging interest in pollinator science and related careers to ensure a sustainable future for these essential pollinators,” the Butterfly Pavilion wrote in the event’s press release.

The exhibit focuses on Colorado’s more than 1,000 native bee species, many of which most visitors may not realize exist. Richard Reading, vice president of science and conservation at Butterfly Pavilion and adjunct professor of biology at the University of Denver, explained that honeybees tend to get the spotlight in conversations about bees and conservation, but as the research behind this exhibit points out, public perception is often inaccurate or incomplete.

The exhibit draws on a collaboration between a team of researchers from CSU and Butterfly Pavilion. The study, titled, “More than Just Honeybees: Exploring Native Insect Pollinator Knowledge and Support in Colorado,” aims to examine public knowledge and beliefs about pollinators along with the public’s support for pollinator protection policies.

“The question came up of how do we capture people’s enthusiasm and interest for honeybees, … but then redirect that enthusiasm to help them learn a little bit more about native bee species and the conservation issues around those native species,” said John Mola, assistant professor of forest and rangeland stewardship at CSU and one of four co-authors on the study.

Reading emphasized that the exhibit is partly meant to correct these misunderstandings.

“Most people don’t realize, it seems, that there are native bees in Colorado,” Reading said. “They all think honeybees are native bees, but they’re not.”

Reading added that Colorado hosts “at least 1,009 species of bees,” which is a large share of the world’s bee diversity, totaling an estimated 20,000 species.

“If people don’t find science fun, they won’t be engaged, and then these sorts of policies and changes in society we hope to see won’t happen if people just think science and conservation is a bummer.” –John Mola, CSU assistant professor and rangeland stewardship

The study utilized a survey methodology by asking subjective questions about the respondents’ knowledge of pollinators and honeybees, as well as objective questions about pollinators’ roles. Participants were also asked about their behaviors to conserve pollinators, different actions they can take to support pollinators and barriers they may face in supporting pollinators. They were also asked to rate the levels of different threats to Colorado pollinators on a scale.

Additionally, the survey analyzed the public’s support for different policies that protect pollinators. Catherine Keske, a professor at the University of California, Merced, who specializes in economics, played a key role in identifying nine hypothetical policies for the survey.

Participants were asked about their acceptability, willingness to vote for and advocacy for these nine hypothetical policies. Some of the policies included a hypothetical financial component relating to taxes and measured participants’ behavioral intention to donate to Colorado charities that support native pollinators.

Keske said the results of the study show that people understand the importance of pollinators in natural habitats and want to support them, yet there are a lot of misunderstandings about pollinators.

“This is what’s really good about the exhibit that’s going on,” Keske said. “(The exhibit) is a mechanism to help educate people, particularly small people like children. … They carry that (education) with them throughout their entire lives.”

Mola’s lab contributed features to the exhibit, such as specimens and an older, dried-out bumblebee colony for display. The lab also proofread the materials in the exhibit. Mola further emphasized the importance of the exhibit in fostering societal change.

“If people don’t find science fun, they won’t be engaged, and then these sorts of policies and changes in society we hope to see won’t happen if people just think science and conservation is a bummer,” Mola said.

The exhibit is designed to help visitors compare honeybees with native bees visually, ecologically and historically. Some sections highlighted how humans have interacted with honey bees over time, while others showed pinned specimens and microscopy images of native bees.

Reading said his favorite part is simply “seeing the images and the microscope on the native bees because they’re so beautiful.” He added that many are extremely small and require magnification to appreciate them. “They’re really amazing, the little animals, when you look at them closely.”

The exhibit also featured live honeybee colonies in the apiary portion, which allowed visitors to observe bees at work. One of the exhibit’s interactive elements is a quiz that lets guests find out, “Which Colorado Native Bee Are You?”

Reading talked about the broader importance of educating younger generations about invertebrate conservation. He stated that pollinators are responsible for about 30% of food production and described invertebrates as foundational to ecosystems, as they create soil, purify water, pollinate plants and break down waste.

But pollinators are declining rapidly worldwide. Reading referred to this trend as “the insect-apocalypse,” and said that “about a 40% to 70%” decline has been observed globally.

One of the main challenges for native bees in Colorado is habitat loss, particularly from the conversion of prairie lands and the overuse of pesticides.

Interacting with the materials in the exhibit, the message evinced is that ordinary people can contribute in meaningful ways. Visitors are encouraged to plant native flowers, avoid excessive pesticide use and create pollinator-friendly spaces in yards, gardens and even small patios — simple actions with visible impacts.

“Pollinators deserve a lot more attention than they get,” Keske said. “It’s worth your time and money to help protect them.”

Reach Maci Lesh and Chloe Rios at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.