Bees

From bee communities, to species ranges, and habitat requirements, this project is building an understanding of how fire-adapted habitats support bee biodiversity in the Northeastern U.S. Follow these links to learn more about resources we are using to learn more about our bees and how other partners are using information generated by this project.

Specialist Bees

Some bees have specific relationships with plants or nesting substrate requirements. Sites have found 16 out of 24 bees expected to require barrens habitats.

Rare Bees

By any estimate, there are hundreds of rare bees in the Northeast Region. Our dataset include Hylaeus pictipes, Perdita bradleyi, and Coelioxys alternata and many others.

Project Results

Bees collected by our sites have been identified by Joan Milam, Clare Maffei, and Sam Droege. There are 255 unique species in the database as of November 2021.

Bombus Species

Bee bowls are not the best approach for sampling Bumblebees, but we have collected 12 species to date.

Common Bees

Augochlorella aurata is the most common bee in our collection. Click through to explore which other common bees we have collected, and which we haven't!

References

Data Sources for context:

Discover Life Database
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
NatureServe
National Bee Distribution Tool (USFWS) (use Edge browser)
Specialist Bees in the Northeast (Jarrod Fowler)

Links to resources and people in the Northeast:

The Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Pollinator Network at Cornell
Center for Pollinator Research
University of Massachusetts Amherst Pollinators

National and other regional resources:

Past bee data summaries are still available:

2018 Results

2019 Results

Citations about bees, directly relevant to fire-adapted habitats in the Northeast U.S.:

Droege, S., C. A. Davis, W. E. Steiner, and J. Mawdsley. 2009. The Lost Micro-Deserts of the Patuxent River: Using Landscape History, Insect And Plant Specimens, And Field Work to Detect And Define A Unique Community. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 111:132–144.
Goldstein, P. Z., and J. S. Ascher. 2016. Taxonomic and Behavioral Composition of an Island Fauna: A Survey of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 118:37–92.
Kalhorn, K. D., E. M. Barrows, and W. E. LaBerge. 2003. Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes) Diversity in an Appalachian Shale Barrens. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76:455–468.
Massachusetts Prescribed fire for habitat management Handbook and Handbook Appendices (lists of associated species).
Orr, R. L. 2010. Preliminary list of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Assateague Island National Seashore, Worcester County, Maryland. The Maryland Entomologist 5:41–50.
Selfridge, J. A., C. T. Frye, J. Gibbs, and R. P. Jean. 2017. The Bee Fauna of Inland Sand Dune and Ridge Woodland Communities in Worcester County, Maryland. Northeastern Naturalist 24:421–445.
Shapiro, L., and S. Droege. 2011. Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas Facility and Vicinity, Calvert County, Maryland. The Maryland Entomologist 5:45–65.