Methods Location:

Brentwood California in Contra Costa County is in the East bay. The climate is dry and can range from seventy to

one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the terrain is flat and with sandy to sandy-loam soils. The Farms that

are taking part of this ongoing research is a combination of organic farms and conventional farms. The lab

surveys: Enos Family Farm, Dwelley Farm. Frog Hollow, Brookside, Peter Wolfe, and Knoll Farm. Each farm has

a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and a many farms keep honeybees.

Pan Trapping

This method is used to collect baseline data at the farms. Each pan is one of three colors, florescent Blue,

florescent yellow, and white. These are laid out in a line of alternating colors in flat open sunny areas near

flowers. The pans are half filled with a soap/water solution; the soapy water ratio is one tablespoon of Dawn

soap to a gallon of water. After the pan traps have soapy water added to the pans the observer waits for four

hours. During this time the observer takes notes of bee activity in neighboring plants and does aerial collection.

When collecting pan traps, a strainer is used to separate the insects from the soapy water; the specimens are

stored in Ziploc bags until further processing.

Introduction “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth,

Man would have only four years of life left.” –Albert Einstein

One third of the food we eat starts with pollination. Pollination is the reproduction of plants, which

requires the aid of insects and birds. Pollination occurs when birds and insects touch the

reproductive parts of a flower and collects pollen on their body, then visits a neighboring flower of

the same species. Fruit yielding plants are dependent on pollinators to successfully reproduce.

Then, the plant produces seed and fruit that people and many other animals may consume. 80%

of fruits and vegetables in California are pollinated by bees, and without pollinators, our food web

would collapse.

Most pollinators are insects and more importantly, bees. Native bees often go unnoticed because

they are not easily packaged in boxes like honey bees. Honey bees also have the sweet benefit

of producing large quantities of honey. California native bees have evolved with California native

plants, for thousands of years; whereas honey bees are invasive species introduced from Europe

(there are 9 species of honeybees). Native bees are effective pollinators; some species have a

90% successful pollination rate, while honeybees only have a 30% pollination rate (pers. comm.

G.W. Frankie 2011). The bees do a great service to us and to our environment by pollinating the

food that we eat, but we are doing so much that is limiting their habitats and food sources.

Native bees face several environmental challenges brought on by humans such as: climate

change, habitat fragmentation and invasive species. Climate is dramatically changing and is

becoming a greater threat to all native bee species. Whether it is drought or unexpected

downpours in the middle of June, bees are thinning in numbers. The second issue that bees face

is habitat fragmentation; which is when the living space of an organism becomes sparse from

dramatic changes in the environment.

California Native Bee Diversity and Abundance in Brentwood Contra Costa Co. Farms

Sarah Anderson, Marissa Ponder, Dr. Gordon W. Frankie

Abstract There are more than 1,600 species of bees in California, and many are being displaced from climate change, habitat fragmentation and invasive species. The numbers of bees that are seen each season is dwindling. The urban bee lab is a team of researchers who study, conserve, and promote native bee populations. Their mission is to survey and evaluate ecological relationships of native California bee species and their flowers in selected agriculture and urban ecosystems. The lab has two main studies, the California Urban Statewide Survey and the Brentwood native bee farm project. The methods of aerial collection and pan trapping are used to collect baseline data every year to evaluate diversity and abundance of bees in those studies. These collections are made throughout the spring and summer seasons when bees are the most abundant. This poster focuses on the Brentwood native bee project which seeks to attract native bees to serve as supplemental pollinators to honey bees by adding native bee habitat through plant and nesting materials.

Results This ongoing research project will last for several years. Last year the Urban Bee Lab planted bee-friendly plants and collected baseline data by using pan trapping and aerial collection methods at the Brentwood farms. This year the lab again used pan trapping and aerial collections. Thus far, the lab is seeing an increase in the diversity of bees.

Introduced this year was Geographical Information System (GIS), it’s a system for storing and manipulating geographical information on a computer. General GIS data from satellites has been implemented to make maps of the Brentwood farms. This is also an ongoing project that will supply geographical references to the current work in Brentwood farms.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank Marissa Ponder for always answering any and all inquiries I would have throughout this summer, helping out on this project, and to thank her for being a great mentor. I would also like to thank fellow lab assistants Furai and Claudia for their support in the projects. Thank you to the farms in Brentwood for taking part in this project. And a very special thanks to Dr. Gordon Frankie for providing literature, wonderful memories that I would take with me for the rest of my life, and for being the best professor ever!

