Enhancing wild bees in cities: Practical approaches for gardeners. Dr. Scott MacIvor Assistant Professor April 27 th PDF Free Download

Enhancing wild bees in cities: Practical approaches for gardeners Dr. Scott MacIvor Assistant Professor April 27 th 2017

Bees for pollination services

Bees for pollination services Insect pollination: Pollen exchange

Honey bees?

Honey bees? Provincial bylaw: Honey bees are not legal to house 30m from a residential space in Ontario. Promoting honey bees does not improve biodiversity

Overview: Bee Families of Toronto (and RI..) Apidae (40+ species) -Honey bees, Bumble bees, Carpenter bees Halictidae (80+ species) -Sweat bees, Green bees Andrenidae (60+ species) -Mining bees Colletidae (50+ species) -Plasterer bees, Cellophane bees Megachilidae (40+ species) - Leaf cutter bees, Mason bees, Wool Carder bees

Wild bee lifecycle: Bumble bees

Wild bee lifecycle: Solitary bees

Overview Forage Nest Nest Material

Overview Forage

Forage

Forage: Reduce bee handling time!

Forage: Flowers all season

Forage: Vision colour matters!

Forage: Nutrition

Nesting Nest

Nesting: Above ground or below it?

Nesting above ground

Cut stems long; keep and bundle

Nesting above ground

Nesting below ground

Nesting below ground -?-PERCENT SAND Cane, 1991

Nesting below ground

Bare, open ground, no mulch!

Bare, open ground, no mulch! Quistberg et al. 2016 Quistberg et al. 2016

Nesting below ground

Nesting below ground: Toronto

Nesting materials Leaves, mud, resins, pebbles to construct brood cells.

Nesting materials A B C D E F G H I J K L MacIvor (2016) R Open Sci.

Nesting materials MacIvor (2016) R Open Sci.

Nesting materials: Plastics? Plastic shopping bag Window caulking MacIvor & Moore (2013)

Findings: Nesting resources Introduced bee has broader leaf preference Megachile rotundata PD=2.97 Megachile rotundata pd=2.97 Megachile centunctularis pd=1.51 Megachile pugnata pd=1.22 Megachile centuncularis PD=1.51 Megachile pugnata PD=1.22 Celastrus scandens Euphorbia dentata Securigera varia Lotus corniculatus Robinia pseudoacacia Caragana arborescens Melilotus albus Desmodium canadense Amphicarpaea bracteata Cercis canadensis Carya cordiformis Rubus occidentalis Fragaria virginiana Rosa blanda Rosa virginiana Rosa glauca Rosa multiflora Rosa palustris Crataegus macrosperma Prunus avium Prunus virginiana Rhamnus cathartica Tilia cordata Acer platanoides Acer saccharum Rhus typhina Oenothera biennis Oenothera parviflora Oenothera pilosella Epilobium ciliatum Epilobium parviflorum Lythrum salicaria Ribes hirtellum Vitis riparia Cornus stolonifera Cornus racemosa Artemisia biennis Symphyotrichum novae angliae Solidago canadensis Rudbeckia triloba Helianthus annuus Convolvulus arvensis Ipomoea hederacea Stachys palustris Syringa vulgaris Cynanchum rossicum Chenopodium album Silene vulgaris Fallopia convolvulus Chelidonium majus Setaria viridis MacIvor (2016) R Open Sci

Findings: Nesting resources Native bee uses different leaves than introduced bees M. pugnata (Native) Bray Curtis pair-wise distance 0.75 0.90 M. centuncularis M. rotundata * MacIvor (2016) R Open Sci

Findings: Nesting resources Native bee uses different leaves than introduced bees All plants selected have antimicrobial properties! M. pugnata (Native) Bray Curtis pair-wise distance 0.75 0.90 M. centuncularis M. rotundata * MacIvor (2016) R Open Sci

Re-cap Plant flowers - lots of them Observe bare soil patches; avoid mulch Rockeries and south facing slopes Bundle cut stems; prune woody plants for bees Talk to neighbours and councillors and let them know what you are up to!

How to help: Talk to your neighbours!

How to help: Talk to your councillors!

City Action: Toronto Pesticide Ban

Re-cap Forage Nest Nest Material

scott.macivor@utoronto.ca @jscottmacivor Thank you. Questions?

Enhancing wild bees in cities: Practical approaches for gardeners. Dr. Scott MacIvor Assistant Professor April 27 th 2017