Landscape effects on native bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) captured in pheromone traps for heliothine crop pests (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Authors: Parys, Katherine; ELKINS, BLAKE - Texas A&M University; Little, Nathan; Allen, Clint; CROW, WHITNEY - Mississippi State University; COOK, DON - Mississippi State University; WRIGHT, KAREN - Texas A&M University; Zhu, Yu Cheng; Griswold, Terry

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/2/2021
Publication Date: 5/7/2021
Citation: Parys, K.A., Elkins, B.H., Little, N., Allen, K.C., Crow, W., Cook, D., Wright, K.W., Zhu, Y., Griswold, T.L. 2021. Landscape effects on native bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) captured in pheromone traps for heliothine crop pests (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Environmental Entomology. 50(4): 860-867. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvab040.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvab040

Interpretive Summary: Caterpillars in the family Lepidoptera, including tobacco budworm and bollworms, are significant pests of southern row crops including cotton, corn, and soybean. The adults of these caterpillars to examine population levels in the landscape are monitored through a system of traps using synthetic sex pheromones. We examined bees caught as non-target bycatch and collected a variety of species. The most abundant groups inadvertently collected were honeybees, bumblebees, and long-horned bees, which are all in the family Apidae. These three groups made up 82.4% of the total bees collected. We also evaluated whether the proportion of types of habitats within the surrounding landscape affected whether we collected bees in these traps. The proportion of natural and semi-natural habitat affected the abundance and richness of bees collected at the landscape level, but not at smaller or more local scales. Additional research is needed to better understand these interactions between bycatch and landscape factors to minimize non-target collections.

Technical Abstract: Heliothine pests, including tobacco budworm (Chloridea virescens (Fab.)) and bollworm (Helicoverpa zea Boddie), are significant pests of southern row crops including cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L), corn (Zea mays L.), and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Moench.)). This pest complex is seasonally monitored through Hartstack traps that are are baited with synthetic lepidopteran pheromones across the southern United States. We examined bycatch from the heliothine traps deployed across the Mississippi Delta in 2015, 2016, and 2017 for the presence of bees. The most abundant species collected were honeybees (Apis mellifera L), bumblebees (Bombus spp.), and long-horned bees (Melissodes spp.), these three genera accounted for 82.4% of specimens collected. We also evaluated the proportion of local- and landscape-level habitats on the abundance and richness of the bees caught as bycatch. The proportion of natural and semi-natural habitat affected the abundance and richness of bees collected at the landscape level, but not more local scales. Additional research is needed to better understand these interactions between bycatch and landscape factors to minimize non-target collections.