Two sponsored projects led by researchers in the Entomology Department were recently featured on PBS' Prairie Sportsman series. Watch Drs Cristian Beza-Beza and Benjamin Cull talk about their projects updating the state's biodiversity data through entomological surveys across Minnesota with the support of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
The Insect Biodiversity and Evolution (IBE) lab is using Minnesota bumblebees as model organisms to study the effects of human activity on the state’s ecosystems and understand the drivers of global insect decline. Minnesota houses 25 different bumblebee species, many of which have their northern or southernmost distribution in the state. The research team for this project is generating historical and current distribution maps of Minnesota's Bumblebees and developing a well-curated identification tool using barcoding and interactive identification keys. Understanding the local responses of species to global trends is essential for the development of effective conservation strategies at the local level.
Meanwhile, the Tick Lab is working with vets, wildlife biologists, hunters, and animal owners across Minnesota to update available information on the state's tick biodiversity. While human-biting ticks are well-studied, many wildlife-associated ticks are rarely encountered by humans and so we have little knowledge about most of these species. Incorporating community scientist-contributed tick reports from iNaturalist and samples sent to the tick lab, the Minnesota tick project publishes regular updates about ticks in the state, their known distributions, and current tick activity on a public-facing website to raise awareness of ticks in Minnesota.
