This week in beewatching: Is this who I think it is?
Like many of you, I’ve been thrilled to be out beewatching again – even if it is only a short break once a day, shoehorned in between all the other items on the to-do list. So far this season I've seen all the usual suspects around the farm: Ceratina, Lasioglossum, Andrena, I think I spotted Megachile out by the woods, and of course the all pervasive Bombus impatiens. But then late one afternoon, there was this bee droning her way through the gardens.
She didn’t stay long, and I barely had time to get out my phone to take a few shots. But is this who I think it is: Bombus pensylvanicus? My wife and I have lived at the farm for five years, and in all that time I've only ever seen B. impatiens. I'd be thrilled to have a new bumble starting to call our little corner of western New York home.
iNaturalist has been silent on my post about this bee. And I didn't want to take a chance throwing the photos into the daily maelstrom of Twitter. So if anyone can help me verify the identity of this bee, many thanks!
The podcast will be back soon with a brand new episode! In the meantime, why not catch up on some previous episodes?
Do you have tips, comments, questions or ideas for collaboration? Please send them to tbr@bymattkelly.com.
Conservation
Bee population in Wisconsin city increases in abundance and diversity with No Mow May
(Post-Crescent) A sampling of No Mow May lawns at the end of May found a fivefold increase in bee abundance and a threefold increase in bee diversity in comparison to nearby parkland that was mowed regularly. An assistant biology professor at Lawrence University said the findings demonstrate that not mowing lawns for an extended period is beneficial for pollination.
Temperate insects as vulnerable to climate change as tropical species
(ScienceDaily/Uppsala University) In previous research, it has been assumed that insects in temperate regions would cope well with or even benefit from a warmer climate. Not so, according to researchers. The earlier models failed to take into account the fact that insects in temperate habitats are inactive for much of the year.
(National Wildlife Federation) Monarch butterflies west of the Rocky Mountains have declined to less than 1 percent of their historic numbers. Over a quarter of North America's bumble bee species face some level of extinction. Dispatches from other branches of the insect family tree tell similar tales – from declining moths in Scotland to drops in the abundance of tiger beetles, stoneflies and mayflies in the United States to decreases in beetles, moths and caddisflies in the Netherlands. A 2019 review of 73 insect-decline papers stated that the animals are disappearing so fast that more than 40 percent of the world’s insect species may be threatened with extinction in the next few decades. However, the solutions to these declines are within our reach.
Economics
Shuttered natural history museums fight for survival
(Science) Around the world, natural history museums are shuttered and reeling. Museums' reliance on revenue from ticket sales and events makes them among the first scientific institutions to feel the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the crisis is also spurring museums to adopt or expand practices that, though they may not restore lost revenue, are keeping the public engaged and research ticking along.
Policy/Law
Tennessee releases new specialty license plate to “Save the Honey Bee”
(WJLE) The state recently unveiled the new “Save the Honey Bee” plate which is now available for sale at county clerk’s offices across the state. A portion of the fee from sales of the plates will be allocated to Honeybee Tennessee, a non-profit organization founded by Davis, to be used exclusively to support the mission of educating the community on the importance of honey bees, including providing funding for local schools and camps for the appropriate equipment and educational materials needed for beekeeping.
Science
Genetic identity: A new threat to native bumble bees
(The Applied Ecologist) In their recently published article, Ignasi Bartomeus and colleagues show how the commercial bumble bee trade is affecting the genetic integrity of native pollinators. They show evidence that hybridization between commercial and native lines is common in southern Spain. What are its implications? What should we do to fix it? They’ve also crafted a wonderful video (with the help of Bartomeus' kids) to explain it all.
Bees? Please. These plants are putting ants to work
(ScienceDaily/Edith Cowan University) Researchers from Edith Cowan University have discovered a plant that has successfully evolved to use ants – as well as native bees – as pollinating agents by overcoming their antimicrobial defenses.
Recycling old genes to get new traits: How social behavior evolves in bees
(Phys.org/Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) A team working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute found evidence to support a long-debated mode of evolution, revealing how evolution captures environmental variation to teach old genes new tricks: Sweat bees switch from solitary to social behavior, repurposing ancient sets of genes that originally evolved to regulate the development of other traits.
Newly identified gene reduces pollen number of plants
(University of Zurich) Producing fewer sperm cells can be advantageous in self-fertilizing plants. An international study led by the University of Zurich has identified a gene in the model plant Arabidopsis that reduces the number of pollen. In addition to supporting the evolutionary theory, these findings could help to optimize plant breeding and domestication in agriculture.
Society/Culture
Memoirs of Black Entomologists
(Entomological Society of America) The Entomological Society of America has made "Memoirs of Black Entomologists: Reflections on Childhood, University, and Career Experiences" freely available to download. This collection brings together 20 black entomologists from the U.S. and around the world to share the stories of what drew them to the field, along with advice for black and minority students looking for a career in the entomological sciences.
Technology
Lawn to Wildflowers app aims to help make more homes for bees
(Orlando Sentinel) A new app called Lawn to Wildflowers from the University of Central Florida’s College of Sciences offers a guide on how to transform a yard into a home for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
One More Thing…
Agreed. From Raven the Science Maven @ravenscimaven via Twitter.