Honors College Thesis
 

Tracking the Range Expansion of a Native Bee, the Squash Bee, Eucera (Peponapis) pruinosa; (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Oregon using Community Science

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/ms35th551

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  • The foraging distance of bees has been intensely studied. In contrast, little is known about the factors that determine bee dispersal distance, especially on large spatial scales. Eucera (Peponapis) pruinosa is a wild ground nesting bee that exclusively collects pollen from squash in the genus Cucurbita. Although the bee occurs widely where squash is cultivated throughout much of the United States, it was not recorded within Oregon until 2016. Using P. pruinosa as a case study, we hypothesized that two factors may explain landscape level dispersal, the distribution of host plant, and the presence of geographic barriers. To test our hypothesized factors, we recruited and trained community scientists to upload sightings online, generating photo-vouchers of P. pruinosa occurrence records. We analyzed the bee’s current distribution in Oregon relative to watershed barriers and distribution of squash cultivation. From 230 submissions, we established 41 new squash bees records for Oregon. Our work suggests that the conditions triggering P. pruinosa dispersal are beyond geographic barriers, availability of suitable host plants, and physical dispersal limits of the bees. Moreover, our data serve as a baseline for continued study into the dispersal of this species as it continues expansion into the Pacific Northwest.
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  • This work was supported by the DeLoach Work Scholarship and the USDA-NIFA [2020-670113-31234].
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