Poster Session #1: UC South Ballroom
IMPACTS OF SPOTTED KNAPWEED ON NATIVE BEE POPULATIONS OF WESTERN MONTANA
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
John Maron
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Biology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
We compared native bees visiting native flowering plants in areas greatly impacted by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) with visiting rates of native bees in areas containing native flowers not greatly impacted with spotted knapweed in three sites in Western Montana in late summer. Recent decline of bee populations makes it vital to study all aspects of the ecosystem that may effect bee populations. Although spotted knapweed has been shown to be beneficial to honey bees ( Aphis mellifera), little is known about what effects large knapweed patches, which out compete native flora, have on native bees. Three sites were sampled using pan traps, sweep netting, and observational counting. Sites infested with spotted knapweed had higher counts of honey bees and bumble bees and low to no native bees collected and observed on their florets. Contrarily, sites with high numbers of native flora contained higher numbers of native bees and less numbers of bumble bees and honey bees. These results conclude that spotted knapweed does not benefit native bee populations. These results show cause for concern for our native bee populations.
IMPACTS OF SPOTTED KNAPWEED ON NATIVE BEE POPULATIONS OF WESTERN MONTANA
UC South Ballroom
We compared native bees visiting native flowering plants in areas greatly impacted by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) with visiting rates of native bees in areas containing native flowers not greatly impacted with spotted knapweed in three sites in Western Montana in late summer. Recent decline of bee populations makes it vital to study all aspects of the ecosystem that may effect bee populations. Although spotted knapweed has been shown to be beneficial to honey bees ( Aphis mellifera), little is known about what effects large knapweed patches, which out compete native flora, have on native bees. Three sites were sampled using pan traps, sweep netting, and observational counting. Sites infested with spotted knapweed had higher counts of honey bees and bumble bees and low to no native bees collected and observed on their florets. Contrarily, sites with high numbers of native flora contained higher numbers of native bees and less numbers of bumble bees and honey bees. These results conclude that spotted knapweed does not benefit native bee populations. These results show cause for concern for our native bee populations.