June 2022 EcoQuest: Unfamiliar Pollinators

WHAT TO OBSERVE:

Let’s celebrate Pollinator Week, June 20-26! Pollinator Week is an annual event celebrated internationally in support of pollinator health. This citizen science project is hosted by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s (NAPPC) Urban Pollinator Taskforce.

In addition to this month’s EcoQuest, we encourage you to join the Pollinator Week BioBlitz

Any and all examples of the lesser-known insect pollinators, like native bees, wasps, flies, beetles and true bugs, as well as the host or nectar plants on which you might find them. When it comes to pollinators, people often think of honeybees and butterflies, but native bees, wasps, flies, beetles and true bugs also play a critical role in pollination. Arizona alone has about 1,300 native bees!

Bees that aren’t honeybees

• Leafcutter and mason bees (Megachile and Osmia spp.)
• Bumblebees (pictured above; Bombus and Psithyrus spp.)
• Sweat bees (Agapostemon, Augochlorella, and Halictus spp.)
• Mining bees (Andrena and Perdita spp.)
• Long-horned bees (Melissodes, Svastra, and Synhalonia spp.)
• Squash bees (Peponapis and Xenoglossa spp.)
• Carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.)
• Yellow-faced bees (Hylaeus spp.)
• Cuckoo bees (Nomada and Triepeolus spp.)
• Digger bees (Centris spp.)

True Bugs 

• Stink bug (family Pentatomidae)
• Wheel bug, leaf-footed bug (pictured above; family Coreidae)
• Bordered plant bug (family Largidae)
• Assassin bug (family Reduviidae)
• Planthopper (family Delphacidae)

Observing lesser-known insect pollinators can increase our knowledge, understanding and appreciation of pollinators and can contribute to observation, population and distribution information. Observing the plants these insects are visiting can also help us better understand plant-insect relationships.