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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #401565
Research Project: Enhancing Insect Ecosystem Services that Benefit Modern Cropping Systems

Location: Integrated Cropping Systems Research

Title: A baseline inventory of bee species and patterns in their distribution among habitats at the Eastern South Dakota Soil & Water Research Farm

Author
item Hesler, Louis
item Beckendorf, Eric

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/16/2022
Publication Date: 3/6/2023
Citation: Hesler, L.S., Beckendorf, E.A. 2023. A baseline inventory of bee species and patterns in their distribution among habitats at the Eastern South Dakota Soil & Water Research Farm. Abstract. Monarch and Native Pollinators Summit, Watertown, SD, March 2-3, 2023.

Interpretive Summary: The Eastern South Dakota Soil & Water Research Farm (ESDSWRF) located near Brookings includes land with corn, soybean, wheat, oats, peas, sunflower, alfalfa, restored prairie, and groves of mixed hardwood and softwood trees. The highly varied habitat of the ESDSWRF is expected to afford relatively high bee diversity, but the bee fauna there has not been adequately sampled. So, over the last few years, bees at the ESDSWRF were sampled weekly during the cropping season by using multiple methods, including blue vane traps (2019-2021), canopy traps (2020), vacuum and hand nets (2021-2022), bee bowls (2021-2022), and cavity-nest boxes (2021-2022) in order to establish a baseline inventory of bee species and determine patterns in their distribution among habitats. Processing of samples is ongoing, with at least 100 species identified from tens of thousands of specimens thus far. The inventory will provide fundamental knowledge to serve as a basis for understanding factors driving bee diversity in agricultural settings and aid in establishing conservation strategies and priorities in the region.

Technical Abstract: The Eastern South Dakota Soil & Water Research Farm (ESDSWRF) located near Brookings includes land with corn, soybean, wheat, oats, peas, sunflower, alfalfa, restored prairie, and groves of mixed hardwood and softwood trees. The highly varied habitat of the ESDSWRF is expected to afford relatively high bee diversity, but the bee fauna there has not been adequately sampled. So, over the last few years, bees at the ESDSWRF were sampled weekly during the cropping season by using multiple methods, including blue vane traps (2019-2021), canopy traps (2020), vacuum and hand nets (2021-2022), bee bowls (2021-2022), and cavity-nest boxes (2021-2022) in order to establish a baseline inventory of bee species and determine patterns in their distribution among habitats. Processing of samples is ongoing, with at least 100 species identified from tens of thousands of specimens thus far. The inventory will provide fundamental knowledge to serve as a basis for generating hypotheses about factors driving bee diversity in agricultural settings and aid in establishing conservation strategies and priorities in the region.