For #PollinatorWeek2021 we’re excited to showcase some fun info about bee pollinators, especially ones we work with in the López-Uribe Lab. Today is all about squash bees!
A thread:
Squash bees are ground nesting solitary bees that pollinate plants in the genus Cucurbita, such as pumpkins, squash, zucchini, and other gourds.
Squash bees do look similar to honey bees but ecologically they are very different. Honey bees live in huge hives and squash bees are solitary. Here are tips to help you tell them apart
There are 22 species of squash bees!
Squash bees have expanded across North America in the last 5000 years along with the domestication of a variety of the plants they pollinate.
More about that in our 2016 research paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.10…
Squash bees spend most of their life underground feeding on the pollen their mother gathered for them.
If you'd like to learn more about squash bees check out the booklet we put together on them: lopezuribelab.com/squash-bee-bio…
That's all about squash bees for now, learn more about our research at our website :) lopezuribelab.com
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