The Distinctive Bee Fauna (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) of Sandhill Habitat at the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in North-Central Florida

Abstract

We conducted surveys of wild bee diversity at the University of Florida Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (OSBS) in Putnam County, north-central Florida, using colored cups (bee bowls; pan traps) and netting from flowers including Balduina angustifolia (Pursh) Robins and other Asteraceae and the legume Dalea pinnata (J. F. Gmel.) Barneby. The 5462 bees captured comprised 76 species in 29 genera and five families. Megachilidae was the family represented by the most species, whereas Halictidae included the five most numerous species. Notable differences in species composition and abundance from the bee fauna found in adjacent Alachua County included the presence of several rarely collected autumnal species associated with sandhill habitat such as Colletes howardi Swenk, a new state record for Florida, and Trachusa (Heteranthidium) fontemvitae (Schwarz) and its probable cleptoparasite Stelis (Heterostelis) grossa (Mitchell). Males of Florida endemic species Colletes longifacies Stephen and Perdita (Hexaperdita) blatchleyi Timberlake were discovered and are briefly diagnosed, as is a possible new species of Perdita (Cockerellia). In general, the bee fauna of OSBS is quite different from that of sites further south in Florida but shares apparent sandhill specialist species with Southern Pines in North Carolina, a site of historical interest due to extensive surveys by T. B. Mitchell. Striking differences between the bee community and their floral hosts of OSBS from those of relatively well-sampled sites in nearby Alachua County highlight the need to inventory species-level diversity in different landscapes.