VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2012

STOCKTONIA
A Journal of Comparative Environmental Studies

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To Bee or Not to Bee

JESSICA BLANCHARD, DANIELLE NUGENT AND GABRIELLE PINTAURO

Limited data is known about the bee census in the Pine Barrens. Bees are essential pollinators in the environment and play an important role in our ecosystem. Research was conducted to gain a better understanding of the bee population and figure out what populations are thriving in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Open areas at The College of Richard Stockton were selected at random. Methodologies for collecting bees consisted of capturing bees in brightly colored bee bowls. Bees were then identified, counted, and attempts were made to separate bees into their family based on observation. Introduction
The goal of the study

What kind of bee population inhabits Stockton Pine Barrens? Is there a change in bee populations from the beginning of spring to late summer?
Previous studies

Research behind Stocktons bee population is rather limited. The Stocktonia has one experiment about bees in the computer database. Experiments on bees at Stockton are a relatively new topic. Our research experiment will be a continuation of, The Buzz with Bees: Bee Bowl Experiment (Carlson et al 2010), an experiment that looked at the differences in bee population in disturbed and undisturbed areas. Carlson et al. experiment was conducted in 2010, a small sample size was survey for one day in early April. Our results cover a wider time frame and were sampled over several weeks. Methods for collecting bees will follow the previous studies procedure using Sam Dogere bee bowls. Experiments have shown that bees are vital pollinators. With bees play such a vital part in the environment it is important to have a good understanding of them. In two years a third or more of all honeybees in the States have mysteriously died (Benjamin and McCallum 2009.) These disappearances remain a mystery. In order to figure out the causes more information must be understood about bees.
Hypothesis

There will be a difference in bee populations on Stocktons campus from April to May in comparison to June and July. We will use results from previous studies for comparison.

Experimental design

Our group will collect and pin the bees we find along the Richard Stockton College campus. Using April Hamblins project, we will compare our bee species with the species she has already collected. We will also use the areas she collected her samples in and compare them to the areas we collect, seeing if there are any similarities or differences. This will help us in explaining any changes in the bees habitat ranges, maybe from recent disturbances (storms, heavy rainfall, construction).

Study Areas Eleven different locations on campus and one location off campus were randomly chosen. Sites with open areas, away from commotion were ideal for bee bowls sampling. Orchard, Back Field, Woodland West of Observatory, Hospital Field, Zinckgraf Baptisia site, Sand Road West of Delaware Ave, Parkway Ponds Borrow Pit, Powerline, SE corner Lake Fred, College Drive Housing 1-4, Dirt Lot E side College Drive and Athletic Fields College Drive were surveyed. Vegetation consisted of a Pine-Oak forest.

Map

Methods
Data collection methods

Step 1. Bee bowls were the method used to collect bees. Three different color bowls were used to attract bees. This is because bees are attracted to different colors. Bees see in trichromatic color vision, they prefer blues, yellows, uv light, and whites (Abrol, D. R. 2012). For our experiment our group used small colored plastic bowls filled with soapy water. 27 bee bowls were spaced about 5 feet apart, in sequential patterns of white, yellow, and then blue bowls. Bee bowls were left out for about a 24 hour period time frame. Then bowls were collected and carefully strained through a funnel with cheese cloth. Afterwards insects were placed into a glass jar of ethanol to be preserved. Glass jars were brought back to the lab to be identified. Step 2. Differentiate bees from other insects caught in the bowls. A compound microscope was used to identify bees from other insects. Step 3. Bees were then cleaned to be prepared for pinning. Washing bees is a multistep process that is meant
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to remove any pollen on the bee. The first step involves placing all the bees in a jar containing water and a splash of soap and swirling for about 1-2 minutes. After 2 minutes, pour the soapy water and bees through a strainer and remove the freshly washed bees and drop them into the ethanol jar. Repeat the same process of swirling for the same amount of time, and strain again. Place the bees on a paper towel, bunch up the paper towel into a pouch, making sure all bees are safely inside, and shake for a few moments to dry off excess ethanol. Lastly, place bees in the drying jar with holes in the lid, secure tightly and hold upside down to begin blow drying. For a visual representation of what washing bees entails, check out this video by Sam Droege :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2y-ind12Cc Step 4. Pinning the bees involves piercing the bee just above the faint line connecting the two sets of wings, and slightly to the right of the center of the bees thorax. Smaller bees (less than five millimeters in length) should be glued to the pin on their right side (the resulting position of the bee will be on the left side of the pin). Attempts to pierce the small bees through the thorax often result in the head of the bee falling off, and gluing the head back onto the small bees body can be quite difficult. Regardless, gluing the head back on is essential, any loss of specimen would create bias within the experiment. Results Table 1.1 Site Name Orchard Back Field Woodland W of Observatory Hospital Field Zinckgraf Baptisia Site Sand Road W of Delaware Ave Parkway Ponds Borrow Pit Powerline Back Field Woodland W of Observatory Hospital Field Zinckgraf Baptisia Site Sand Road W of Delaware Ave Lot Number Bee Count 13040801 13040802 13040101 13040102 13040103 13040104 13040105 13040106 13033001 13041001 13041002 13041003 13041004 19 24 0 4 12 11 5 6 79 0 12 6 17

