3/30/2023 0 Comments Rusty patched bumble beeIt’s the idea that the harder they have to work, the more likely their wings are worn.” So, bees may have more wear and tear if they’re flying further to forage or have to increase their foraging effort. “The idea in our lab is that wing wear equals foraging effort. Graduate student Erika Ibarra-Garibay measures a rusty patched bumble bee. She assessed whether it had any wing damage and took photos, which she'll further analyze with software this winter. ![]() “I would have maybe five minutes before they started waking up, so I had to work pretty quickly to collect my measurements.”Īfter weighing the coma-induced bee, Ibarra-Garibay would slip its wings between graph paper and a microscope slide to measure the size of its head and the space between its wings. To collect her data, she put each bee on ice to induce a “chill coma.” If they found a rusty patched or American bumble bee, Ibarra-Garibay would return to conduct a second survey. They then walked through the space with hand nets, pausing their 30-minute timer every time they caught a bee. Additional help came from undergraduates Stephanie Paris and Alex Kurtt, and graduate student Morgan Moore.Īt each site, the team recorded GPS coordinates and planted flags along the circumference of an area roughly the size of a hockey rink. Two graduate students, Kelsey Shepherd and Erika Ibarra-Garibay ISU alumna Danielle Holthaus and current ISU senior Denisse Camarena did the bulk of the data collection over the summer. Most were in Iowa’s northeast corner, but they stretched as far west as Spencer and south of Iowa City. Fish and Wildlife Service and iNaturalist (an app for sharing and identifying plants and animals), the research team identified 50 sites to survey in Iowa. Using data from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Isolated, wild populations, like those the team found near Ames and Fort Dodge this summer, may carry genetic variations that could help species recovery efforts. as the western edge of the pollinator’s range. Toth adds that Iowa represents a “key location” for rusty patched bumble bee conservation in the U.S. “If we know where surviving rusty patched and American bumble bee populations are located and what they need to thrive, we can better target regions in Iowa and the Upper Midwest for preservation and restoration, as well as future research,” said Toth. ![]() ![]() ![]() Geological Survey (USGS) Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.Īs the researchers collect data on the rusty patched bumble bee, they’re also documenting where they find its larger cousin - the American bumble bee - which has experienced a recent population decline estimated at 51%. The findings could help wildlife managers and land stewards reverse the bumble bee’s decline and support other pollinators more broadly.Īmy Toth, a professor in the Iowa State Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Microbiology at ISU, is leading the 2.5-year project in Iowa with Anna Tucker, an assistant professor in natural resource ecology and management and a unit leader with the U.S. Researchers at Iowa State University are part of a multi-state effort to map out where the federally endangered pollinator lives, identify what habitat it prefers and collect clues about the population’s genetic diversity and overall health. and Upper Midwest, the number of rusty patched bumble bees has plummeted nearly 90% since the 1990s. AMES, IA - Once widespread across the eastern U.S.
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