Preliminary Inventory of the Bees of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Griswold T. Preliminary Inventory of the Bees of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This study provides a preliminary checklist of bees and information on floral relationships. The four most collected sites, Cataloochee, Purchase Knob, Tremont, and Cades Cove. Logistics prevented even sampling across the park. Of the 70 bee genera occurring in the eastern United States, 27 are here recorded from GSMNP. A total of 144 species are now known from the park. This compares favorably with the 103 species recorded from the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area and 66 species found in Everglades National Park. The 144 species considerably underestimates the diversity in the park. Species richness estimates for the four most intensively collected sites suggest only 45-71% of their species were detected. Faunal studies conducted elsewhere indicate that multi-year efforts across the entire flowering season are essential to capture the diversity of bees. Such a study, with systematic sampling across habitats, would doubtless result in a fauna of over 250 species. Of significance are sixteen new state records. One of the bee species (Andrena sp.2) found only at two higher elevation sites, Purchase Knob and Balsam Mountain, likely is a new species. Three exotic species were detected in the park: the widely distributed honey bee and two solitary bees, Megachile sculpturalis and Osmia taurus. The presence of Osmia taurus was not expected and suggests a rapid expansion. It was only recently detected in Maryland.
- Type
- Relational Database
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, ATBI, Bees, Branch:I&M, Cades Coves, Cataloochee, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, Origin:External, pollinators, Purchase Knob, SER, Southeast Region, Status:Inactive, StudyID:GRSM-001796, Terry Griswold, Tremont
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Terrestrial Complex , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | At-risk Biota | T&E Species and Communities