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Articles 1 - 28 of 28
Full-Text Articles in Biology
The Impacts Of Maturation And Experience On Volumetric Neuroplasticity In Solitary And Social Bees, Mallory A. Hagadorn
The Impacts Of Maturation And Experience On Volumetric Neuroplasticity In Solitary And Social Bees, Mallory A. Hagadorn
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
Some animals are incredibly social, living and working together as one cohesive group. Alternatively, many animals are solitary, never living with and rarely interacting with others. A large body of biological research has focused on understanding the role that brains play in promoting these behavioral differences across species. Even so, it remains unclear why some brains facilitate social behavior while others do not. My dissertation aims to advance our understanding of this concept by characterizing bees’ brains and how they change over a lifetime. Bees are beneficial for investigating relationships between the brain and social behavior because some species are …
Phenological Activities Of Desert Bees Track Rainfall More Than Temperature And Predict Temporal Abundance Trends Over 16 Years, Jade Elijah Mclaughlin, Jade Mclaughlin
Phenological Activities Of Desert Bees Track Rainfall More Than Temperature And Predict Temporal Abundance Trends Over 16 Years, Jade Elijah Mclaughlin, Jade Mclaughlin
Biology ETDs
Phenology, the timing of recurrent biological events, is a key mechanism by which species adapt or acclimatize to variable environmental conditions, including those influenced by climate change. Measurable traits, including the onset and end of activity, peak activity, and duration, characterize the phenology of life events, and could be significant predictors of trends in population abundance or stability in a changing climate. Bees provide critical pollination services, and understanding the covariates of bee phenological traits can refine predictions on the vulnerabilities of bees and their services to climate change. We paired 16 years of monthly bee survey data (2002-2019) with …
The Effects Of Recent Climate Change On Spring Phenology, With A Special Focus On Patterns Of Bee Foraging, Michael Stemkovski
The Effects Of Recent Climate Change On Spring Phenology, With A Special Focus On Patterns Of Bee Foraging, Michael Stemkovski
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The date on which plants flower and on which bees begin to pollinate varies year-to-year depending on differences in weather. This seasonal timing is known as phenology, and it is already clear that climate change has pushed the spring phenology of many species earlier by increasing temperatures. This is particularly clear in flowering plants, but studying how and why the phenology of pollinators is shifting is more difficult. Most flowering plants rely on pollinators such as bees for their reproduction, and most bees rely on flowers for their sustenance, so bee and flower phenology has to overlap for the crucial …
Promiscuous Feeding Across Multiple Honey Bee Hosts Amplifies The Vectorial Capacity Of Varroa Destructor, Zachary S. Lamas, Serhat Solmaz, Eugene V. Ryabov, Joseph Mowery, Matthew Heermann, Daniel Sonenshine, Jay D. Evans, David J. Hawthorne
Promiscuous Feeding Across Multiple Honey Bee Hosts Amplifies The Vectorial Capacity Of Varroa Destructor, Zachary S. Lamas, Serhat Solmaz, Eugene V. Ryabov, Joseph Mowery, Matthew Heermann, Daniel Sonenshine, Jay D. Evans, David J. Hawthorne
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Varroa destructor is a cosmopolitan pest and leading cause of colony loss of the European honey bee. Historically described as a competent vector of honey bee viruses, this arthropod vector is the cause of a global pandemic of Deformed wing virus, now endemic in honeybee populations in all Varroa-infested regions. Our work shows that viral spread is driven by Varroa actively switching from one adult bee to another as they feed. Assays using fluorescent microspheres were used to indicate the movement of fluids in both directions between host and vector when Varroa feed. Therefore, Varroa could be in either …
