MODULE 2 VMGA Creating Pollinator Gardens Workshop Learning to See and Name Our Island Pollinating Bees and Flower Visiting Flies

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1 1 MODULE 2 VMGA Creating Pollinator Gardens Workshop Learning to See and Name Our Island Pollinating Bees and Flower Visiting Flies Introduction To manage something, one needs to first be able to see it. Then we can count it and follow trends in numbers over time. One reason for pollinator decline is that we have not been trained to see the native bees and other pollinating insects living around us. This skill is now more important as world pollination ecologists stress the importance of creating gardens that will sustain the highest diversity possible similating natural sustainable landscapes. Learning Activities The first skill is to be able to see and name the insects that visit flowers as wasps, flies or bees. Instructor will review the anatomical characteristics of all flies, bees and wasps with the Xerces Society Power of Pollinators PPT Series Part 2. Bee Biology and Identification following CHART 1 Summary Chart of Anatomical Features of Bees, Wasps and Flies attached to this module ACTIVITY: Activity #1 - Mystery Box Exercise Assemble teams of 4-5 persons. Each team will given a mystery box collection of pollinating insects, Identify each specimen as a bee, wasp/hornet or fly and record answers on the Mystery Box Answer Sheet using CHART 1. Summary Chart of Anatomical Features of Bees, Wasps and Flies as a guide to answers. After 20 minutes the instructor will review the correct answers for the Mystery Box Exercise. The next skill develops the students skill to assess the diversity of pollinators in a Pollinator Garden. The instructor will review the groups of native bees living in BC and discuss their biology using the Xerces Society Power of Pollinators PPT Series Part 2. Bee Biology and Identification guided by CHART 2. Common Native Pollinators to Find at HCP. After the walk around the gardens, teams will fill in bee group names on the answer sheet. After the time limit, the instructor will review the correct answer sheets.

2 2 Mystery Box Answer Sheet Answer Sheet for Exercise #1 Team Name: Your Name Specimen No A1-1 A2-1 A3-1 A4-1 A5-1 A6-1 A7-1 A8-1 A9-1 A10-1 Identify each specimen as a bee, wasp or fly Answer Sheet for Exercise #2 Bee Groups Specime n No A1-2 A2-2 A3-2 A4-2 A5-2 A6-2 A7-2 A8-2 A9-2 A10-2 Identify the bee group or the kind of bee of each specimen (digger bee, e.g. mason bee, bumblebee, long horned bee etc.) SUMMARY CHART 1.0

3 3 Anatomical Features of Flower Visiting Bees, Flies and Wasps GROUP BEES FLIES WASPS/HORNETS AND CUCKOO BEES GENERAL HAIRS ON BODY HEAD THORAX Many branched hairs Few unbranched hairs Antennae Long; elbow shaped Short Eyes Large Large; meet at top of Mouth Parts Long tongue; chewing mandibles Wings 4 membranou s wings Pollen Transport Structures Carry Pollen on legs or stomach head Short; like a sponge 2 membranous wings Do Not Carry Pollen Few hairs on body; Less than flies Long; elbow shaped Large Short tongue; Chewing mandibles 4 membranous wings Do Not Carry Pollen Waste Thin Thick Very Thin ABDOMEN Females have stinger Rarely used No Stinger Females have Stinger Commonly used Common native pollinators to find at HCP

4 4 and Other Gardens Everywhere Native Bees Insect Order: Hymenoptera Ground Nesting Native Solitary Bees (Digger Bees, Mining Bees, Sweat Bees i.e. Most Bees) Some species gregarious or semi-social Common Name Genus Plasterer Bees Colletes sp. Early Yellow Faced Mask Bee Hylaeus sp. Most small Mining Bee Andrena sp Many species. Early. Metallic Green Sweat Bee Agapostemon sp. Leafcutter Bee Megachile sp. Digger Bee, Lasioglossum sp Many species, most small Ligated Sweat Bee Halictus sp Long Horned Digger Bee Melissodes sp Late Summer Use Common Name and / or Genus Name to search for information and photos in the Learning Resources Section of this module Life Cycle and Habitat of Ground Nesting Native Bees. See diagram in Mader et Attracting Native Pollinators. Part 3. Meet the Pollinators. Page 28 Wood Tunnel Nesting Native Solitary Bees Common Name Mason Bee Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee Leafcutter Bees Wool Carder Bee Large Carpenter Bee Genus Osmia sp Megachile rotundata Megachile sp Anthidium sp Xylocopa sp Does not occur on V.I. Pithy Stem Nesting Solitary Native Bees

