Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Award Date
1972
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department / School
Entomology-Zoology
Abstract
Most individuals over the age of 10 have had some experience with the large, colorful Hymenoptera known as bumblebees. Because bumblebees are important pollinators of crops, and wild and native flowers both in the United States and foreign countries, many aspects of their life cycle have been studied. Both Nebraska and Wisconsin have research bulletins covering identification, distribution, emergence, and floral hosts of the bumblebees of their respective states. The lack of information about bumblebees in South Dakota initially prompted my studies. My objective became the filling-in of some of the missing pieces in South Dakota's bumblebee puzzle. My study centered around 4 study sites in Brookings County, South Dakota, during the months of June, July, August, and September in 1970. The identification of local species, emergence dates of species and castes of each species, floral preferences and rates of pollination of each species and caste, effects of environmental factors such as temperature, wind, relative humidity, and, when possible, rain, served as the major objectives of my research.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Bumblebees
Format
application/pdf
Number of Pages
101
Publisher
South Dakota State University
Recommended Citation
Andress, Francis Paul, "Biological Studies of the Bumblebees of Eastern South Dakota" (1972). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4620.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/4620