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Dunes Buzzing Over New Bee Research

A recent study of bees in northwest Indiana reveals the importance of fire and open landscapes to this diverse group of animals.

Ralph Grundel, research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, led a team of specialists in an examination of more than 160 native species of bees to see how they are affected by fire, changing habitat, and availability of nesting materials in and around the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

The one-year survey was conducted in five habitats that varied in the amount of trees and shrubs they contained: grassland, savanna, woodland, scrubland, and forest. Grundel’s team found that the number of bee species increased as the concentration of trees and shrubs in an area decreased — that is, more species favored the open habitats of grasslands and savannas. They also found that the number of species increased in sites that had been burned more frequently.

The researchers also investigated other factors affecting bees, such as availability of dead wood, an important nesting material. The study found that bee diversity increased in areas with greater amounts of dead wood.

Grundel also found that species richness in bee populations changed dramatically over short distances and changes in the landscape, suggesting that habitat restoration in even small areas can make a big difference for bees.

Our native bees, most of which are solitary and docile, are not easy to study. One species in the study gathered pollen from a flower that opened only at night. Some species hadn’t yet been named and described by science. And males of several species were collected for the first time ever. “Sometimes even the experts don’t know how to identify some species,” explains Grundel, who adds that while this is not unusual for insects, it’s an added obstacle.

Grundel’s team hopes to one day establish a nationwide study of bees to assess large-scale trends in native populations. Observed declines in commercial bee populations since the 1970s, as well as the recent emergence of Colony Collapse Disorder in colonies of the honeybee (a nonnative species), have heightened the need for monitoring of native bee populations, which also serve as important plant pollinators. Grundel is up to the task.

“Working with insects can be particularly interesting because the activities of insects are typically hidden from casual observation,”says Grundel. “There’s a lot going on. When you realize how much of nature is hidden from us, it becomes a privilege to obtain an insight few others enjoy.”

— Katie Chelminski