As an early career environmental scientist, you’ve been tasked with researching bees in the Chicago area
as part of a case study on urban agriculture and pollinator conservation. There are excellent resources at
your disposal through the following partner organizations:
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Xerces Society’s Pollinator resource center: http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/
Chicago Botanic Garden: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/conservation/bees
University of Illinois Chicago: http://atlas.las.uic.edu/atlas/2011/12/studying-bee-pollinators-toaid-urban-agriculture
Bee Spotter: http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu/
In addition to exploring around and using these resources, you’ll need to identify and suggest at least
two additional/original resources as you research and report on the following bees:
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Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)
Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens)
Rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis)
Brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis)
For each bee species, you’ll need to record the following life history traits, preferences, and ecological
functions:
1) Brief description of the species physical appearance.
2) Where is this species’ native home? (e.g., Old world (Eurasia), New World (Americas) and
location in each if known).
3) What is the flight period for this species?
4) What is its body size?
5) What is its known foraging area/distance?
6) What is the species’ preferred nesting habitat?
7) What are its preferences for floral resources? (Note there may be known differences for queens,
workers, males.)
8) What are the major crops pollinated by this species in the Great Lakes area? Chicago?
9) Is this species common in IL? What is its conservation status?
10) Are there know management recommendations for this species? If so, please describe them.
Describe the traits above using complete sentences; it’s fine to organize your write up using bullets,
outline, or numbered list format. Please include a reference section with correct citations for the
references above, as well as the additional resources that you include (minimum of 2 required). For a
reference format guide commonly used in Conservation Biology and Ecology publications, please review
the reference guide on the class website.
References cited:
Xerces Society (2011). Attracting Native Pollinators-Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies.
Story Publishing, North Adams, MA.
Xerces Society (2013). Pollinator Conservation Resource Center. Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation, Portland, OR. Available from http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/
(accessed August, 2013).