5 5 Common Name Small Carpenter Bee, Genus Ceratina sp. Very Small. Life Cycle and Habitat of Wood Tunnel and Pithy Stem Nesting Native Bees. See diagram in Mader et Attracting Native Pollinators page 31 The Bumblebees - Below Ground (Fist Sized) Cavity Nesters Black-tailed Bumblebee, Two form Bumblebee, Vosnesenki s Bumblebee Fuzzy Horned Bumblebee Yellow Banded Bumblebee Western Bumblebee Bombus melanopygus B. bifarius B. vosnesenskii B. mixtus B. flavifrons B. occidentalis (THREATENED) Life Cycle and Habitat of Native West Coast Bumblebees. See diagram in Mader et Attracting Native Pollinators page 42 Native Flower Visiting Flies (Insect Order: Diptera) Insect Family: Syrphidae Common Genera See Terry Thormin Photos Eristalis sp. Helliophilus sp. Eupeodes sp. Scaeva sp Syrphus sp. Sphaerophoria sp See Terry Thormin s photos at Life Cycle and Habitat of Flower Visiting Flies See diagram in Mader et Attracting Native Pollinators page 52-53

6 6 Background on BC s Native Bees There are 801 species of native bees in Canada, 4000 in the US and 20,000 in the world. Of the 450+ species of native bees in BC, 70% are ground nesters (some are gregarious nesters but not really social like honey bees; 20% are parasitic on other bees), 30% are wood tunnel and stem nesters and 5% are bumble bees described as social cavity nesters. BC is a Canadian native pollinator species hot spot. It is these pollinators that have pollinated our flowering native herbs, shrubs and trees for 10,000 s of years in the ecosystems of Supernatural BC. Can you guess how much seed they set annually for food for the wildlife for the ecosystems of BC? Seeds develop into plants and produce flowers and berries. These feed the insects which feed the salmon. Salmon feed the people and the bears and eagles taking nourishment into the forest. And I haven t talked about gene flow for genetic adaptation for a changing climate. Their interconnected life cycles and nesting habits create a very reliable, economical, sustainable, effective and efficient POLLINATION MECHANISM over the whole landscape for all species of plants around them. Pre-requisite: adequate nectar and pollen and a place to live and reproduce i.e. HABITAT. For 10,000 s of years our 200+ species of native solitary bee pollinators on the west coast islands and 450 in all of BC sustain the life cycle of 1450 species of native trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennial flowers that provide the energy foundation for the life supporting food webs of the ecosystems of Super Natural BC. The chart provides a grouping of the BC species and their nesting habits. BC IS CANADA S NATIVE POLLINATOR SPECIES HOT SPOT No. of Species and Nesting Habits of Native Bees By Region Native Bees % Species In Group Vancouver Island BC CAN USA GLOBE Total No. of Bee Species Cavity Nesting Bumblebees Ground Nesting Digger Bees Wood & Stem Tunnel Nesters (e.g. mason and leafcutter , % 14? % ,000 25%

7 7 bees) Parasitic Bees 15% Flower Visiting Flies Notes: 1. For 10,000 s of years this pollination guild of native bees pollinated 1450 species of native flowering trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials 2. Cavity nesting bumblebees, historically, are our most important native pollinator promoting ecological integrity and first peoples food production 3. Most native bees species are burrowing ground tunnel nesters 4. Range in size from a few millimeters such as the little carpenter bees to the larger 40 mm bumblebees. Most are around the size or smaller than honey bees, are grey or black, mistaken for flies 5. All species are very fast fliers and difficult to follow and photograph Nature s Pollination Strategy Nature s strategy for pollination of plants in North American is different than how we use introduced honey bees for crop pollination that requires moving many hives to where we need them for pollination. There is no hive or nest movement necessary for pollination in natural systems. As native plants are scatter over the landscape of different plant associations, nests of native bees are also scattered over the landscape found as burrows in the ground, tunnels in wood and stems and in underground cavities sometimes created by small mammals. This is how they survive in our urban and rural settings and thus the beginning point for their conservation. Usually nest sites are close to where flowers grow providing abundant nectar and pollen to raise baby bees. Foraging ranges vary from 50 meters for the small bees up to more than a kilometer for bumblebees, similar to honey bees. The Nature of Our Native Bees and Other Pollinators Our native bees are not hive bees Only honey bees live in large hives with thousands of workers and queens laying thousands of eggs. Native bees are solitary. After mating, each female makes its own tunnel in the ground or in wood beetle tunnels in logs or stems of plants to raise them baby bees. Consequently many native bees are destroyed by movement of soil or wood debris during land development or soil preparation for food production. Each mother bee may raise only 40 to 60 young per season.

