Comparison of native and non-native bees’ preferences for native vs non-native plants in different land cover

Authors: Jacqueline Justo, Eliza Grames

SUNY Campus: Binghamton University

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: Old Union Hall

Presentation #: 28

Timeslot: Session A 9:00-10:00 AM

Abstract: Pollinators are vital to ecosystem function and provide essential services for humans such as crop pollination. I observed how plant-pollinator networks change with tree cover, and how interactions differ between native bumble bees (genus Bombus) and non-native honey bees (genus Apis) and native versus non-native flora. Over 40 sites in June and July 2024, I recorded visitation of Bombus and Apis bees in 3x3 meter patches of flowers over 15-minute intervals. I counted and identified all flowers that were present, and categorized each as either native or non-native. There was no statistically significant difference in Bombus and Apis visitation to native or non-native flowers (χ2= 3.57, p=0.06). Overall, Bombus visited 9 native plants (60%) and 6 non-native species, while Apis visited 4 native plants (44.4%) and 5 non-native plants. In more open areas (measured by % grassland), there was greater bee activity. For every 1% increase in grassland, there was an increase of 1.04 bees (p = <0.001). There was no significant difference (p=0.82) in the Shannon diversity index between open and covered areas. Plant-pollinator networks were more complex (# edges = 23) in open areas than forested areas (# edges = 6). In the overall network, Apis and Bombus shared 8 flower species, 3 species were only visited by Apis, and 8 species were only visited by Bombus. Monitoring native and non-native bees and their interactions can help us understand competition for floral resources and potential for disease transmission on shared floral resources.