Understanding the impact of pest monitoring traps on bumble bee populations: Insights from northern and central Utah

Pest monitoring traps are commonly deployed in agricultural fields across the United States to detect the presence of invasive insects. Despite the utility of these traps to detect pest invasions early, an unintended consequence of them is the capture of non-target insects, or bycatch. Among bycatch are crucial pollinators such as bumble bees (Bombus spp.), whose decline is of growing concern. Therefore, minimizing bycatch is essential when evaluating pest survey methodologies. Despite recent research suggesting that the existence of monitoring traps has no discernible impact on the growth and development of Bombus colonies, their potential threat to the persistence and survival of these pollinators remains unclear. In our study conducted in agricultural fields in Utah, we assess bycatch captures of both queens and workers. Additionally, we utilize microsatellite analyses to explore the impact of bycatch on lineage survival – the ability of bumble bees to endure across generations – as well as its effect on colony abundance. Preliminary results found that 60% of bycatch specimens represented a single genetic lineage of B. fervidus, indicating that the bycatch of specimens was unlikely to remove multiple individuals from the same colony. Preliminary findings also suggest no discernible differences in genetic diversity metrics of B. fervidus over time. However, the distinction between capturing a queen or a worker may hold significance for colony survival and must be assessed. Ultimately, our study seeks to inform the development of more sustainable pest surveillance practices to safeguard pollinator populations within agricultural ecosystems.