8 8 Native bees focus on collecting and storing pollen for protein so they do not make surplus honey although nectar is important as a key energy source. Native bees are better seen as pollen bees. Surprisingly, bumblebees make their cells for storage and brood rearing out of pollen, not honey. The native bees getting nectar and pollen from native plants. Thus native bees have become the most effective and efficient pollinators of our native plants. Honey bees cannot do this very well although they visit native plants for nectar. There is competition between native bees and honey bees for nectar and pollen especially with bumblebees. Fortunately, bumblebees wake up earlier than honey bees and forage under cool cloudy conditions. Native Pollinators are superbly adapted to our climate. Our native bees are superbly adapted to climate and seasonal bloom cycle of native plants. These adaptations make them very effective efficient pollinators of native plants and many crops. Native bees are better at pollination for the following reasons: Native bees use a unique behaviour called buzz pollination to harvest the pollen from flowers that they visit. They clamp onto the base of the anthers of flowers and use their wing muscles to generate ultrasonic vibration of the flowers to cause a mega explosion of pollen from the flowers they visit including plant species that hide their pollen. This means that they can collect more pollen per unit time and pollinate complex flowers like raspberry or plants with hidden flower parts such as cranberry, blueberry and tomatoes and pepper in one visit that would require many visits by honey bees. Native bees are active at cooler temperatures pollinating crops when honey bees are still in their hives. Some are active before sunrise, others pollinate after sunset. All species are highly energy efficient. Bumblebees forage four hours longer per day than honeybees and are commonly seen foraging under cloudy conditions. Honey bees do not fly much when cloudy and cool, bumblebees commonly forage under cloudy skies. Native bees are not inclined to sting. Only a few bumblebees may become defensive and only if disturbed and do not attack like hornets or honey bees. Bees will not sting when foraging and will always flee if disturbed. They sting only if stepped on or pinched. However, the issue of stinging can be avoided by learning to take notice of their presence and teaching young children and immune sensitive persons to do the same. Native bee researchers confirm that they never get stung studying these bees. Native Bee Nesting Habits- A Starting Point for Conservation and Habitat Assessment

9 9 Mated solitary female native bees nest and raise their young in four different places which become important features to observe when assessing pollinator habitat and features to provide when creating habitat. All four types can be found in most locations where native bees live. THE GROUND NESTERS: Seventy per cent of BC native bees nest in the ground. These bees dig tunnels into soil where they raise their young in special made cells thus know as miner or digger bees. Some species are gregarious and nest in the concentrated aggregations a few meters in diameter. Some species share burrows. THE WOOD TUNNEL NESTERS using abandoned tunnels made by wood boring beetles found in old logs or snags or will adapt to using any tunnel like situation e.g under shingles of a roof or wall, in machinery etc. Thirty per cent of BC native bee species nest in wood tunnels and include our orchard mason bees (Osmia sp) and leaf cutter bees (Megachile sp.). THE PITHY STEM TUNNEL NESTERS use plants like raspberry, blackberry, elder berry or sumac. Bees that nest and overwinter in pithy stems include our small carpenter bees (Ceratina sp.) THE (fist sized) BELOW GROUND CAVITY NESTERS i.e. 16 species of semi-social bumblebees (rodent nests, compost piles, insulation, leaves, straw, wood chips, grass tussocks and thickets. New Research Elevates the Importance of BC s Flower Visiting Flies in Pollination of Native Plants and Crops Recent research confirms that flower visiting flies pollinate as much as the bee pollinators plus they provide pest control in our gardens with fly maggots eating aphids etc. Thus the roll and importance of flies has be grossly and erroneously underestimated. Flies are represented by 160,000 species worldwide. 18,200 species are in Canada. There are at least 71 families that visit flowers. The important ones include: Syrphidae, Bombyliidae, Tachinidae, Muscidae, Calliphoridae, Empididae, Chironomidae, Culicidae (male mosquitoes are important pollinators!), Ceratopogonidae (no-see-ums are the ONLY pollinator of cocoa!!) The most important group fly pollinators are the syrphids, 490 species in Canada, 310 known species in BC. Source: Andrew Young, PhD Candidate, Carleton University. Pers. Comm. March 2016,.

10 10 Learning Resources to Name and Indentify Garden Pollinators Mader, Eric, Matthew Shepherd, Mace Vaughan, Scott Hoffman Black, Gretchen LeBuhn Attracting Native Pollinators-Protecting North America s Bees and Butterflies. Storey Publishing. MA. 371 pp. Available from your instructor. See Page Part 1.3 Meet the Pollinators. ID and biology of all pollinators. See Pages Part 3. Bees of North America Wilson, J.S. and Messinger Carril, O.J The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America s Bees. Princeton Univ. Press. 288 Considered the best guide to native bees in gardens in North America. Gordon W. Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Rollin E. Coville, Barbara Ertter California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists. Heyday Press, CA 299 pp. Check out the whole website at This is the text for the Bee Taxonomy Course at UC Berkeley with excellent photos and anatomical keys to common genera. Almost all the information applies to BC. Laurence Packer s Bee Bar Coding Lab photos of our 800 spp of native bees in Canada including the 210 species on Vancouver Island Williams et al Bumblebees of North America Learning Resources for Flower Visiting Fly ID Miranda, G.F.G, Young, A.D., Locke, M.M., Marshall, S.A., Skevington, J.H., Thompson, F.C Key to the Genera of Nearctic Syrphidae. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No. 23, 23 August, A Photographic Key to genera is available online doi: /cjai