Biodiversity And Foraging Preferences Of Bee Communities At Pinnacles National Park Over Time, Abigail M. E. Lehner
Biodiversity And Foraging Preferences Of Bee Communities At Pinnacles National Park Over Time, Abigail M. E. Lehner
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Bees are considered to be the most important animal pollinator, providing billions of dollars in pollination services each year. Despite their importance in both natural and agricultural settings, the status of most native bees is unknown. Native bees are subject to a variety of threats including habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. Yet, monitoring programs have been implemented in few natural areas. Pinnacles National Park, PNP, in California is one of the only natural areas to have a large historical dataset on bees across decades with surveys conducted in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2011, and 2012. These surveys …
Traits And Functional Diversity Of A Hyperdiverse Bee Assemblage Are Linked To Aridity, Benjamin D. Turnley
Traits And Functional Diversity Of A Hyperdiverse Bee Assemblage Are Linked To Aridity, Benjamin D. Turnley
Biology ETDs
Climate change in the American Southwest is altering the composition of species assemblages. However, the resulting patterns in mean trait values and functional diversity are poorly understood. Bees assemblages in Southwestern drylands are exceptionally diverse, and vary greatly in their morphologic traits. In this study we focused on two questions: Have community-weighted mean trait values shifted over time and/or with aridity, consistent with the hypothesis that aridification is driving bee assemblage change? Has the functional diversity of the Sevilleta bee assemblage declined over time and/or with aridity, consistent with the hypothesis that pollination services could be declining? To address these …
Effects Of Drought On Habitat Quality For Native Bees In Residential Gardens Of Claremont, Ca, Max Proctor
Effects Of Drought On Habitat Quality For Native Bees In Residential Gardens Of Claremont, Ca, Max Proctor
CMC Senior Theses
Over 1,500 of the 4000 bee species found in North America inhabit California. Native bees are declining however, largely due to climate change and agricultural intensification. Previous research shows that cities can sustain diverse bee communities, due to the diversity of ornamental flowers. Urban green space represents an opportunity for native bee conservation. Residential gardens provide lots of green space and are urban pollinator hotspots. Managing yards for increased floral resources and nesting habitat can benefit native bee communities. Turfgrass provides few floral or nesting resources and negatively correlates with bee diversity. The 2011-2017 California drought caused many homeowners to …
Investigating Routes Of Pollinator Exposure To Pesticides, Jessica Cole
Investigating Routes Of Pollinator Exposure To Pesticides, Jessica Cole
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Pesticides are widely used in agriculture to minimize the negative impact of harmful pests. However, the use of pesticides also has non-target effects on beneficial insects such pollinators. In addition to the direct harm to pollinators foraging on crops during pesticide application, pesticides are also frequently utilized in non-agricultural settings, and can drift to non-target areas via the wind and water. Plants growing in such contaminated soils may absorb pesticides and express them in their flowers, specifically the pollen and nectar upon which pollinators rely. This is particularly important because encouraging wildflower growth alongside fields is a common strategy to …
Skin And Allergic Reactions To Stinging Ants, Bees, And Wasps (Insect: Hymenoptera), Hall Reed, Ph.D., Mary Christian Reed, M.D.
Skin And Allergic Reactions To Stinging Ants, Bees, And Wasps (Insect: Hymenoptera), Hall Reed, Ph.D., Mary Christian Reed, M.D.
