Browsing by Author "Evans, Elaine"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Befriending Bumble Bees: A Practical Guide to Raising Local Bumble Bees
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2007) Evans, Elaine; Burns, Ian; Spivak, Marla
    Methods for rearing native bumblebee, Bombus impatiens, in confinement. The methods can be used to rear bumblebee colonies for backyard garden pollination, for commercial hot-house pollination of tomatoes, for cranberry and blueberry growers, and to help with native prairie restoration projects.
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    Bumble Bee Survey Protocols
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2020) Evans, Elaine; Forsberg, Britt
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    Complete data and statistical code for: Diversity of bumble bees and butterflies in Minnesota roadsides depends on floral diversity and abundance but not floral native status
    (2024-01-25) Darst, Ashley L; Verhoeven, Michael R; Mitchell, Timothy S; Evans, Elaine; Tonsfeldt, Luke; Kjaer, Savannah; Snell-Rood, Emilie C; darstash000@gmail.com; Darst, Ashley L
    The goal of our study was understand how roadside pollinator communities respond to planting pollinator-friendly seed mixes in roadsides in Minnesota, USA. We used a field study of mixed-age roadside plantings to assess this response by comparing bumble bee and butterfly communities in roadsides planted with status quo non-native seed mixes to those planted with pollinator friendly, native seed mixes. We show that while pollinator diversity is positively related to floral diversity in roadside plantings, the pollinator diversity in roadsides planted with pollinator-friendly native seed mixes was not different from those planted with status quo non-native seed mixes. This repository contains the complete datasets as a comma-separated-value files and Program R code necessary to replicate the data prep, exploration, analysis, and visualizations presented in the manuscript.
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    Cost-Effective Roadside Revegetation Methods to Support Insect Pollinators
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2022-08) Mitchell, Timothy; Verhoeven, Michael; Darst, Ashley; Evans, Elaine; Cariveau, Dan; Snell-Rood, Emilie
    Roadsides contain promising habitat for insect pollinators, yet roadside restorations can be expensive and are rarely evaluated for effectiveness. Where do we establish pollinator-friendly revegetation to maximize benefits? How effective are current revegetation practices at providing habitat for pollinators? We address these questions with two studies. Chapter 2 examines the impact of roadside-adjacent habitat that has been identified as pollinator-friendly for bumble bees. We use pollinator habitat maps to examine associations between the amount of nearby pollinator-friendly habitat and bumble bees (abundance and richness). We also regroup land covers to more specifically align with bumble bee habitat needs and compare the ability of both land cover categorizations to predict bumble bee metrics. This study can help refine predictors in mapping efforts to prioritize locations for pollinator habitat enhancements. Chapters 3 and 4 combine detailed insect and floral surveys of sites with known revegetation history to test efficacy of current revegetation methods for providing habitat for insect pollinators. We show which plants establish after seeding and how communities change as they age. We find that native flowering plants are more likely to establish in roadsides when they are planted, but native and non-native seeded sites converge in the plant community through time. Bumble bee and butterfly abundance and diversity is tied to flowering plant abundance and diversity, regardless of their status as native plants. This work identifies where pollinator-friendly restorations should be implemented and how current seeding practices could be modified to improve benefits to pollinators while reducing costs.
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    Driven to Discover Citizen Science Curriculum Guide: Pollinators and the Great Sunflower Project
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Thompson, Ami; Strauss, Andrea L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Kooman, Michele H.; Evans, Elaine; Andicoechea, Jonathan; Blair, Robert B.
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    Episode 127: To Bee or Not To Bee
    (2023-10-08) Atherly-Larsen, Maya; Evans, Elaine; Tolentino, Stephen
    The Bee Lab is a research center focused on promoting bee education and conservation with projects like pollinator gardens at the U.
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    Episode 9 Pollinators and IPM Part 1: Elaine Evans, Native Bee Expert: What's Killing My Kale?
    (2018-08-10) Klodd, Annie; Hoidal, Natalie; Evans, Elaine
    In our August episode on pollinator and beneficial insect conservation as part of IPM, we talk with Extension educator and native bee expert Elaine Evans, and Xerces society conservation planner Karin Jokela. We'll discuss some background on how pollinators and beneficial insects are faring in our current agricultural systems, how farmers can implement beneficial habitat, and some tips for managing pests without harming beneficial insects. 
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    Land uses that support wild bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) communities within an agricultural matrix
    (2016-12) Evans, Elaine
    My main aim in this thesis was to explore if there are habitat elements within the agricultural matrix that support bee diversity and abundance. I examined the influence of land-use on bee diversity in a predominantly agricultural landscape at sites varying in habitat thought to be bee-friendly, such as semi-natural lands, grasslands, and crops providing bee forage. I sought to determine whether and to what extent these potentially bee-friendly land uses support diverse bee communities. Bees found near crops not providing forage, including corn, soybean, and wheat, had less functional diversity. Bees found near semi-natural lands that contained flowers providing bee forage had increased functional diversity. Wooded areas were associated with increased bee species richness and bee abundance, and wetlands were associated with greater bee abundance. Crops providing bee forage were associated with increased bee species richness and diversity. Altering land management practices to promote retention and enhancement of these land uses will help support diverse wild bee communities within agricultural matrices. I also compared responses of wild bees and commercially managed honey bee colonies to bee-friendly land uses. Both honey bees and wild bees responded positively to semi-natural lands and crops providing bee forage. Examination of past and present bee and floral visitation records revealed a 16 to 30% loss of species richness. The bee genera Lasioglossum, Mellisodes, Halictus, and Ceratina increased in relative abundance more than 50%, while the genera Bombus, Megachile, and Colletes, decreased in relative abundance more than 65% and the genus Andrena decreased in relative abundance by 47%. The plant genera that received the most bee visits from 2010 to 2012 were Melilotus, Sonchus, and Cirsium, while the plants with the highest number of bee species visitors were Solidago, Cirsium, and Sonchus. The plant genera Zizia, Hydrophyllum, and Dalea all received more visitation in the past. This survey of flower visitors revealed a community in need of conservation with a remaining species pool to enable recovery given improvements in available habitat.
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    Monitoring and Habitat Assessment of Declining Bumble Bees in Roadsides in the Twin Cities Metro Area of Minnesota
    (University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2019-06) Evans, Elaine; Boone, Michelle; Cariveau, Dan
    Several bumble bee species have declined dramatically, including the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis. Roadsides offer a unique opportunity to increase habitat for these declining species. The objectives of this study are to: (1) characterize the bumble bee community and floral availability within roadsides in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, metro area, (2) estimate detection probabilities and occupancy for bumble bees using occupancy modeling, (3) determine the effort needed to detect rusty-patched bumble bees, and (4) examine the relationship of the bumble bee community to the surrounding landscape. We use rapid and broad-scale sampling at randomly selected locations. Despite overall low floral abundance, many bumble bee species, including rare and declining species, use roadsides. Occupancy models predict rusty-patched bumble bees occupy 4% of sites, with a 30% chance of detection if it is at the site. We recommend performing nine surveys in a single season to be 95% sure that B. affinis is detected if it is there. Bumble bee abundances and species numbers increase with more wooded area and floral cover. Crops are negatively associated with bee abundance, species numbers, and the presence of rare bumble bees. Our management recommendations for roadsides to support rare and declining bumble bees are: (1) incorporate additional bumble bee forage, (2) when weed control requires elimination of flowering plants, replace with bumble bee forage, (3) use our estimates for occupancy and abundance as a baseline to assess conservation efforts for bumble bees within roadsides in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.