The Combination plot (two species per plant family) at the UT Arboretum has 3 out of 6 plants flowering! We chose to have a garden that represented all three study plant families to test whether mixing up the floral community affected pollinator visitation. Here are a few pollinators we found on the plants. From left to right: Combination plot, Baptisia albescens with a hardworking bumble visiting, and a beetle eating up some Lanceleaf Coreopsis pollen.
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One of Dr. Russo’s bee related interests is the microbiome of ground nesting bee nests. How deep do you think a bee can dig in hard, rocky soil? I’ll tell you, it’s way deeper than you think. I found a series of Andrena nests while walking around a local mountain biking trail called Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area in Knoxville. I immediately sent the pictures to Dr. Russo and the next day we spent over 7 hours (!!!) digging up an Andrena nest looking for any pollen that the female bee brought to her nest. We were close, but after about 35 inches, we encountered a large boulder, and the bee dug along the side of the rock making it challenging for us to follow her nest. We heard buzzing, but no hardworking lady in sight. Sadly, we went home empty handed, but with a new appreciation for these ladies. If that doesn’t sound deep, it’s the equivalent of a human digging 380ft with their bare hands (Dr. Russo did the math 😊 ) . Top left: Two nest entrances I found on the trail. Evidence to send to Dr. Russo
Top right: Another piece of evidence for Dr. Russo. Look at that bee booty! Bottom left: We started digging and following her trail with blue chalk. Bottom right: Our progress after 7 hours.... Two more plants started flowering in the Feed A Bee plots! Another mint plant, Blephilia subnuda, and one of our asters, Coreopsis lanceolata! We'll begin pollinator collections on these beauties throughout the entirety of their flowering period. From left to right: Blephilia subnuda, Cumberland Woodmint. Coreopsis lanceolata, Lanceleaf Coreopsis.
We are so happy to welcome Destiny Matheson to the Russo Lab!
Destiny is an undergraduate in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Entomology & Plant Pathology. Destiny will be helping out with fieldwork this summer and working on her own research project matching morphologic traits of native bees and our native study plants. Looks like she's already getting along with the ladies at the Platerau AgResearch Center! |