Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Baker, Gerald T.

Committee Member

Brown, Richard L.

Committee Member

Layton, Blake

Committee Member

Collison, Clarence H.

Committee Member

Batson, William E.

Date of Degree

5-3-2008

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Entomology

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

Abstract

This research presents the results of a bee survey (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in remnants of the Mississippi Black Belt Prairie, a unique physiographical region that is a threatened community covering 14,141 square kilometers in both Mississippi and Alabama. Sampling was performed with sweep nets and Malaise traps. A total of 151 visits were made to several prairie remnant areas during the years 1999 – 2001 with 92 Malaise trap samples. Historical bee collection data from these prairies were incorporated into this survey. A total of 6,140 specimens resulting in 107 species, 51 new state records and eight disjunct species were collected within five bee families: Colletidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Apidae. The most abundant species belonged to the Halictidae. The most common floral families visited were Asteraceae and Fabaceae. The addition of the species in this survey brings the state list of bees to at least 204.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/17323

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