Research Symposium
Most encounters with venomous arthropods involve stings from ants, wasps, and bees (Hymenoptera), most of which do not require professional medical treatment. However, Hymenoptera stings represent about a quarter (22%) of the annual 1 million emergency department visits due to noncanine bite and sting injuries in the United States in 2001-2010 (Langley et al., 2014). Many such sting reactions involve non-specific skin reactions involving intense localized pain, redness, itching and formation of a wheal at sting site. Although most sting reactions are not diagnostic of the stinging species, the pustule formation of the sting of the imported fire ant (Solenopsis …
The Response Of Male Bumblebees To A Putative Queen Pheromone, Xavier K. Haemmerle
The Response Of Male Bumblebees To A Putative Queen Pheromone, Xavier K. Haemmerle
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Queen pheromones are chemical signals produced by the dominant reproductive female in many species of eusocial insects. These pheromones are vital for maintaining a reproductive division of labor. Two evolutionary scenarios may describe the origin of queen pheromones. Sensory exploitation describes a scenario where the pheromone is produced to take advantage of a preexisting sensory bias in a population. An alternative scenario is that the recipient of the pheromone has an adapted response to a preexisting chemical signal. There is a growing body of evidence that cuticular hydrocarbons that act as queen pheromones are co-opted from ancient fertility signals that …
Effects Of A Neonicotinoid Insecticide On The Growth Of Honey Bee Gut Microbes, Macee Mitchell, Daniel Franzese, Taylor Morales, Shane Lucht, Jesse Steele, Jenifer Walke
Effects Of A Neonicotinoid Insecticide On The Growth Of Honey Bee Gut Microbes, Macee Mitchell, Daniel Franzese, Taylor Morales, Shane Lucht, Jesse Steele, Jenifer Walke
2020 Symposium Posters
The gut microbiome plays an essential role in the overall health of organisms. However, the presence and abundance of these microbes may be altered by environmental factors, such as exposure to pesticides. The goals of this project were to understand 1) the prevalence of pesticide residues in honey bees in eastern Washington, and 2) the impact of pesticides to the honey bee gut microbiome. Accordingly, we tested bees from 24 hives among six sites across eastern Washington. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to detect the presence and concentration of six commonly used agricultural pesticides: Carbaryl, Chlorpyrifos, Coumaphos, Cypermethrin, …
Apparent Resilience To Fire Of Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Communities From Upland Longleaf Pine Forests In Louisiana And Mississippi, Sara A. Simmons, Janice L. Bossart
Apparent Resilience To Fire Of Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Communities From Upland Longleaf Pine Forests In Louisiana And Mississippi, Sara A. Simmons, Janice L. Bossart
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Controlled burning is an essential tool for restoration and management of Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) habitats, yet effects of controlled burning on insect species, including pollinators, are rarely considered in conservation planning. We used blue vane traps to sample native bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) at recently burned and unburned sites in 2 Longleaf Pine upland forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Our objective was to quantify short-term effects of controlled burns given fire-return intervals of 1-2 years are now regularly employed to manage Longleaf Pine woodlands. We sampled during 2016 and 2017 and collected 1777 native bees, representing 43 species. Recent fire …
Wild Bee Diversity Increases With Local Fire Severity In A Fire‐Prone Landscape, Sara M. Galbraith, James H. Cane, Andrew R. Moldenke, James W. Rivers
Wild Bee Diversity Increases With Local Fire Severity In A Fire‐Prone Landscape, Sara M. Galbraith, James H. Cane, Andrew R. Moldenke, James W. Rivers
All PIRU Publications
As wildfire activity increases in many regions of the world, it is imperative that we understand how key components of fire‐prone ecosystems respond to spatial variation in fire characteristics. Pollinators provide a foundation for ecological communities by assisting in the reproduction of native plants, yet our understanding of how pollinators such as wild bees respond to variation in fire severity is limited, particularly for forest ecosystems. Here, we took advantage of a natural experiment created by a large‐scale, mixed‐severity wildfire to provide the first assessment of how wild bee communities are shaped by fire severity in mixed‐conifer forest. We sampled …
Phylogeny And Population Genetic Analyses Reveals Cryptic Speciation In The Bombus Fervidus Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Jonathan B. Koch, Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, James P. Strange
Phylogeny And Population Genetic Analyses Reveals Cryptic Speciation In The Bombus Fervidus Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Jonathan B. Koch, Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, James P. Strange
