Meeting Abstract

P3-141   -   Warming nest microhabitat promotes earlier flight in a solitary bee Earls, KN*; Dockey, AJ; Rinehart, JP; Greenlee, KJ; North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND; Eastern University, St Davids, PA; Insect Genetics and Biochemistry, USDA-ARS, Fargo, ND ; North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND kayla.earls@ndsu.edu

In ectotherms, such as insects, temperature can influence flight behavior. Unfavorable temperature conditions may limit flight, which could have downstream effects on reproduction and pollination. Nest microclimates may buffer insects from lower ambient temperatures and help promote flight by increasing their body temperature. Megachile rotundata is a managed pollinator for alfalfa and other crops across a wide range of latitudes but is limited in northern latitudes due to climatic factors. Megachile rotundata nest in Styrofoam domiciles in agricultural settings which consist of abundant cavities for nesting. To test the hypothesis that nest microclimate is a better predictor of flight when conditions are suboptimal, a nest box made of wood and aluminum tubing was created based on commercial nesting boxes to increase the nest temperature and record daily videos. The augmented nest box was programmed using Arduino to heat up to 30°C from 6am-11am daily. Internal nest box and ambient temperatures were recorded to SD cards. GoPros were programmed using a BlinkX controller to record videos from 7-11am daily for 19 days to capture first flight of individual M. rotundata. Results showed that the temperature inside the nest box was warmer than the ambient temperature even in the control box (p < 0.0001). Bees flew approximately 39 minutes earlier in the heated box than the control (p < 0.0001). When M. rotundata flew earlier in the morning, ambient temperatures were lower than those recorded during later bee flights (p < 0.0001). These results suggest that the nest microclimate is an important factor for flight determination when ambient temperatures may be unfavorable.