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Ella Eleven1, Gwenyth Sailer2, Joshua Rinehart2, Joseph Rinehart3, Julia Bowsher2

1Department of Biological Sciences, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM

2Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND

3USDA ARS, Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, ND

Artist Meets Architect: Color Nesting Preference of M. rotundata

BACKGROUND

  • Megachile rotundata or alfalfa leafcutting bees (ALCBs) are solitary bees that nest gregariously in farming settings
  • Commercial nesting blocks are manufactured with patterns believed to help bees locate their nest
    • This involves shape, color, orientation, and contrast

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  • Nesting preference has been studied with regards to cardinal direction, temperature, plant quality, and pattern, but color is underexplored
  • Establishing nesting preference for color may help ALCB farmers

HYPOTHESIS

  • Color and stripe orientation will have an effect on the nesting preference of Megachile rotundata

PREDICTION

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  • We predict the most nesting in the pink, purple, and yellow rows, and the least nesting in the red row
  • Bees place more importance on vertical landmarks, so we predict more nesting in vertical blocks than horizontal

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

  • ALCBs nested equally in all colors but preferred horizontal orientations of some colors, suggesting ALCBs have nesting preferences
  • Number of uncompleted nests and nest completion time was not affected by color or orientation
  • Commercial nesting block colors and pattern were selected for budget and branding purposes, not necessarily bee preference
  • Improved nesting block design may contribute to solitary bee conservation efforts

FUTURE WORK

  • Colored straws, other UV reactive paints, and more complex patterns
  • Temperature measurements would show if paint color impacts nest microclimate
  • Observing blocks for disorientation and number of females nesting
  • Larger scale blocks with individual patterns

METHODS

  • Bees obtained from commercial supplier
  • Released into nesting blocks:
    • 3 randomized patterns
    • 2 orientations: vertical and horizontal
  • Monitored daily for new and finished nests
  • Straws were categorized by:
    • Color
    • Orientation
    • Box location
  • Experiment ended after 3 weeks

CONTACT INFORMATION

Ella Eleven - rottingpiethesquid@gmail.com

Gwenyth Sailer - gwenyth.sailer@ndus.edu

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Reaghan, Saumya, Ava, Joey, and the rest of our wonderful cohort for their support and for making this summer memorable

REFERENCES

Photos: Crop Wild Relatives, iNaturalist contributors

Guédot, The relative importance of vertical and horizontal visual cues in nest location by Megachile rotundata

Horridge, Pattern Vision of the Honeybee (Apis mellifera): Blue and Green Receptors in the Discrimination of Translocation

ori: F=5.63 P<0.001

col: F=0.940 P=0.503

ori: F=5.73 P<0.001

col: F=0.94 P=0.502

ori: F=1.26 P=0.259

col: F=1.16 P=0.321

ori: F=0.25 P=0.984

col: F=2.05 P=0.0.61