Ecology Center Publications
Bumble bees (Bombus Latrielle) are significant pollinators of flowering plants due to their large body size, abundant setae, and generalist foraging strategies. However, shared setal coloration patterns among closely and distantly related bumble bee species makes identification notoriously difficult. The advent of molecular genetic techniques has increased our understanding of bumble bee evolution and taxonomy, and enables effective conservation policy and management. Individuals belonging to the North American Bombus fervidus species-complex (SC) are homogenous in body structure but exhibit significant body color phenotype variation across their geographic distribution. Given the uncertainty of the genealogical boundaries within the SC, some …
South American Leaf-Cutter Bees (Genus Megachile) Of The Subgenera Rhyssomegachile And Zonomegachile, With Two New Subgenera (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Víctor H. González, Terry Griswold, Michael S. Engel
South American Leaf-Cutter Bees (Genus Megachile) Of The Subgenera Rhyssomegachile And Zonomegachile, With Two New Subgenera (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Víctor H. González, Terry Griswold, Michael S. Engel
All PIRU Publications
Leaf-cutter bees (genus Megachile Latreille) are among the most common and diverse group of bees. However, the identity and taxonomic placement of many species are problematic and species identification is often difficult. Some species are known only from a single specimen or from one of the sexes, and identification keys are not available for many groups. We address these taxonomic issues for the subgenera Rhyssomegachile Mitchell and Zonomegachile Mitchell, two poorly known South American lineages of leaf-cutter bees. We provide comparative diagnoses, redescriptions, illustrated identification keys, new geographical records, and designate needed neotypes for Megachile cara Mitchell, M. gigas Schrottky, …
No Farm Is An Island: Pollinators And Pollination In Agricultural Landscapes, Charles C. Nicholson
No Farm Is An Island: Pollinators And Pollination In Agricultural Landscapes, Charles C. Nicholson
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Productive, resilient and sustainable agricultural systems are required to meet the immediate needs of a burgeoning human population, while avoiding ecosystem collapse. Agriculture provides food, fiber, fuels and other products for our current population of 7 billion and is still the major livelihood for 40% of people worldwide. By replacing natural habitat and employing chemical inputs, agriculture also negatively impacts biodiversity and impairs the provision of ecosystem services. This poses a challenge for agriculture as these impacted services are often those required for high yielding and high-quality crop production. Evidence is accumulating that agricultural management can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem …
Possible Synergistic Effects Of Thymol And Nicotine Against Crithidia Bombi Parasitism In Bumble Bees, Olivia Masi Biller, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin, Caitlin Mcallister, Evan C. Palmer-Young
Possible Synergistic Effects Of Thymol And Nicotine Against Crithidia Bombi Parasitism In Bumble Bees, Olivia Masi Biller, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin, Caitlin Mcallister, Evan C. Palmer-Young
Dartmouth Scholarship
Floral nectar contains secondary compounds with antimicrobial properties that can affect not only plant-pollinator interactions, but also interactions between pollinators and their parasites. Although recent work has shown that consumption of plant secondary compounds can reduce pollinator parasite loads, little is known about the effects of dosage or compound combinations. We used the generalist pollinator Bombus impatiens and its obligate gut parasite Crithidia bombi to study the effects of nectar chemistry on host-parasite interactions. In two experiments we tested (1) whether the secondary compounds thymol and nicotine act synergistically to reduce parasitism, and (2) whether dietary thymol concentration affects parasite …
Testing Dose-Dependent Effects Of The Nectar Alkaloid Anabasine On Trypanosome Parasite Loads In Adult Bumble Bees, Winston E. Anthony, Evan C. Palmer-Young, Anne S. Leonard, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler
Testing Dose-Dependent Effects Of The Nectar Alkaloid Anabasine On Trypanosome Parasite Loads In Adult Bumble Bees, Winston E. Anthony, Evan C. Palmer-Young, Anne S. Leonard, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler
Dartmouth Scholarship
The impact of consuming biologically active compounds is often dose-dependent, where small quantities can be medicinal while larger doses are toxic. The consumption of plant secondary compounds can be toxic to herbivores in large doses, but can also improve survival in parasitized herbivores. In addition, recent studies have found that consuming nectar secondary compounds may decrease parasite loads in pollinators. However, the effect of compound dose on bee survival and parasite loads has not been assessed. To determine how secondary compound consumption affects survival and pathogen load in Bombus impatiens, we manipulated the presence of a common gut parasite, …
