Collection data for determination of the timing of invasion by Africanized bees closely linked to local extinction of a specialized pollinator of a rare poppy in Utah
Description
Data used for: Timing of invasion by Africanized bees closely linked to local extinction of a specialized pollinator of a rare poppy in Utah Authors: A. D. Tripodi1, V. J. Tepedino2, and Z. M. Portman2,3 Affiliations: 1. USDA-ARS-Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Logan, Utah 84341, USA; Corresponding author: amber.tripodi@usda.gov 2. Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-5305, USA 3. Present Address: Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1634 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul MN 55108-1037 Abstract: Exotic species can impact mutualisms between native species in invaded areas, but determining this depends on an accurate reconstruction of the invasion. Africanized honey bees (AHB) arrived in southern Utah at some point between 1994–2011, and have recently been implicated in the local extinction of Perdita meconis, a native specialist pollinator of the endangered Dwarf bear-poppy. Although AHBs were first detected in Utah in 2008, their presence in nearby states by 1998–2001 suggests that they may have been present much earlier. We refined the arrival date of AHBs in southern Utah by determining the ancestry of museum specimens collected between 2000–2008. We found AHBs in southern Utah from 2000 onwards, advancing the arrival date of this invader by at least 8 years. This lends credence to the hypothesis that AHBs played a critical role in the local extinction of P. meconis in Utah and highlights the importance of vouchering common species in collections to serve future research needs. Data: Collection data and results of ancestry tests for all Apis mellifera specimens used in this study Notes: Collections: BYU =Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum Collection at Brigham Young University, BBSL = National Pollinating Insect Collection at USDA-ARS Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory, SUU = Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History Collection at Southern Utah University, VTJ-pers = personal collection of VJ Tepedino. Floral: NA = floral host data not recorded. Ancestry: AHB = Africanized mitotype, EHB= European mitotype.