Keeping a look out for bees, dragonflies and crane flies native to Davis
By AMBER WARNKE — features@theaggie.org
Davis is home to countless insect species, including varieties of spiders, bees, butterflies, dragonflies and more. Despite their small size, insects can have a huge impact on the ecosystem as a whole, maintaining healthy soil, controlling pests, pollinating plants and assisting in decomposition.
The valley carpenter bee, or Xylocopa sonorina, for instance, is an incredibly important pollinator in the local ecosystem, according to Abigail Leonard, a UC Davis third-year entomology Ph.D. student. They can be spotted by their golden fluffy hair, which covers the males of the species, who are unable to sting. The females look very different from the males, lacking the signature hair the males are identified by.
“The females are these very large, striking, black bees with a shiny abdomen,” Leonard said.
These bees can be found in the wooden rafters at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen in Downtown Davis, where the males stay to defend territory while seeking a mate, according to Leonard.
Another bee species common in Davis is the blue orchard bee, although they are less common than the valley carpenter bee, according to Leonard.
“It’s a little on the warm side here for them, but you can find them, and they’re striking metallic blue bees that are used for spring orchard pollination in addition to being native to the area,” Leonard said. “They pollinate almonds, stone fruits, apples and pears.”
These bee species are solitary, living outside of hives, and lacking any queen bee that hive bees have. This is not uncommon among bees; While honeybees, which live in hives, are the first thing many people think of when they think of bees, over 90% of the North American bee species are solitary.
Some students hoping to care for some of these species put out “bee hotels,” a bee-equivalent of birdhouses, providing nesting space for solitary bee species. However, these structures can do more harm than good if not properly maintained, as they spread disease among bees unless they are routinely cleaned.
“You should clean [bee hotels] out in the fall to remove any parasites or predators,” Leonard said. “Otherwise, it [can] accidentally become a parasite and pathogen hotel.”
Alexia Martin, a fourth-year entomology and nematology Ph.D. student, suggested that another way students can support local bee populations is by just being aware of their importance to the ecosystem.
“I think having a general respect for them and what they do [is important], so I would recommend just going outside and observing different types of bugs,” Martin said.
Native bees are especially important to environmental well-being because 75% of North American plant species require insect pollination, with native bees being the primary pollinators to many plant species. Martin said that any students with more questions about bees are welcome to direct message her on Instagram page, @entomolexie.
Martin also recommended that in order to support native bees, people can plant more native plants. 20 to 45% of native bees are “pollen specialists,” meaning they only harvest pollen from one species or genus of plants. If the plant they collect pollen from goes away, they do, too.
“By providing a variety of native plants, you’re giving them kind of like a buffet,” Martin said.
Moving on to different bug species in Davis, Kaitai Liu, a fourth-year entomology major, highlighted the crane flies common in Davis, which are sometimes mistaken for giant mosquitos, which can cause alarm.
“They don’t bite, they don’t do anything, they don’t even eat as an adult, so don’t worry about those things,” Liu said.
Crane flies only eat in larvae form, when they consume decomposing vegetation and plant roots. This makes them very important decomposers that keep the ecosystem in balance.
Christopher Brothers, a sixth-year animal behavior Ph.D. student, focuses on dragonflies and has studied which species live in Davis and where to find them.
“Right now is the ideal time to start finding dragonflies and damselflies, they’ll come more and more out in the summer,” Brothers said. “Northstar Park is the place to go — and occasionally you can find me out there as well, to find some of the coolest dragonflies and damselflies.”
Brothers has spotted a variety of dragonflies in Davis, including flame skimmers, blue dashers, common green darners and pale-faced club skimmers. In addition to being beautiful, these insects benefit humans by eating common pests such as mosquitos and gnats. They are also environmental indicators, as their population levels can show scientists when water ecosystems change.
For these reasons, it is important to be careful around these insects and keep them safe.
“Try not to disturb nature too drastically, like [not] pushing through off-trail areas that disturb the vegetation, because a lot of that is delicate ecosystem that these organisms will live in,” Brothers said.
While students come outside to enjoy the warm spring weather, they can know that insects all around Davis are doing the same. Students who keep their eyes out for them will be sure to see an ecosystem of important critters supporting the environment we all live in together.
Written by: Amber Warnke — features@theaggie.org
