DOI: 10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx82
title: Data from: Thermal tolerance in the cellophane bee <em>Colletes inaequalis</em> reflects early spring adaptation and is independent of body size and sex

description: Colletes inaequalis Say is a univoltine, ground-nesting solitary bee and
 one of the first pollinators to emerge in the North American springtime.
 Males emerge earlier and are smaller than females. Despite its role as a
 pollinator of early spring wild plants and crops, the thermal ecology of
 C. inaequalis remains unexplored. We assessed its lower (CTMin) and upper
 (CTMax) critical thermal limits and chill coma recovery time, testing the
 effects of sex and body size (fresh body mass and intertegular distance,
 ITD). We also compared these thermal traits to those of the European honey
 bee (Apis mellifera), a similarly sized species active during the same
 season. Given that C. inaequalis males sometimes emerge before floral
 resources are available and that snowfall can occur after their emergence,
 we examined whether food deprivation and repeated or prolonged cold
 exposure impair their ability to recover from chill coma. We found that
 males and females of C. inaequalis exhibit similar thermal limits, and
 neither CTMin nor CTMax increased with ITD. Body mass did not affect chill
 coma recovery time. Colletes inaequalis was significantly more
 cold-tolerant but less heat-tolerant than honey bees, recovering much
 faster from chill coma. Repeated cold exposure significantly impacted
 recovery time, while food availability was the primary factor influencing
 male survival. These findings suggest that C. inaequalis is
 physiologically adapted to early spring conditions, in contrast to honey
 bees, which likely rely on social and behavioral mechanisms to cope with
 low temperatures. Our results suggest that bee communities may exhibit
 thermal tolerances that align with their seasonal activity periods.
description: # Thermal tolerance in the cellophane bee Colletes inaequalis reflects
 early spring adaptation and is independent of body size and sex
 **Filename: ColletesChill.csv** Descriptions for each column in the
 dataset: * Year - collection year - Vial -vial number identifier * Date -
 Day/Month/Year - Location - University of Kansas Campus * Species– Bee
 species - Sex - Male (M) or Female (F) * ExpTime - Time (hours) in which
 bees were exposed to 0 Celsius - RTm - Recovery time (minutes) * BMmg -
 Fresh body mass at the begining of the test (miligrams) **Filename:
 ColletesClimate.csv** Descriptions for each column in the dataset: *
 Datetime - Day/Month/Year followed by HH:MM:SS - Day - day number after
 setting up the sensors * Temperature - Celcius degrees - RH - Relative
 humidity (%) * Location - University of Kansas Campus **Filename:
 ColletesCondition.csv** Descriptions for each column in the dataset: *
 Vial -vial number identifier - Date - Day/Month/Year * Location -
 University of Kansas Campus - Species– Bee species * Sex - Male (M) or
 Female (F) - ExpTime - Exposure time to 0 Celcius, either 1 hour or 2
 hours * Condition - Fed or Unfed after first measured of recovery time -
 Time - Time post-exposure when recovery time was measured (0 =upon
 collection, 24, 48, and 72 hours after) * CCRT - Chill coma recovery time
 (in minutes) - BeeMass - Fresh body mass of bees upon collection and prior
 measurement of first chill coma recovery time **Filename:
 ColletesOperative.csv** Descriptions for each column in the dataset: *
 Date - Day/Month/Year Time: hh:mm:ss - Operative - Operative temperature
 (Celcius). We used a dead, dried male of C. inaequalis as operative
 temperature model. * Ambient - Ambient temperature (Celcius). We recorded
 it under the shade by placing a thermocouple inside a solar radiation
 shield. **Filename: ColletesSurvival.csv** Descriptions for each column in
 the dataset: * Vial -vial number identifier - Date - Day/Month/Year *
 Location - University of Kansas Campus - Species– Bee species * Sex - Male
 (M) or Female (F) - ExpTime - Exposure time to 0 Celcius, either 1 hour or
 2 hours * Condition - Fed or Unfed after first measured of recovery time -
 Time - Time post-exposure when recovery time was measured (24, 48, and 72
 hours after) * Event - 0 = alive, 1 = dead **Filename:
 ColletesThermal.csv** Descriptions for each column in the dataset: * Year
 - collection year - Vial -vial number identifier * Date - Day/Month/Year -
 Location - University of Kansas Campus * Species– Bee species - Sex - Male
 (M) or Female (F) * CTMin - Critical thermal minimum (Celcius) - CTMax -
 Critical thermal maximum (Celcius) * ITD - Intertegular Distance
 (millimeters)