An updated understanding of Texas bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) species presence and potential distributions in Texas, USA

Abstract

Texas is the second largest state in the United States of America, and the largest state in the contiguous USA at nearly 700,000 sq. km. Several Texas bumble bee species have shown evidence of declines in portions of their continental ranges, and conservation initiatives targeting these species will be most effective if species distributions are well established. To date, statewide bumble bee distributions for Texas have been inferred primarily from specimen records housed in natural history collections. To improve upon these maps, and help inform conservation decisions, this research aimed to (1) update existing Texas bumble bee presence databases to include recent (2007–2016) data from citizen science repositories and targeted field studies, (2) model statewide species distributions of the most common bumble bee species in Texas using MaxEnt, and (3) identify conservation target areas for the state that are most likely to contain habitat suitable for multiple declining species. The resulting Texas bumble bee database is comprised of 3,580 records, to include previously compiled museum records dating from 1897, recent field survey data, and vetted records from citizen science repositories. These data yielded an updated state species list that includes 11 species, as well as species distribution models (SDMs) for the most common Texas bumble bee species, including two that have shown evidence of range-wide declines: B. fraternus (Smith, 1854) and B. pensylvanicus (DeGeer, 1773). Based on analyses of these models, we have identified conservation priority areas within the Texas Cross Timbers, Texas Blackland Prairies, and East Central Texas Plains ecoregions where suitable habitat for both B. fraternus and B. pensylvanicus are highly likely to co-occur.

Incorporating citizen science, museum specimens, and field work into the assessment of extinction risk of the American Bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus De Geer 1773) in Canada

“…Our study was the first to combine citizen science data with expert-collected and historic data to examine the status of a Bumble bee species across its Canadian range (citzen science data has been used for Bumble bees in Vermont (Richardson et al 2019), Texas (Beckham and Atkinson 2017), and the UK (Lye et al 2012). The data from Bumble Bee Watch was particularly valuable as it represented 20% of the recent (2007-2016) records of B. pensylvanicus (10/50 records) and 36% of the recent B. pensylvanicus locations (8/22 sites), even with the program not having been launched until 2014.…”

“…Although most insect taxa require physical specimens to be collected in order for identifications to be made (Kremen et al 2011), Bumble bees can sometimes be identified to species by photos (Lye et al 2012;Richardson et al 2019;van der Wal et al 2015;Beckham and Atkinson 2017; The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Wildlife Preservation Canada, York University, et al 2017). For example, 75% of the Bumble bee observations submitted to the iNaturalist Vermont site were identified to species through photos (Mcfarland et al 2016), and, as of January 31, 2018, 86% of all Bumble bee observations that had been submitted to Bumble Bee Watch and reviewed by an expert were identified to species (those records that were assigned a tentative identification were considered to not be identified to species, and both pending and invalid submissions (those that were not actually Bumble bees) were excluded from this analysis) (The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Wildlife Preservation Canada, York University, et al 2018).…”

“…Previous work in the UK with the BeeWatch program (Lye et al 2012;van der Wal et al 2015), the Texas Bumblebees Facebook page, and the iNaturalist Bees and Wasps of Texas project (Beckham and Atkinson 2017) suggests that citizen science projects based on photo submissions of bees can capture data complementary to that collected by experts and assist in learning more about, and tracking changes to, species over time. Bumble Bee Watch is a web-based citizen science program where participants photograph Bumble bees anywhere in North America, upload the photos and relevant site information to a website or through a hand held device, and work through an interactive identification key to arrive at a species name, which experts then verify (The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Wildlife Preservation Canada, York University, et al 2017).…”

Conservation Conundrum: At-risk Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.) Show Preference for Invasive Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) While Foraging in Protected Areas

“…Latreille populations of particular species have declined globally in recent decades (Williams 1986, Kearns et al 1998, Colla and Packer 2008, Bartomeus et al 2013, Beckham and Atkinson 2017). A portion of North American bumble bee species have been found to be in decline (Grixti et al 2009, Bartomeus et al 2013, Beckham and Atkinson 2017), including species once abundant in southern Ontario, Canada (Colla and Packer 2008, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Colla et al 2012). Threats to bumble bee populations include habitat loss and land-use changes, climate change, pathogen spillover from managed bees, and pesticide use (Thorp and Shepherd 2005, Colla 2006, Grixti et al 2009, Szabo et al 2012, Colla 2016).…”

“…In the field of conservation biology, a variety of strategies have been designed, recommended, and implemented upon various wildlife populations (Ebenhard et al 1995, Primack 2008, Winfree 2010), with a focus on habitat establishment and maintenance (Cameron et al 2011, IUCN 2016, Beckham and Atkinson 2017). Primack (2008) argues that for protected areas management to be successful it must be adaptive to the results of ongoing research.…”