The purpose of this research project is to investigate how rising temperatures, for instance climate change, can affect bees of various body sizes given their essential role in the global food supply through pollination of agricultural crops. To achieve this I utilized 3D imaging and 3D modeling techniques to calculate surface area-to-volume (SA/V) ratios of the bees that otherwise cannot be obtained using conventional methods. SA/V ratios were calculated for 4 different families (Halictidae, Colletidae, Apidae, and Megachilidae) in the order Hymenoptera and were analyzed alongside the bee’s Critical Thermal Maximum (CT Max) data, the maximum heat a bee can withstand before losing mobility, to gain insight on the bee's ability to survive in extreme hot temperatures. It is evident from the data that larger bees, characterized by smaller SA/V ratios, presented a higher CT Max suggesting their greater chance of survival in higher temperatures than smaller bees due to less heat exchange relative to their body size. This data implies that with the earth’s rising global temperatures larger bees will likely perform better than smaller bees. This poster was presented at the UCSB Center for Science & Engineering Partnerships Undergraduate Research Symposium, on August 9, 2023.

Pollinators are crucial to agriculture and natural ecosystems. As such, it is important to consider how they may be affected by current and future changes in climate. In this study, we focus on the pilosity, or hairiness, of the long-horned bee Melissodes tepidus timberlakei Cockerell, 1929 and how that may inform us on how this species tolerates colder temperatures, and whether pilosity can inform us of body size and age. We hypothesized that (1) Hairier bees are more tolerant to cold temperature (2) hairier bees are heavier (3) younger bees are hairier than older bees (4) bees collected earlier in the year are hairier. Presented at UC Santa Barbara CSEP Summer Research Symposium August 15th, 2023.