Assessing the impact of pest monitoring traps on Bombus griseocollis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony growth and development

Morgan Christman1, Harold Ikerd2, Harold Ikerd3

1 Ohio State, 2501 Carmack Road, 43210, Columbus, United States; 2 USDA-ARS, 5310 Old Main Hill, 84322, Logan, United States; 3 

Corresponding author(s): Morgan Christman (christman.181@osu.edu), Harold Ikerd (Harold.ikerd@usda.gov)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Christman M (2022): Assessing the impact of pest monitoring traps on Bombus griseocollis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony growth and development. v1.4. USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research. Dataset/Occurrence. https://bison.usgs.gov/ipt/resource?r=colony&v=1.4

Abstract

Insect traps use visual and olfactory cues to attract target pests; however, they
vary in their specificity and often unintentionally capture non-target beneficial insects
(bycatch), including Bombus. Concerns have been expressed that bycatch may contribute
to Bombus mortality and the consequential loss of pollination services. Here, we
quantified the impact of trap captures on Bombus griseocollis colony growth and
development by evaluating the following four treatments: colonies paired with traps,
colonies paired with traps and pheromone lures, traps and pheromone lures (but no
colonies), and colonies with no trap and no lure. Trap contents were collected biweekly to
determine B. griseocollis capture rates. Colony growth and development data were
collected weekly by weighing colonies and recording foraging activity. Based on
microsatellite polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, three B. griseocollis were
collected from released colonies, while the remaining five were residents within the
environment. Given the low number of B. griseocollis workers collected, any differences
in colony weight change and active foraging were likely not a result of pest monitoring
trap captures. However, trap captures could have a greater impact by interfering with
functional diversity, colony establishment, and pollination services, emphasizing the need
for additional research. Building on this research will provide a more comprehensive

view of the impact of pest monitoring traps on Bombus populations, which could
minimize risk to pollinator populations and pollination services.

Keywords: Occurrence

Project details

Project title: Assessing the impact of pest monitoring traps on Bombus griseocollis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony growth and development
Personnel: Morgan Christman, Harold Ikerd

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.us/resource?r=colony

Taxonomic coverage

Taxonomic ranks
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Bombus

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: Cache and Box Elder counties in northern Utah
Coordinates: 40°37'59.81''N and 41°54'53.1''N Latitude; 112°8'32.03''W and 111°48'46.76''W Longitude 

Natural collections description

Parent collection identifier: Not applicable
Collection name: USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Museum

Methods

Method step description: na
Study extent description: This study was conducted in corn (Zea mays Linnaeus) fields in Cache and Box
Elder counties in northern Utah in 2020 and 2021. Corn fields were selected following
U.S. Department of Agricultural, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA
APHIS) approved methods for H. armigera pest surveillance (CAPS 2022). The four
treatments occurred with five randomized replicates in 2020 (n = 20) and four in 2021 (n
= 16) (N = 36). For treatments i-iii, two multi-colored bucket traps (International
Pheromone Systems, Cheshire, United Kingdom) were placed in each field 5 m and 100
m away from the Bombus colony and 1.5 m above the ground. A single pheromone lure
for H. armigera was placed within the lure basket of the trap canopy for treatments ii and
iii. An insecticide strip (Hercon Vaportape II: 10% dimethyl 2,2-dichlorovinyl phosphate,
Hercon Environmental Corportation, Emigsville, PA) and a small, cellulose sponge were
placed inside each bucket to kill the captured insects and absorb rainwater, respectively.
Insecticide strips and H. armigera pheromone lures were changed every 28 days
throughout the collection period following USDA APHIS approved methods for pest
surveillance (CAPS 2022). Trap contents were collected biweekly (treatments i–iii), and
colony-only fields (treatment iv) were net surveyed (36-cm diameter insect net, Bioquip,
Compton, CA) over a ten-minute time period both 5 and 100 m away from the colony to
survey the resident Bombus community and identify B. griseocollis collected from the
released colony while foraging.
Sampling description: Colonies were monitored weekly from the time of deployment until September
each year. Each week, the nest was weighed to the nearest gram and the number of
workers entering and exiting the nest was recorded over a 10-minute time interval. Data
collections occurred between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to comply with land and
homeowner restrictions. This resulted in the concern that colony weights may be
underestimated since workers forage during this time. Therefore, colonies were also
weighed in the evening (between 7:00 and 9:00 pm) in 2020, and we found no significant
difference in daytime vs. nighttime weights. All collected specimens were stored in a
freezer (-18˚C) until they were pin-mounted, labeled, and identified to species. All
captured female B. griseocollis were then subjected to DNA extraction and microsatellite
PCR amplification.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Assessing the impact of pest monitoring traps on Bombus griseocollis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony growth and development
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.us/archive.do?r=colony
Publication date of data: 2023-06-13
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2022-03-18
Hierarchy level: Dataset