Discussion/Conclusion Research on these farms will provide information on host plants that are able to attract native bees in agricultural settings. This project will also compare the

attractiveness of supplemental gardens in conventional farms versus organic farms. Supplemental gardens are expected to increase the diversity and abundance

of bees. The expected diversity of bees is validated through previous samplings from several years of research throughout California. For now, the Urban Bee

Lab is processing data and plans on continuing long term research with these farms.

In this season alone, there has been a statewide decline in the diversity and overall abundance of California native bees. This decline can be a result of several

factors such as climate change, fragmented habitat and invasive plant and animal species. In addition to unexpected downpours, in this past summer it was been

unseasonably cool. Native bee habitats are fragmented due to urbanization. And invasive plant species out compete native plants for resources, limiting the

number of native plants available for our native bees.

These environmental challenges that the bees face every day can be limited. First is to consider an eco-friendly approach on many things that we do on a daily

basis. A smaller carbon footprint can make a difference. Secondly, our population will continue to grow, urbanization is a necessary component of that growth.

That land was once occupied by native bees, so give back by supplying food (attractive native and non-native plants) and some bare soil for them to nest (please

not so much mulch). Lastly, choose to grow plants that are well adapted to the climate, for California that means drought tolerant plants, this also helps lower

water bills. Do this, and the bees will come.

Resources Frankie, Gordon W., Robbin W. Thorp, Jennifer Hernandez, Mark Rizzardi, Barbra Ertter, Jaime C. Pawelek, Sara L. Witt, Mary Schnidler, Rollin Coville, and Victoria A. Wojcik. "Native Bees Are a Rich Natural Resource in Urban California Gradens." California Agriculture63.3 (2009):

113-20. Print.

Packer, Laurence. Keeping the Bees: Why All Bees Are at Risk and What We Can Do to save Them. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.

Reel, Susan. Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants. Print.

Vance, Eric. "In the Key of Bee." Bay Nature: An Exploration of the San Francisco Bay Area Spring 2009: 17-23. Web.

"What's the Buzz about Bees?: Without Bees, There Would Be No Cherries, Melons, or Almonds. In Berkeley Campus Garden, Researchers Are Working to Make Sure the World's Top Pollinators Keep Busy." Interview by Lynn Horowitz. Print.

The main cause of habitat fragmentation is from urbanization. Many native bees (~70%) are solitary

ground nesting bees that need bare soil to easily dig tunnels under the ground to build their nests. With

urbanization several acres of prime nesting habitats are lost. [GF4] Urbanization also introduces non-

native plant species that are starving out the native plant population. Invasive plants make it difficult for

native bees to find their preferred pollen and nectar sources.

Knowing that urbanization is growing throughout California, Dr. Frankie’s Urban Bee Lab has set out to find

the plants that are most attractive to native bees that can be used in urban settings. The lab provides a list

of the best native and selected non-native plants that are highly attractive to California native bees. The

Urban Bee Lab has collected this information throughout California over the past ten years in urban cities.

Most recently in 2009 they have set up an ongoing experiment incorporating this information into native

bee habitats at six farms in Brentwood California (Contra Costa County).

Project Goals:

How will supplemental gardens with known attractions to native bees affect the diversity and abundance

of those bees, and how will the numbers differ between organic and conventional farms?

Aerial net collection

While waiting for the pan traps a method of aerial net collections is used to get a broader survey of the native bees in that area, and to note bee-plant

relationships. For this method of collection the necessary equipment is: a net, a killing jar with cyanide or Ethel acetate, a notebook, and collection jars (the size

of film canisters). For this type of collection you must know the local plant taxonomy, or at least have an expert later identify plant samples. Before you collect

take note of the temperature, and wind speed. Also use the notebook to note the activities of bees that you were not able to collect. This method is not meant for

collecting as much as you can, but rather trying to collect a large variety. For example, if you caught a Bombus vosnesenskii ‘yellow faced bumble bee’ off of a

California poppy, avoid collecting more of that bee off of that plant.

Frequency counts

The lab uses frequency counts in Oxford garden at UC Berkeley, and occasionally at the Brentwood farms. To do this method of data collection there needs to be

a meter square patch of flowers. Equipment required fir this method is: a notebook, and a watch. For this method the observer needs to know local plant

taxonomy and native bee characteristics. Before counting bees note the scientific name of the plant, location, temperature, wind speed, and nearby flowering

plants. Some rules to abide by: Only count bees that enter the plant and touch the pollen part of the plant; if a bee leaves the patch and then re-enters, count that

bee again; and, be sure to stand three feet or more away from the patch to not scare the bees away. Record number of bees you see landing on the plant’s

reproductive parts for three minutes. Step away for one minute, and repeat process eleven more times. When finished there should be twelve counts for one

patch of flowers.