Contrasting Styles In Cognition And Behaviour In Bumblebees And Honeybees., David F Sherry, Caroline G Strang
Contrasting Styles In Cognition And Behaviour In Bumblebees And Honeybees., David F Sherry, Caroline G Strang
Psychology Publications
Bumblebees and honeybees have been the subjects of a great deal of recent research in animal cognition. Many of the major topics in cognition, including memory, attention, concept learning, numerosity, spatial cognition, timing, social learning, and metacognition have been examined in bumblebees, honeybees, or both. Although bumblebees and honeybees are very closely related, they also differ in important ways, including social organization, development, and foraging behaviour. We examine whether differences between bumblebees and honeybees in cognitive processes are related to differences in their natural history and behaviour. There are differences in some cognitive traits, such as serial reversal learning and …
Population Genetics, Distributions And Phenology Of Bombus Latreille, 1802 And Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Amber Dawn Tripodi
Population Genetics, Distributions And Phenology Of Bombus Latreille, 1802 And Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Amber Dawn Tripodi
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This work addresses multiple knowledge gaps in bee ecology, population health and phylogeography in order to provide insights into the changing distributions of native bees. A comparison of Arkansas bumble bee records mirrors range-wide surveys, with records of stable species (Bombus bimaculatus Cresson, 1863 and B. impatiens Cresson, 1863) increasing three-fold, and records of the declining B. pensylvanicus (DeGeer, 1773) dropping to 60% of historical levels. However, nationally-recommended conservation-genetics tools did not mirror these results on a regional level. Stable and declining species had equivalent genetic diversity in samples from Arkansas and Tennessee (HS range: 0.46-0.63). Diploid males, …
Minimal Effects Of An Invasive Flowering Shrub On The Pollinator Community Of Native Forbs, Y Anny Chung, Laura A. Burkle, Tiffany M. Knight
Minimal Effects Of An Invasive Flowering Shrub On The Pollinator Community Of Native Forbs, Y Anny Chung, Laura A. Burkle, Tiffany M. Knight
Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations
Biological invasions can strongly influence species interactions such as pollination. Most of the documented effects of exotic plant species on plant-pollinator interactions have been observational studies using single pairs of native and exotic plants, and have focused on dominant exotic plant species. We know little about how exotic plants alter interactions in entire communities of plants and pollinators, especially at low to medium invader densities. In this study, we began to address these gaps by experimentally removing the flowers of a showy invasive shrub, Rosa multiflora, and evaluating its effects on the frequency, richness, and composition of bee visitors to …
Nectar Yeasts In The Tall Larkspur Delphinium Barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) And Effects On Components Of Pollinator Foraging Behavior, Robert N. Schaeffer, Cody R. Phillips, M. Catherine Duryea, Jonathan Andicoechea, Rebecca E. Irwin
Nectar Yeasts In The Tall Larkspur Delphinium Barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) And Effects On Components Of Pollinator Foraging Behavior, Robert N. Schaeffer, Cody R. Phillips, M. Catherine Duryea, Jonathan Andicoechea, Rebecca E. Irwin
Dartmouth Scholarship
Microorganisms frequently colonize the nectar of angiosperm species. Though capable of altering a suite of traits important for pollinator attraction, few studies exist that test the degree to which they mediate pollinator foraging behavior. The objective of our study was to fill this gap by assessing the abundance and diversity of yeasts associated with the perennial larkspur Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) and testing whether their presence affected components of pollinator foraging behavior. Yeasts frequently colonized D. barbeyi nectar, populating 54–77% of flowers examined depending on site. Though common, the yeast community was species-poor, represented by a single species, Metschnikowia reukaufii. …
A Comparison Of Antlions, Bees, Darkling Beetles And Velvet Ants Across Sand Dune And Non-Sand Dune Habitats At Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nicole F. Boehme
A Comparison Of Antlions, Bees, Darkling Beetles And Velvet Ants Across Sand Dune And Non-Sand Dune Habitats At Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nicole F. Boehme
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) supports nearly 30 organisms found nowhere else in the world. Most of these species are aquatic, dwelling in more than 50 seeps and springs within the over 24,000 acres of the refuge. Much of the research at AMNWR has centered on these unique and abundant springfed pools across the desert landscape. Many of the terrestrial habitats and species at the refuge have not been as well studied. In 2008, Bio-West, Inc. in Logan, Utah was contracted to inventory the terrestrial organisms present on the refuge. To investigate the terrestrial invertebrate fauna, with special interest …
