Many hummingbird-pollinated plant species evolved from bee-pollinated ancestors independently in many different habitats in North and South America. The mechanisms leading to these transitions are not completely understood. We conducted pollination and germination experiments and analysed additional

Last modified: July 3, 2024 IntroductionThis dataset comprises all bee interactions indexed by Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI; Poelen et al. 2014). It is published quarterly by the Big Bee Project (Seltmann et al. 2021) to summarize all available knowledge about bee interactions from natural hist

Temperature is one of the limiting factors of life, and it influences an organism’s growth, sexual reproduction, sexual determination, distribution, and metabolism. the interaction between temperature and organisms therefore an essential component of their ecology. Temperature impacts organisms in d

In this lab I analyzed the species composition of arthropods in bee bowl bycatch. The results of an analysis of these different communities show a significant difference in the compositional Orders of arthropods found in both the bowl colors and among the different sites along an elevational gradien

Phenological distributions are characterized by their central tendency, breadth, and shape, and all three determine the extent to which interacting species overlap in time. Pollination mutualisms rely on temporal co-occurrence of pollinators and their floral resources, and although much work has bee

Abstract Floral microbes, including bacteria and fungi, alter nectar quality, thus changing pollinator visitation. Conversely, pollinator visitation can change the floral microbial community. Most studies on dispersal of floral microbes have focused on bees, ants or hummingbirds, yet Lepidoptera are

Abstract Recent reports of insect declines have caused concern among scientists and the public. Declines in insect abundance and biomass are ubiquitous across many climatic zones and have been largely attributed to anthropogenic land use intensification and climate change. However, there are few exa

Biological visual signals are often produced by complex interactions between light-absorbing and light-scattering structures, but for many signals, potential interactions between different light-interacting components have yet to be tested. Butterfly wings, for example, are thin enough that their tw

Studies on the physiological states of wild-caught organisms are essential to uncovering the links between ecological and physiological processes. Bumble bee queens emerge from overwintering in the spring. At this time, queens develop their ovaries and search for a nest site in which to start a colo

Despite bumble bees’ critical importance as pollinators throughout the montane regions of Colorado, little research has been done on their nesting habits. In order to conserve the populations of Bombus spp. in the West, better knowledge of their nest density and nesting habitats is needed. I hypothe

Forest associated species, bees and otherwise, are among the world's most vulnerable species due human activity such as deforestation. Even though bees are significant to ecosystem health by providing such important services as pollination, basic information on bee biodiversity and factors driving t

This study looked at the differences in bee community composition between estimates obtained from pan traps vs. netting. Comparing species richness, evenness and community composition between the two sampling types from the years 2009-2017 and 2009-2021. Based on a rate of bees caught per hour, with

Larval food stress for the butterfly Speyeria mormonia causes less pigmentation in female butterflies. For this reason, males may approach females with higher pigmentation more often because it is a sign that they are healthier. Past studies have shown that this could be true, but they have not take

Introductions of novel plant species can disturb the historical resource environment of herbivorous insects, resulting in strong selection to either adopt or exclude the novel host. However, an adaptive response depends on heritable genetic variation for preference or performance within the targeted

Life-history traits, which are physical traits or behaviours that affect growth, survivorship and reproduction, could play an important role in how well organisms respond to environmental change. By looking for trait-based responses within groups, we can gain a mechanistic understanding of why envir

Body size is arguably one of the most important traits influencing the physiology and ecology of animals. Shifts in animal body size have been observed in response to climate change, including in bumble bees (Bombus spp. [Hymenoptera: Apidae]). Bumble bee size shifts have occurred concurrently with

High altitude regions are likely to be highly affected by climate change. Pollinators such as bees in these regions may have to change life history traits to survive. Because eusociality is associated with reduced mortality and increased resilience to resource variation, primitively eusocial bees ma