Meeting Abstract

P2-36   -   Biodiversity of Native Bees in Grayson Co., Texas Nichols, KD*; Berggren, BA; Goodavish, FS; Garcia, L; Austin College, Sherman, TX Knicho5@gmail.com

Native bee populations are on the decline worldwide, this trend is predicted to affect the native ecosystems and our agricultural needs. Therefore, close monitoring is necessary for the survival of our ecosystems. We investigated bee diversity in a Blackland prairie ecosystem, the original ecosystem of North Texas. Surveys were completed at a prairie restoration site, Edith Sneed Prairie in Grayson County, as well as at the Austin College campus to compare how bee diversity may differ between restored and urban landscapes. We captured bees using active sweeping techniques so we could also take metadata of the plants the bees were found on. Also employed yellow, white and blue bee bowls in plots as a passive survey technique. In June and July 2021 we captured 155 bees, from 30 species in 4 families. The most abundant bees we observed the restoration site were larger bees from Halictidae and Apidae, while the most abundant bees we observed at the urban site were smaller bees from Halictidae, subgenus Dialictus. Metadata from community projects, such as iNaturalist, was also compiled to create a more comprehensive list of bee diversity in the study location.