Data from: A century of wild bee sampling: historical data and neural network analysis reveal ecological traits associated with species loss.

<p dir="ltr"><b>Contemporary data (2017/2018): </b>An open area on the north side of the ESGR (GPS coordinates: <a href="" target="_blank">42.461808</a>, -84.011128) was the primary site for this study as it corresponds to the location of “Evans’ Old Field”, one of the areas historically sampled for bees. The field was described by Evans as a 7.7 ha abandoned field with a mid-successional community of plants surrounded by oak-hickory woods. It is now 1.3 ha of semi-open habitat with significant encroachment of the surrounding oak-hickory woods and invasive autumn olive (<i>Elaeagnus umbellata</i> Thunb.). The site was visited every other week during the summers of 2017 and 2018 to sample bees. In 2017, the first sampling day was June 1 and the final sampling day was September 25. In 2018, the first sampling day was May 8 and the final day was October 3. We expanded sampling in 2018 to include a wider diversity of bees with narrower phenological periods.</p><p dir="ltr">During each visit we sampled bees using three methods. First, we walked to the center of the open field and randomly selected a direction to start the first 25 meter transect. Three other 25 m transects were then established based on the first one, each at a 90-degree angle from the neighboring transect for a total of 100m sampled, with each transect segment moving away from a central location. Each transect was walked for 10 minutes each, a total of 40 minutes of sampling. We used aerial insect nets to collect bees found within 1.5m of the transect, and time was stopped for specimen processing. The host plant was recorded for all specimens captured from flowers. Flowering plants were identified to the lowest taxonomic level in the field using Newcomb’s guide and the PlantNet app, usually to species. Second, we spent 20 minutes collecting bees from plants of any species in the general vicinity of the open field. Third, to most closely match the methods used by Evans (see below), we spent 30 minutes sampling bees at each of the primary blooming plant species located in the field. Total time spent conducting this final sampling method varied based on the number of primary blooming plants at each visit, with a minimum of 30-minutes if there was only one primary plant. This sampling method was always done last, and included any plants that we collected more than one bee from that day. All bees were identified to species (or lowest possible taxonomic level) using relevant keys. All specimens collected in 2017 and 2018 are currently held in the Isaacs Lab at Michigan State University (as of 2024), and will eventually be deposited at the A.J. Cook Arthropod Collection at Michigan State University for long-term inclusion in that collection.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Historical data (1921-1999):</b> The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Insect Collection (UMMZI), Ann Arbor, MI, holds over 4,000 bee specimens from the historical collections at the ESGR, and specimens were databased as part of this study. Historical data were checked for entry errors and outdated taxonomies. Specimens with questionable species determinations were re-examined and re-identified using relevant keys (see above) where possible. Bees that could not be confidently identified to the species level were excluded from the dataset, and entries that were missing the date of collection were also removed. Excluded entries accounted for less than 1% of the specimens. There were notable gaps in records at the ESGR, as there were no focused survey efforts since Evans’ last efforts in 1989, and only occasional specimen records from 1990-1999. There were no surveys and no records for the ESGR after 1999 and prior to this study in 2017/2018. All specimens from the ESGR were included in this dataset, not only those specifically collected at the Evans’ Old Field.</p><p dir="ltr">In addition to the 4,000 plus records from the ESGR since 1921, we also include Evans’ dataset from his 1972 and 1973 collection effort. Evans’ original dataset from 1972/1973 was available through UM records. The dataset is unique compared to the records from the museum, because Evans did not always collect observed bees if he was confident in their identification (especially <i>Bombus</i> spp. and oligolectic species, e.g., <i>Andrena rudbeckiae</i> Robertson, 1891 and <i>Dufourea monardae</i> (Viereck, 1924)), and these records come only from the site now called Evans’ Old Field, whereas the exact sampling locations within the ESGR of many other specimens in the collection are not known. Therefore, his original dataset provides a more complete representation of the community he encountered at the Evans’ Old Field location.</p><p dir="ltr">Evans describes his sampling as: “records of the dates and duration of flowering were made at frequent intervals (2-3 days every week) throughout the flowering season…Observation of visitation by bees was usually made between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm and on any given day was limited to a maximum of 30-40 minutes per flower species…no orderly system of monitoring was developed. More attention was given to abundant resources when they were being heavily visited than was paid to them near the beginning or end of their flower periods or to less frequently encountered species".</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Please open the README file first, which has descriptions of each included data file.</b></p>

Tags: bees, native-bees, wild-bees
Organization: Department of Agriculture