Wild Bee Pollinator Surveys in Prairie-Grassland Habitats

Wild bees are important for their pollination services and for their contribution to species diversity; for example, many prairie-grassland plant species require pollinators for seed production. However, while the importance of plant-pollinator interactions is well recognized, there are large gaps in our knowledge of Minnesota’s wild bees. The only statewide list of bee species was published in 1919 and it reported only 88 species, whereas it is currently estimated that there are approximately 350-400 native bee species in the state. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is using this appropriation to conduct field surveys throughout the prairie-grassland region of MN to document the diversity and distribution of wild bees and related vegetation diversity and quality in order to assess the current status of wild bees and provide a baseline for comparing to past and future data. This information will be used to refine conservation and management decisions to enhance bee pollinator populations and prairie-grassland habitat. Future efforts could further expand knowledge by extending surveys into forested and forest-transition regions of the state.