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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #392260
Research Project: Optimizing Oilseed and Alternative Grain Crops: Innovative Production Systems and Agroecosystem Services

Location: Soil Management Research

Title: Abundance and diversity of bees visiting flowering pennycress, a new oilseed crop in the Midwestern USA

Author
item FORCELLA, FRANK - Retired ARS Employee
item PORTMAN, ZACHARY - University Of Minnesota
item WELLS, SAMANTHA - University Of Minnesota
item PERRY, WILLIAM - Illinois State University
item Gesch, Russell - Russ
item Mohammed, Yesuf
item HOERNING, CODY - University Of Minnesota
item HARD, ALEXANDER - University Of Minnesota
item WESLEY, THAD - Western Illinois University
item PHIPPEN, WINTHROP - Western Illinois University

Submitted to: Great Lakes Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/7/2023
Publication Date: 8/9/2023
Citation: Forcella, F., Portman, Z.M., Wells, S.S., Perry, W., Gesch, R.W., Mohammed, Y.A., Hoerning, C., Hard, A., Wesley, T.L., Phippen, W.B. 2023. Abundance and diversity of bees visiting flowering pennycress, a new oilseed crop in the midwestern USA. Great Lakes Entomologist. 56(1):99-107. https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.2450.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.2450

Interpretive Summary: Pennycress is a new winter annual oilseed "cash cover crop" for the upper Midwest that is related to canola. It flowers very early in the spring and bees are attracted to its flowers, but little is known about the genus and species composition of these bees. A study was conducted across two field sites in Illinois and three sites in Minnesota where pennycress was grown to systematically capture bees during flowering to identify their genus and species. A total of 28 different native and domestic bees were identified that visited pennycress flowers. Furthermore, the abundance and diversity of bees was found to be closely and negatively associated to the percent of land area devoted to annual cropping (e.g., corn and soybean production) in close proximity to pennycress. Including pennycress production in Midwest cropping systems may help enhance the abundance of bees and other pollinators. This research is of value to apiarists, ecologists, conservationists, Natural Resource Conservation Service personnel, and Upper Midwest growers interested in alternative crops that can promote pollinator abundance and diversity.

Technical Abstract: Oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) is a new, autumn-sown, “cash cover crop” for the Midwestern USA and elsewhere. It flowers in early spring when few other plants bloom, and its flowers attract early-emerging native bees. However, the taxonomic composition of these bees was unknown. Consequently, we systematically captured and identified the genera and species of bees visiting pennycress flowers throughout anthesis at five site-years: two in Illinois and three in Minnesota. A cumulative total of 28 bee species were found across site-years. The most common bees were Andrena (10 species), Lasioglossum (12 species), and Halictus (2 species). Rarer genera were Apis, Ceratina, Hylaeus, and Nomada. Bee abundance and diversity were related closely and negative-exponentially with percent land area devoted to annual cropping. The inclusion of new early flowering crops, such as pennycress, may enhance bee abundance, especially if even small areas of uncropped land are nearby.