Utah ecologists have confirmed that “bee hive condition” withstands the name

Wildlife conservation is important to maintaining the biodiversity and health of the planet. However, putting together a maintenance plan is a high order. First of all, you need to determine the species you are conserving, their numbers, habitat needs, threats, and how they fit into complex ecosystems.

As pollinators of native plants and edible crops, honeybees play a pivotal role in our ecosystem, according to ecologist Joseph Wilson at Utah State University. He and undergraduate researcher Anthony Hansaker took Hercules’ task of documenting Utah bee species using online occurrence records from the Arthropod Network’s Symbiota collection, as well as specimen records housed at the USDA-ARS Polining Insect Research Unit on USU’s Logan Campus.

They discovered the nickname “Beehive” and properly described the diversity of bees in the Western states, and presented colleagues and colleagues Terry Griswold and USDA-ARS Polining Insect Research Unit and USU alumni Olivia Messinger Khalil (Biology ’00, MS’06), and “Bees” Terry Griswold.

“In total, we recorded 1,167 species in Utah,” says Wilson, an evolutionary ecologist and associate professor at the USU TOELE’s Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center.

Hunsaker, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Natural Resources from USU Tooele in May 2024, says documenting as many bees as possible is important for accuracy.

“We want our research to express the truth and inform conservationists,” said Magna, a native of Utah who graduated from Cyprus High School in 2018. “This is important for conservation efforts.

Among other courses, Hansaker, who teaches wildlife research classes at public middle schools, says the checklist will serve as a baseline to help conservationists identify bee specimens and determine whether new bees are identified in Utah and serve as a warning if the species disappears from the nation.

“Our checklists help scientists and managers understand the distribution of bees, which is essential to protecting these important pollinators,” he says. “This information will help managers limit the negative impact if new invasive species are introduced.”

Wilson says state-level checklists are useful because conservation efforts and policies are often carried out at the state level.

“Several North American state and state-level bee species have been published, but they are rarely present in arid western states where bee diversity tends to be high,” he says. “Our findings highlight Utah as one of the most bee-rich regions. We estimate that our state could have up to 1,500 bee species.”

A first-generation university graduate, Hansaker says he was involved in undergraduate research because he wants to continue his future graduate studies.

“Dr. Wilson introduced me to research and graduate school possibilities, and when I was brainstorming ideas for projects I could work on, the Utah Bee Breed List really stood out to me,” he says. “I knew the list could be extremely kind and valuable to those working on conservation. I was excited to be involved in our efforts to protect wildlife.”

Hunsaker says the project taught him that research is common and repetitive, but that completing tasks and being published is “very rewarding.”

“It’s very beneficial to be involved in undergraduate research because it’s open to what this process is and how it looks,” he says. “Even though I didn’t plan on going to graduate school, I learned and put into practice patience, problem-solving, critical thinking and analytical skills. These are all qualities that can be applied in future research and workforce.”