Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila)
Abstract Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) are important pollinators and essential for maintaining ecosystem health. The majority of bee species are ground‐nesting, and all bees spend most of their lifetime inside the nest. Still, most studies and monitoring schemes assess wild bees during flower...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Methods in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.70062 |
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| author | Christopher Hellerich Alexandra‐Maria Klein Michael Garratt Michael Mix Anne‐Christine Mupepele Felix Fornoff |
| author_facet | Christopher Hellerich Alexandra‐Maria Klein Michael Garratt Michael Mix Anne‐Christine Mupepele Felix Fornoff |
| author_sort | Christopher Hellerich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) are important pollinators and essential for maintaining ecosystem health. The majority of bee species are ground‐nesting, and all bees spend most of their lifetime inside the nest. Still, most studies and monitoring schemes assess wild bees during flower visitation, allowing no conclusion about their nest sites. Methods for locating and assessing the ground nests of bees are currently limited, hindering scientific progress and conservation efforts. To evaluate and improve methods for locating and assessing ground nests, we combined information from a literature review and our own empirical studies. Methods ranging from established field methods (visual nest observations and emergence traps) to new technological approaches (marking and tracking individuals) are compared in terms of success in catching nesting bees and identifying nest locations, time effort required to implement the methods, and limitations. We provide guidelines and recommendations on the use of the different methods depending on the data requirements and study locations. We also present a novel emergence trap design and two newly developed marking methods, using a radioactive tracer substance and a retroreflective pigment, and show that these methods can be used to successfully locate and assess ground‐nesting habitats of bees. With this work, we address gaps in current research methods and aim to enhance the efficiency of field research that explicitly targets ground‐nesting bees and their nest sites in various environments. By providing a comprehensive overview for researchers and practitioners, we demonstrate how to improve knowledge about the ecology and life history of ground‐nesting bees and thus support efforts for their conservation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ed2fa7551ae6419393bb140f52a0b5bf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-210X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Methods in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-ed2fa7551ae6419393bb140f52a0b5bf2025-08-20T03:28:41ZengWileyMethods in Ecology and Evolution2041-210X2025-07-011671334134910.1111/2041-210X.70062Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila)Christopher Hellerich0Alexandra‐Maria Klein1Michael Garratt2Michael Mix3Anne‐Christine Mupepele4Felix Fornoff5Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology University of Freiburg Freiburg GermanyNature Conservation and Landscape Ecology University of Freiburg Freiburg GermanyCentre for Agri‐Environmental Research University of Reading Reading UKDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg GermanyAnimal Ecology, Department of Biology University of Marburg Marburg GermanyNature Conservation and Landscape Ecology University of Freiburg Freiburg GermanyAbstract Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) are important pollinators and essential for maintaining ecosystem health. The majority of bee species are ground‐nesting, and all bees spend most of their lifetime inside the nest. Still, most studies and monitoring schemes assess wild bees during flower visitation, allowing no conclusion about their nest sites. Methods for locating and assessing the ground nests of bees are currently limited, hindering scientific progress and conservation efforts. To evaluate and improve methods for locating and assessing ground nests, we combined information from a literature review and our own empirical studies. Methods ranging from established field methods (visual nest observations and emergence traps) to new technological approaches (marking and tracking individuals) are compared in terms of success in catching nesting bees and identifying nest locations, time effort required to implement the methods, and limitations. We provide guidelines and recommendations on the use of the different methods depending on the data requirements and study locations. We also present a novel emergence trap design and two newly developed marking methods, using a radioactive tracer substance and a retroreflective pigment, and show that these methods can be used to successfully locate and assess ground‐nesting habitats of bees. With this work, we address gaps in current research methods and aim to enhance the efficiency of field research that explicitly targets ground‐nesting bees and their nest sites in various environments. By providing a comprehensive overview for researchers and practitioners, we demonstrate how to improve knowledge about the ecology and life history of ground‐nesting bees and thus support efforts for their conservation.https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.70062emergence trapsflower stripsground‐nesting wild beesnest densitynesting habitatoverwintering |
| spellingShingle | Christopher Hellerich Alexandra‐Maria Klein Michael Garratt Michael Mix Anne‐Christine Mupepele Felix Fornoff Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) Methods in Ecology and Evolution emergence traps flower strips ground‐nesting wild bees nest density nesting habitat overwintering |
| title | Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) |
| title_full | Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) |
| title_fullStr | Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) |
| title_short | Beneath the buzz: Quantifying nest locations and densities of ground‐nesting wild bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) |
| title_sort | beneath the buzz quantifying nest locations and densities of ground nesting wild bees hymenoptera anthophila |
| topic | emergence traps flower strips ground‐nesting wild bees nest density nesting habitat overwintering |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.70062 |
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