Wing venation characteristics are fundamental for defining and classifying insects. In bees these characteristics are relatively conserved, but the patterns between groups remain poorly understood. We employed geometric morphometrics to assess variation in wing venation across bees taxa. Geometric morphometrics allows for detailed shape analysis of wing structure, which may provide insights into evolutionary relationships. By digitally landmarking homologous wing vein characters of a diverse sample of bees, we quantified and compared phenotypic variation in order to assess whether the resulting morphological clusters reflect evolutionary divergence and align with established phylogeny. This study assesses the potential of geometric morphometrics to infer the phylogenetic placement of indeterminate bee species based solely on wing vein patterns and provides an effective pathway for species identification.

Presented at the UCSB EEMB Undergraduate Research Symposium 2024

The purpose of this research project is to investigate how rising temperatures, for instance climate change, can affect bees of various body sizes given their essential role in the global food supply through pollination of agricultural crops. To achieve this I utilized 3D imaging and 3D modeling techniques to calculate surface area-to-volume (SA/V) ratios of the bees that otherwise cannot be obtained using conventional methods. SA/V ratios were calculated for 4 different families (Halictidae, Colletidae, Apidae, and Megachilidae) in the order Hymenoptera and were analyzed alongside the bee’s Critical Thermal Maximum (CT Max) data, the maximum heat a bee can withstand before losing mobility, to gain insight on the bee's ability to survive in extreme hot temperatures. It is evident from the data that larger bees, characterized by smaller SA/V ratios, presented a higher CT Max suggesting their greater chance of survival in higher temperatures than smaller bees due to less heat exchange relative to their body size. This data implies that with earth’s rising global temperatures larger bees will likely perform better than smaller bees.

This poster was presented at the UCSB Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships (CSEP) summer colloquium in 2023.

Understanding the relationship between physiological factors on social behavior in bees is critical to understanding their ecological dynamics. This study investigates the relationship between body mass, ovary size, Dufour’s gland size, and chill coma recovery time in female Xylocopa tabaniformis bees. Analyses reveal a significant predictive relationship between bee body mass and both ovariole length and Dufour’s gland length. Body mass does not emerge as a significant predictor of CCRT, suggesting other factors as better predictors for thermal tolerance. Conflicting conclusions arise regarding CCRT as a function of physical trauma or age, emphasizing a need for further investigation. Future research should expand the scope of species studied, and the timing of the study to include pre-reproductive female bees. The findings of this study provide insight into the physiological underpinnings of bee sociality and highlight the complexity of bee ecological dynamics.

This poster was presented at the UCSB URCA colloquium in Spring 2024. 

This study investigates the impact of anthropogenic land use on the body size of bees across 18 different species. Adult bee body size, primarily influenced by developmental nutrition, is significantly affected by the availability of floral resources. Developed land often has reduced floral diversity and density is hypothesized to produce smaller bees due to limited food resources. Specimens from the UCSB Invertebrate Zoology Collection were categorized based on their collection sites into three land use types: developed, agricultural, and forest using USGS National Land Cover Database. Measurements of head width, intertegular distance (ITD), and dry mass were taken to assess body size. A body size index was calculated as the average of these measurements. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were done in Python version 3.12.4. Results indicate that bees from agricultural habitats are significantly larger than those from developed and forest habitats across all metrics (head width, ITD, dry mass, and body size index). These findings highlight the influence of landscape changes on bee functional traits, providing essential insights into the ecological consequences of land use on bee health.

This poster was presented at the UCSB CSEP summer colloquium 2024.