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Pollination on the Dark Side: Acoustic Monitoring Reveals Impacts of a Total Solar Eclipse on Flight Behavior and Activity Schedule of Foraging Bees

C. Galen,Zach Miller,A. Lynn,Michael Axe,Samuel Holden,Levi Storks,Eddie Ramirez,Emilia Asante,David Heise,S. Kephart,Jim Kephart

Published 2018 in Annals of the Entomological Society of America

ABSTRACT

Abstract The total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 traversed ~5000 km from coast to coast of North America. In its 90-min span, sunlight dropped by three orders of magnitude and temperature by 10–15°C. To investigate impacts of these changes on bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) pollinators, we monitored their flights acoustically in natural habitats of Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Midwest regions. Temperature changes during the eclipse had little impact on bee activity. Most of the explained variation (R 2) in buzzing rate was attributable to changes in light intensity. Bees ceased flying during complete darkness at totality, but flight activity was unaffected by dim light in partial phases before and after totality. Flights of bees during partial phases of the eclipse lasted longer than flights made under full sun, showing that behavioral plasticity matched bee flight properties to changes in light intensity during the eclipse. Efforts of citizen scientists, including hundreds of school children, contributed to the scope and educational impact of this study.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2018

  • Venue

    Annals of the Entomological Society of America

  • Publication date

    2018-10-10

  • Fields of study

    Biology, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1093/aesa/say035
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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