Food Resources for Native Bees in Denver, CO

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Presenter(s)

Melissa Allen

Abstract or Description

Pollination is an important ecological service that is important to plant and insect diversity,  especially in urban environments where native pollinators are in decline. This study documents the types and diversity of pollen that different native bee species use in a semi-arid urban environment. Live bees were netted, identified, and pollen was collected and stored on cotton swabs that were then processed to extract pollen grains that could be identified. Twenty-three different pollen-types were represented, with Fabaceae (clover), Spirea (meadowsweet), Asteraceae (daisy) and Lamiaceae (mint) pollen grains dominating across all genera of bees collected. The Megachile (leaf-cutter) and Halictus (sweat bees) bees collected up to 17 pollen types and Bombus (bumblebee) bees had the least pollen-type diversity with only 2 pollen types represented. Native bees sourced from both native and non-native plants seen both in the field and from pollen data.  The data will be useful to urban planners, landscape architects, park managers and the public to target specific types of plants when developing gardens to support native pollinators in Denver’s resource-limited environment. The results also expand on existing data on native bee resources in other urban and suburban environments.