SWRS Trip, Days 1-2: to Portal, AZ

Hollis and I are taking a trip to the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona to join up with the Bee Biodiversity Initiative folks and collect some bees.

We are attempting to collect larvae from a broad range of bee taxa as part of a comparative study of larval development in bees. When we heard that the world's preeminent bee larvae expert, Dr. Jerome (Jerry) G. Rozen, Jr. of the AMNH, would be there, we knew we had to go.

On the way to Portal we stopped in Tucson and dug up some Diadasia rinconis (cactus bee; family Apidae) larvae from a large nesting aggregation. Patches of the aggregation were clearly done nesting, whereas others had newly-emerged females and many patrolling males. At this site we also saw large emergence holes of Centris pallida (pale digger bee; family Apidae) where the males actively dig down to extricate and mate with emerging females. Although we didn’t find any Centris nesting there, we did see many males patrolling for females nearby.

After a stop for tamales (so good) and a stop to meet some puppies (so cute) we were back on the road. We made it to SWRS despite a dust-storm closure of I-10, and are eager to learn all we can and dig all the nests while we’re here. 

                                                                                  - Kristal