Using Emergence Traps and Radio Telemetry to Find Overwintering Sites of Bumble Bees

Insect biodiversity bolsters forest health and therefore is critical to the conservation and management of natural resources and ecosystem services provided by forests, such as timber, water filtration, and carbon sequestration. Insects themselves contribute to services including pollination, biocontrol of invasive species, and are a food source for multitudes of other important forest species. However, little is known about more cryptic aspects of the insect life cycle, such as overwintering, and these knowledge gaps prevent the implementation of holistic management strategies. Furthermore, the lack of understanding on this topic inhibits our ability to fully comprehend the role that disturbances such as fire have on forest ecosystems and how they affect habitat suitability. This project aims to close knowledge gaps in the nature and importance of insect overwintering habitat to inform comprehensive management plans that consider often overlooked, but inarguably important insect species. The intern will support this project through the surveying of overwintering insects across land cover and burn severity gradients in the Cameron Peak burn scar, and through a pilot project in late summer involving the radiotracking of Bombus queens seeking overwintering sites. This project involves both fundamental and technologically advanced research approaches that will equip the intern with valuable skills in entomological research, and field and lab work. The intern will learn about insect conservation, forest ecology, ecosystem services, and the impact of forest health on many aspects of societal functioning.