D3236: Bee community assemblages in agricultural and natural plots

Bees provide pollination services and play the most important roles in food security and environmental sustainability. There are no alternatives of native bee community to pollinate plant species, both agricultural and wild. While agriculture depends on these pollinators, certain management practices can lead to their decline. This experiment is designed to survey the bee species in both natural and agricultural plots in Kentland farm (part of Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station owns by Virginia Tech Campus) to determine the makeup of bee community in the respective plots. From the end of April to the beginning of August, three agricultural and three natural plots will be sampled to compare and contrast their wild bee community assemblages. Pan traps and standardized sweeping aerial nets will be used to sample the bee community. Bee specimens will be well curated (pinned, labelled, and preserved) with relevant host plant information. They will be identified by using relevant taxonomic literatures (keys) and interactive identification guides (color plates). Data collected will be compiled to understand plant-pollinator networks, species richness and species abundance in the Kentland farm. It will help us in determining impacts of agricultural practices on bee community assemblages by comparing variation among plot types and replicate sites.