Parkway Ponds Borrow Pit Powerline SE Corner Lake Fred College Dr. opp Housing 1-4 Dirt Lot E side College Drive College Dr. opp Housing 1-4 Athletic Fields College Drive

13041005 13041006 13032903 13032901 13032902 13040202 13040201 total

1 1 0 0 0 0 0 197

Table 1.2 Family # of Bees Found Halicitidae 83 Colletidae 45 Apidae 28 Adrenidae 26 Megachilidae 14 Discussions and Conclusion Through the process of data collection, observation and identification our hypothesis was proven correct. The sample of the population of bees collected during this experiment are different from samples taken April 12 2010. Our experiments sample size was 197, while past experiments resulted in a much smaller sample size as well as a lower diversity within the sample. The past experiment of The Buzz with Bees: Bee Bowl Experiments (Carlson, K. 2012) concluded that bee populations on the Richard Stockton College campus were declining. Results of our study reflect thriving bee populations on campus during the month of April. The families identified by The Buzz with Bees include Vespidae, Apidae, and Halictidae. Our study also found bees in both the Apidae family and the Halictidae family. This similarity within the sampling shows that species within the families Halictidae, and Apidae are active from early April until at least July. Table 1.2 displays the result of organizing the sample by taxonomy, specifically by family. The most dominant family was Halictidae with 83 samples. The second most dominant was Colletidae with 45 samples. The days and sites that caught the most bees were sunny and warm. It can be concluded that bees in the early spring are most active on warm days. Questions for further Study Why do these specific families of bees dominate in mid-late Spring? Is their any biological/physiological reasons for this observation? How do these families coexist on The Richard Stockton College of NJs? Is there competition between bee families? Are bees emerging earlier than usual? Acknowledgements
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Dr. Jamie Cromartie assisted by putting out and bringing in bee bowls throughout the experiment and assisting in identifying the bees. Jessica Blanchard set out bee bowls, washed, dried, pinned and identified bees. Participated in the writing and editing of this analysis. April Hamblin aided the group by educating them on washing, drying, and pinning bees. Miss Hamblin helped the group identify bees. Danielle Nugent assisted in setting and collecting bee bowls. She specialized in distinguishing bees from other insects and aided in pinning the small bees along with identifying bees. Miss Nugent also helped with the writing and editing of the Stocktonia report. Gabrielle Pintauro set out bee cups April 2nd and 9th. Miss Pintauro was an asset in washing, drying, pinning and identifying the bees. She is responsible for putting together the data in the excel spreadsheet.

Literature Cited Abrol, D. R. (2012). Pollination Biology: Biodiversity Conservation and Agricultural Production. Springer. London and NY. Pp 785. Benjamin, A. and B. McCallum 2009. A World Without Bees. Pegasus Books. New York. 270 Droege, S. Tips on how to Use Bee Bowls to Collect Bees. Received March 12, 2010, from http://online.sfsu.edu/~beeplot/pdfs/bee%20bowl%20%20tip%20sheet1.pdf.