native pollinator presentation for across

Native Pollinators: Bees in our Backyard

Paige Hickman and Erica MorettiAdvisor Beth Choate

Allegheny College Environmental Science

The Benefits of Bees

• 75% of all flowering plants require animals for pollination– Small mammals, birds, beetles, flies, moths, butterflies, and

bees• Honey bees (Apis mellifera) remain the most

economically important pollinator– Easy to transport and study– Native to Europe

• What about Native Bees?– Any of the 4,000 species of bees native to the United States

What is a native pollinator?

Squash beehttp://heritageharvestfestival.com/2012/03/22/farming-for-pollinators-with-nancy-adamson/

Solitary bee nests

http://www.xerces.org/providing-nest-sites-for-pollinators/

• Common: Bumble bees and sweat bees

• Specialization• 90% of natives are

solitary– Generally less aggressive– Nest in ground or wood– Pollen and nectar

collection for young

Declines in Native Bees

• Climate change• Pesticide use• Disease• Habitat loss– Agricultural

intensification– Urbanization

Megachile spp.

What are we doing?• Previous summer research– Hillary Krill Summer 2014– Diversity and abundance on Allegheny College campus

• Evaluating diversity and abundance across Meadville

Agapostemon spp.

Our Project• Extended sites– 17 sites– North to South across

Meadville

• Sampling method:– Bee bowls– Vane traps

• Within a 5 m radius:– Estimated land use– Assessed flower diversity & number of open

blooms

Bee IdentificationFly: 1 set of wings, halteres, no ocelli

Wasp: thinner waist, longer legs, no scopa

Bee: scopa

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Bee_genera

http://www.ourhabitatgarden.org/creatures/wasps.html

http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/birds/?p=2117

http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/terrestrial-zoology/entomology-insect-collection/entomology-factsheets/native-bees

Ocelli

USGS Bee Inventory. (2013). Retrived from https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/10825248485

Important Characteristics• Wing venation• Mouth parts• Location of Scopa

Goulet & Huber (Editors). (1993). Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Retrieved from http://www.esc-sec.ca/aafcmonographs/hymenoptera_of_the_world.pdf

http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/terrestrial-zoology/entomology-insect-collection/entomology-factsheets/native-bees

Short-tongued Bee

Long-tongued Bee

http://museum.wa.gov.au/research/collections/terrestrial-zoology/entomology-insect-collection/entomology-factsheets/native-bees

So… what have we found so far?

• 5 out of 6 families present in northwestern PA identified

• 17 genera

• 180 native bees collected– June: 106– July: 74

Anthophora spp.

Bombus spp.

Megachile spp.Augochlora spp.

Halictus spp.

Native Bee Abundance at Each Site Type

Robertson Houses Campus Downtown0

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Genera Richness at Each Site Type

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Floral Diversity

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R2=0.3119Campus

Genera Richness vs Floral Diversity

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Floral Diversity

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Downtown R2=0.0295

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Floral Diversity

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R2=0.662Houses

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Floral Diversity

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R2=0.6646Robertson

What Can You Do?

1. Plant a variety of native plants– Blooms available from spring until

late autumn

3. Avoid the use of pesticides

2. Create Nest sites– Provide old, dry wood or reeds for

wood and cavity-nesters– Clear away vegetation to expose

bare ground for ground-nesters

What can you do?

For more information visit : Xerces.org

Embrace the Clover!

Thank You

Professor Beth ChoateHillary Krill

Professor Lee Coates and Aimee KnupskyProvost’s Office

Edward David Class of 1961 Faculty Support FundChristine Scott Nelson Faculty Support Fund

Downtown MeadvilleAll of the professors who let us put traps in their yards!