Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 3/15/22


A new study confirms that one of the key tools used to assess bee diversity and population size is flawed. The good news is that researchers have been able to quantify the problem, so that scientists can account for this problem in future studies.

One of the first steps in any conservation strategy, whether bee or buffalo, is to know how many species and how many individuals from each species are present in an area. Bee biologists have suspected that one of the most commonly used tools to count bees is faulty, but no one knew exactly how faulty until now. A new study from NC State researchers has quantified the bias associated with pan traps, and suggested methods to help bee biologists everywhere assess their tools in order to calculate more accurate population estimates.

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