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A “Not-A” Bee

Biology & Habitats of Native Bees Natural Resources Conservation Service, 20 August 2009 Robbin Thorp, UC Davis. A “Not-A” Bee. Another “Not-A” Bee A Sphecid Wasp (“You are what you eat”). A Bee The European Honey Bee, Apis mellifera. Honey bee on almond. What are Bees (Apoidea)?.

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A “Not-A” Bee

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  1. Biology & Habitats of Native BeesNatural Resources Conservation Service, 20 August 2009Robbin Thorp, UC Davis

  2. A “Not-A” Bee

  3. Another “Not-A” BeeA Sphecid Wasp (“You are what you eat”)

  4. A BeeThe European Honey Bee, Apis mellifera Honey bee on almond

  5. What are Bees (Apoidea)? • Derived wasps that use pollen (not animal) protein to feed their young • They use nectar as flight fuel • They have branched hairs, and other adaptations for obtaining food from flowers • They provide an important ecological service to flowering plants: Pollination • Many are pollen specialists (oligoleges)

  6. What are Bees (Apoidea)? • There are over 19,500 species (ca 20-30K) • More diversity than all Mammals + Birds +Reptiles + Amphibians summed together. • Greatest diversity is in warm dry areas not wet tropics • About 75% are solitary • About 15% are cuckoos • About 10% are social

  7. You Are What You EatFood gathering devices

  8. Bee Tongues Forked (Bifid) • Plasterer bees have bifid tongue like wasp relatives • Adaptation for brood cell construction used to spread cellophane-like polymer lining

  9. Bee TonguesShort Tongued Bee • Mining bee • Short pointed glossa

  10. Bee TonguesLong Tongued • Orchid bee • Elongate tongue longer than body

  11. Pollen Transport StructuresScopa (Brush of hairs) • Mining Bee • Most of hind leg plus sides of thorax • Digger Bee • Only outer hind leg

  12. Pollen Transport StructuresPollen Moistened • Mining bee • Scopa sparse • Bumble bee • Corbiculum (concave plate on hind leg)

  13. Pollen Transport StructuresScopa: Abdominal • Leafcutting bee • Bum-up position

  14. Bee DiversityMining Bees • Mining Bees • Female • Male • Sexual dimorphism • Haplodiploidy

  15. Bee DiversityMining Bees • Mining Bee • Female • Specialist on Sky Blue (Oligolege) • Unnamed species

  16. Bee DiversitySweat Bees • Sweat Bee • Female • Sweat Bee • Male

  17. Bee DiversitySweat Bees • Green Sweat Bee • Female • Green Sweat Bee • Male

  18. Bee DiversityLeafcutting & Mason Bees • Leafcutting Bee • Female collecting pollen • Leafcutting Bee • Female cutting leaf

  19. Bee DiversityLeafcutting & Mason Bees • Mason Bee • Female • Cotton Bee • Male

  20. Bee DiversityDigger, Cuckoo, & Corbiculate Bees • Cuckoo Bee • Female • Cuckoo Bee • Female

  21. Bee DiversityDigger, Cuckoo, & Corbiculate Bees • Sunflower Bee • Female (Specialist) • Squash Bee • Female (Specialist)

  22. Bee DiversityDigger, Cuckoo, & Corbiculate Bees • Carpenter Bee • Female • Small Carpenter Bee • Female

  23. Bee DiversityDigger, Cuckoo, & Corbiculate Bees • Yellow Face Bumble Bee • Queen • Orchid Bee • Male • with orchid pollinia

  24. Bee DiversityDigger, Cuckoo, & Corbiculate Bees • European Honey Bee • Worker • Stingless Bee • Worker

  25. Habitat Requirements • In addition to food from flowers, bees need habitats for their nests • Most are solitary soil nesters • Sand, clay, sandstone, rock • Flat ground, birms, vertical cliffs • Many have specialized habitat requirements • Many are tubular cavity nesters • E. g., beetle tunnels, hollow stems • Some excavate their own burrows in wood or pith • Some social bees use large cavities

  26. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Female Mining Bee on Goldfields flower head in spring • This bee specializes on Goldfields for pollen (Oligolecty)

  27. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Nest entrance: • open with tumulus (excavated soil) surrounding it. • Nest architecture: • Vertical entry shaft • Lateral tunnels • Brood cells: • 1) Completed with egg • 2) Under construction

  28. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Brood cell with food mass being formed • Brood cell with food mass completed and egg laid on surface

  29. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Cap of brood cell (inner view) • Early larva ready to initiate feeding on pollen provisions

  30. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Post-feeding larva (summer phase) • Pupa (autumnal phase)

  31. Life Cycle of Solitary Bees • Early spring bloom of Goldfields and Yellow Carpet at Jepson Prairie Reserve • Female Mining bee on pollen host, Goldfields • Synchronized annual cycles • www.vernalpools.org/Thorp/

  32. Other Bees Managed for Crop Pollination

  33. Bee Nests • Alkali Bee • Female on alfalfa • Aggregated nest site • Tumuli

  34. Bee Nests • Alkali Bee • Brood cell • Pollen provisions with egg on top

  35. Bee Nests • Alkali Bee • Post feeding larvae • Pupa

  36. Bee Nests • Alkali Bee • Artificial bee bed • Road sign to protect bees from becoming road kill

  37. Bee Nests • Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee • Female collecting pollen from alfalfa • Female cutting leaf

  38. Bee Nests • Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee • Cavity nester • Field domicile with bee boards • Female into nest with leaf piece

  39. Bee Nests • Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee • Female in with pollen • Female laying egg on pollen provision

  40. Bee Nests • Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee • Brood cells with pollen provisions, egg, larvae • Fully developed larvae in cocoons

  41. Bee NestsMason Bee • Blue Orchard Bee (BOB) female on almond flower • Drilled hole with mud partitions, pollen, and larvae

  42. Bee Nests • Bumble Bee • Corbiculate Bees • Annual societies • Queen emerging from hibernation • Incipient nest • Honey pot • Initial brood • Incubated by queen

  43. Bee Nests • Bumble Bees • Nest with eggs, pupa, cocoons • Nest overview • Egg cups, cocoons • Eggs, larvae, pupae • Nectar storage in old cocoons

  44. Bee Nests • Bumble Bees • Mating male/queen • Queens entering into hibernation

  45. Conclusions • Other bees may be suited for management • Unmanaged populations provide valuable services for crop and wildland plants. • Knowledge about biology and habitat needs of native bees provides keys to managing them and their habitats.

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