| This study generated a baseline inventory of insect pollinators, with particular attention paid to native bees, at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute's landsite four miles south of Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, Texas, from August 2006 through August 2008. Additionally, from April through August 2008, the most important insect pollinators, the native bees, were examined more closely and, using a pan trap survey, native bee diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute's (CDRI) Botanical Gardens was compared to that found in surrounding native grasslands. Insect pollinators for the baseline survey were collected by aerial net on 85 sampling days, totaling 309 hours. Specimens for the bee diversity comparison were collected by arrays of pan traps set up in two different habitats in order to compare their bee diversity. One habitat was the semi-artificial, florally abundant Botanical Gardens, and the second habitat was the more natural and florally sparse, surrounding, semidesert grasslands. Pan traps were sampled for one day every two weeks, April through August 2008, a total of 10 sampling days. Specimens were deposited in the Jim V. Richerson Invertebrate Collection at Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas. Net-collected samples yielded 251 taxa. Pan trap-collected samples revealed greater abundance and diversity in the Grasslands habitat than in the Botanical Gardens habitat. |
