Pennsylvania’s Native Pollinators Who are the pollinators ? Bats Birds Flies Moths Beetles Butterflies Bees Pollinators are Important They provide food! They pollinate native plants! They are essential in maintaining healthy and diverse ecosystems! Pollinator Decline • Habitat loss • Parasites, disease • Pesticides, herbicides • Invasive species • Monocultures • Climate change Status of Native Pollinators in PA •Few published reports on pollinator ? status •Very few current records •Diversity and abundance measures rely on museum specimens What’s being done? PA Native Bee Survey • Started in 2005 • More than 5000 specimens collected • 6 Families, 55 Genera, 374+ species Citizen Scientist Monitoring Program • Started in 2009 • Penn State Master Gardeners • Plant Pollinator Gardens Native Bees Efficient Pollinators • Feed exclusively on pollen and nectar • Have hairy bodies • Have a greater tolerance for cold, wet weather • Active early in the spring, later in evening and earlier in the morning • Tend to stay within a crop • Males can pollinate • Fast fliers, visiting many flowers • Honey bees and native bees are better together Bee Identification Characteristics: • Usually Very Hairy • Four Wings • Legs Broad and Hairy • Elbowed Antennae Female -12 segments Males -13 segments • Usually have scopa Mistaken Identity - Wasps and Flies Wasps Flies • Usually Less Hairy or Not At All • Usually Less Hairy or Not At All • Four Wings, fold lengthwise • Two Wings • Long Antennae, Not Elbowed • Short, Thick Antennae • Legs Narrow and Not Hairy • Legs Narrow and Not Hairy • No or Little Pollen (No Scopa) • No or Little Pollen (No Scopa) • Big eyes that almost touch at top of head David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org 6 Families in Pennsylvania Andrenidae Melittidae Halictidae (Sand and Mining Bees) (Melittid Bees) (Sweat Bees) Colletidae Apidae Megachildae (Plasterer and (Leaf-cutting and Yellow-faced Bees) (Honey, Bumble, Carpenter, Cuckoo, and Digger Bees) Mason Bees) Groups of Floral Visitors Honey Bees- Apis mellifera • Medium to large; moderately robust • Orange-brown to nearly black • Fuzzy thorax ; head, legs and abdomen less hairy. • Abdomen with black,pale and orange-brown stripes. • Enlarged, flattened hind legs; hairless in the center • Only bee with “hairy eyes” Bumble Bees • Bombus, 17 species, some are cleptoparasitic • Medium to very large & robust • Black body with yellow, black and sometimes orange hair stripes over thorax and abdomen • Hind legs enlarged and flattened, hairless in center • Antenna usually short • Buzz pollination Large Carpenter Bees • Xylocopa virginica • Very large and robust • Shiny black abdomen, black thorax with yellow hair • Males have a yellow spot on face • Scopa -Enlarged hind leg covered with thick hair Hairy Leg Bees (Digger or Longhorned Bees) • 7 Genera, 21 species • Small/medium to medium/large; robust • Dark, with white to yellowish/orange hairs • Thorax covered in short dense hairs, abdomen often with pale stripes • Some have long antennae, especially males • Scopa – dense strands of hair on hind leg Steve Johnson Hairy Leg Bees sleeping on a cosmos Large Dark Bees (Mining and Plasterer Bees) Smithsonian Institution, Entomology Department • 6 Genera, 111 species (92 species of Andrena- Mining Bees) • Small to medium/large • Relatively narrow to moderately robust • Dark-bodied; with a very densely hairy thorax and a less hairy abdomen • Scopa- pale hairs on hind legs • Facial fovea on female; “Beards” or “mustaches” on males Small Dark Bees (Dark Sweat Bees, Small Carpenter Bees, Yellow-faced Bees, Small Andrenid Bees) • 8 Genera, 62 species • Tiny to small/medium • Black to dull metallic blue, green or coppery • Body has pale hairs, some with large dense patches on abdomen, may have pale stripes on abdomen • Scopa is on hind legs, except for some yellow faced bees who carry pollen internally Small Dark Bees continued Small Carpenter Bee Yellow-faced Bee Female Female Male Mating pr. Small Dark Bees continued Small Andrenid (Mining) Bees Green Sweat Bees • 4 Genera, 10 species • Small to medium; relatively narrow • Body covered in less noticeable pale hairs • Metallic green, abdomen can be dark or have yellow and black stripes • Scopa on hind legs Metallic Hairy Belly Bees ( Orchard and Mason Bees) • Osmia, 18 species • Small to medium/large and robust • Dull to bright metallic green or blue, some very hairy and dark with coppery reflections • Scopa on underside of abdomen Dark Hairy Belly Bees ( Leaf Cutter Bees) • Small to medium/large and very robust • Black or dark with coppery metallic reflections, some with yellow or red markings on thorax and abdomen • Thorax & head thickly covered in white/pale to orange hairs • Abdomen with pale to white stripes or not striped above, with dark, pale, or orange hairs beneath • Scopa on underside of abdomen Cuckoo Bees • 8 Genera, 82 species • Small to medium and often narrow bodied • Body can be black, red or yellowish • Usually not very hairy and lacking scopa • Parasitic-Lay their eggs in other bees provisioned nest • Wasp like and difficult to ID Tools to Aid in Identification http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740 Tools to Aid in Identification http://www.discoverlife.org/ Bee Keys with Photos Making an Insect Collection Tools • Net • Some containers Collecting Insects • Keep shadow behind you • Go out at different times of day • Bees tend to fly up Pinning and Labeling Tools: • Pins • Labels • Box Review Learn to recognize characteristics of each group of bees. Look for: Size and shape Coloring Location of scopa Behavior and flight If you are unsure- Make detailed notes, take a photo Questions? Thank you!!!.