The Parasitic and Microbial Communities Associated with the Cactus Bee Diadasia Patton

Diadasia (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a genus of solitary bee that has evolved to specialize in the pollination of many North American cactus species, including two endangered species that rely on Diadasia to be their most effective pollinator. These bees are also host to a diverse array of intriguing parasites that, due to their co-evolution and symbiosis, rely on Diadasia as an obligatory resource for their own propagation. These parasites are either parasitoids (parasites that eventually kill their host) or kleptoparasites (parasites that steal host resources). These parasites have evolved complex methods for finding their host bees, including beetle larvae that hitchhike to the nest on adult bees, and flies that hover over bee nesting areas to shoot their eggs inside nest openings. These parasitic associates of Diadasia are understudied, and the documented parasitic associations rely largely on inferred interactions. Another important and unexplored component of Diadasia is the composition of their developmental microbiome. This “microbiome” is comprised of numerous bacterial and fungal species, interacting with the collected pollen to alter the nutritional profile of the pollen. These nutritional manipulations are even more crucial to pollen-specialists like Diadasia, as many species have evolved a preference for plants bearing nutritionally-poor pollen. My research aims to characterize both the parasite and microbial communities associated with these important pollinators, through use of modern molecular and genetic tools.