Skip to main content
Entomology 2024 Main banner
Bayer Crop Science
Icon Legend
 
Oral Presentation
Oral Presentation
Poster Display
Poster Display
Student Competition
Student Competition
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back

Program Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

Empowering Insect Science, Management and Conservation Through Emerging Technologies

Computer vision reveals the climatic and phylogenetic factors influencing hairiness patterns in bees

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
8:25 AM – 8:45 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 124 AB, PCC
Oral Presentation
Understanding the pilosity, or hairiness, of bees is essential for unraveling the intricacies of bee ecology and evolution. The amount and characteristics of hair, including coverage and color (ranging from light to dark shades), are functionally significant qualities influencing various aspects of bee life, such as pollen uptake, pollination effectiveness, and thermoregulation. These specialized structures exhibit phylogenetic variation, with different families, genera, and groups possessing distinct and often conserved hair-based features.
Moreover, within species, variations in hair density and patterns exist, suggesting potential impacts on temperature sensitivity or resilience. To delve into the factors shaping pilosity patterns in bees, we developed a computer vision-based methodology for segmenting hair and assessing pilosity. We also compiled a comprehensive, global high-resolution image dataset of preserved bee specimens from the Big-Bee Thematic Collection Network (NSF#2102006) project.
In this presentation, we will share the outcomes of our investigation, exploring both climatic and phylogenetic trends in hair coverage and lightness among bees, and highlighting the strong effect of climate on bee hairiness patterns.