Understanding How Honey Bee Flight And Senescence Are Connected Through Oxidative Stress., Joseph Margotta
Understanding How Honey Bee Flight And Senescence Are Connected Through Oxidative Stress., Joseph Margotta
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
The goal of this dissertation was to exploit the tractability of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to understand how the physiological and cellular mechanisms that determine the onset and duration of senescence are shaped by behavioral development and behavioral intensity. These data reveal how behavior can damage cells and consequently limit lifespan. The honey bee represents the ideal model to address these factors because age, behavior, functional senescence, and lifespan are easily manipulated independently of each other while in its natural environment. I determined if there was a cause-effect relationship between honey bee flight and oxidative stress by comparing damage …
Plant-Pollinator Interactions Over 120 Years: Loss Of Species, Co-Occurrence, And Function, Laura A. Burkle, John C. Marlin, Tiffany M. Knight
Plant-Pollinator Interactions Over 120 Years: Loss Of Species, Co-Occurrence, And Function, Laura A. Burkle, John C. Marlin, Tiffany M. Knight
Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations
Using historic data sets, we quantified the degree to which global change over 120 years disrupted plant-pollinator interactions in a temperate forest understory community in Illinois, USA. We found degradation of interaction network structure and function and extirpation of 50% of bee species. Network changes can be attributed to shifts in forb and bee phenologies resulting in temporal mismatches, nonrandom species extinctions, and loss of spatial co-occurrences between extant species in modified landscapes. Quantity and quality of pollination services have declined through time. The historic network showed flexibility in response to disturbance; however, our data suggest that networks will be …
Nectar Secondary Compounds Affect Self-Pollen Transfer: Implications For Female And Male Reproduction, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler
Nectar Secondary Compounds Affect Self-Pollen Transfer: Implications For Female And Male Reproduction, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler
Dartmouth Scholarship
Pollen movement within and among plants affects inbreeding, plant fitness, and the spatial scale of genetic differentiation. Although a number of studies have assessed how plant and floral traits influence pollen movement via changes in pollinator behavior, few have explored how nectar chemical composition affects pollen transfer. As many as 55% of plants produce secondary compounds in their nectar, which is surprising given that nectar is typically thought to attract pollinators. We tested the hypothesis that nectar with secondary compounds may benefit plants by encouraging pollinators to leave plants after visiting only a few flowers, thus reducing self-pollen transfer. We …
Abejas Altoandinas De Colombia: Guía De Campo, Victor H. Gonzalez, Monica Ospina, Daniel J. Bennett
Abejas Altoandinas De Colombia: Guía De Campo, Victor H. Gonzalez, Monica Ospina, Daniel J. Bennett
Faculty Publications
This guide is a contribution to the knowledge and conservation of bees, a group of very interesting and unknown to Colombia insects. Alrededor de 70 especies, agrupadas en 25 géneros habitan los Andes colombianos por encima de los 2.500 msnm. About 70 species, grouped in 25 genera inhabit the Colombian Andes above 2,500 meters. De éstas, por lo menos 15, son especies nuevas para la ciencia o están en proceso de descripción. Of these, at least 15 are new to science or are in the process of describing species. Igualmente, la guía busca incrementar la conciencia sobre la importancia de …
The Foraging Behavior Of A Solitary Bee, Diadasia Nigrifrons (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae) On Sidalcea Oregana, Ssp. Oregana, Kimberly A. Kuta
The Foraging Behavior Of A Solitary Bee, Diadasia Nigrifrons (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae) On Sidalcea Oregana, Ssp. Oregana, Kimberly A. Kuta
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Foraging studies have established that bees typically obey a set of movement rules when foraging on vertical inflorescences: they begin foraging at the bottom of an inflorescence, move upward, visit a fraction of the available flowers, and leave before reaching the top of the inflorescence. These behaviors are purported to maximize bee foraging efficiency by concentrating their efforts on the most rewarding flowers and minimizing flower revisits. Bees also increase their efficiency by selecting inflorescences with many flowers, visiting more flowers per inflorescence, and remaining in resource-rich areas. To test these hypotheses on plants with more complicated flower arrangements, I …