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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sunflower Improvement Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420359
Research Project: Sunflower Yield, Crop Quality, and Interactions with Biotic and Abiotic Stressors

Location: Sunflower Improvement Research

Title: She loves me / she loves me not: How petal and anthocyanin presence in cultivated sunflower affect native bee foraging preferences

Author
item HIRZEL, GRACE - North Dakota State University
item GREENLEE, KENDRA - North Dakota State University
item Prasifka, Jarrad

Submitted to: National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2024
Publication Date: 11/10/2024
Citation: Hirzel, G.E., Greenlee, K.J., Prasifka, J.R. 2024. She loves me / she loves me not: How petal and anthocyanin presence in cultivated sunflower affect native bee foraging preferences. National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Pollination is important for ensuring high yield in cultivated sunflower. In many areas of the United States, sunflowers are mainly pollinated by native bees. Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) use multiple traits in flowers to inform foraging behavior, including color, nectar, pollen, and volatile organic compounds. Flower color may also affect floral temperatures. Temperature can act as a reward in and of itself, but it may also affect other floral traits in turn, such as nectar and pollen production. We examined wild bee preference for disc color, petal presence, and floret temperature in partially inbred sunflower lines that are apetalous and express high levels of anthocyanins, causing discs to appear red. We hypothesized that sunflower heads with darker discs and petals present would warm to a higher temperature earlier in the day and attract more bees than normal sunflowers. During sunflower bloom in 2024 in North Dakota, we conducted walking counts to determine the number of bees on blooming sunflowers in an experimental agricultural field. We surveyed bees and intra-floret temperatures throughout the morning while bees were active. We also examined if timing of pollen presentation differed between lines due to differences in intra-floret temperature. Our results will reveal how interactions between color, petal presence, and temperature affect foraging preferences of wild bees. These findings will be important for those selecting traits in insect-pollinated crops and as well as choosing cultivars used to promote wild pollinator populations.