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Mason Bee Monitoring Project

This project has ended.  Information is provided here for historical purposes.
photo of artificial habitat for mason bees made from wood blocksBee hotel
The Mason Bee Monitoring Project is a research initiative started to help researchers at the University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences understand more about a group of bees called mason bees (genus Osmia). We have around 20 species of springtime mason bees in the Mid-Atlantic United States, and the goal of the study is to learn more about how two recently-introduced exotic mason bee species may be impacting the native mason bee community in Virginia. 

In total, over 200 citizen scientists contributed to data collection from 2017-2019, with many of these citizen scientists participating through chapters of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program (27 chapters, to be exact: Alleghany Highlands, Arlington Regional, Banshee Reeks, Beagle Ridge, Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes, Central Blue Ridge, Central Rappahannock, Central Virginia, Eastern Shore, Fairfax, Headwaters, High Knob, Historic Rivers, Historic Southside, Holston Rivers, James River, Merrimac Farm, Middle Peninsula, New River Valley, Northern Neck, Old Rag, Pocahontas, Rivanna, Riverine, Roanoke Valley, Shenandoah, and Southwestern Piedmont).

With all of the citizen scientists who helped us monitor mason bee communities on private and public lands, we are able to discover in great detail the diversity of the mason bee community, we’re documenting exotic fungal diseases in the exotic mason bees and how these diseases have now spread over to native mason bees. We are also learning more about how climate and elevation across Virginia impact how far these exotic mason bees can spread across the Commonwealth of Virginia and further into North America.

A recent publication shares some of the project findings: LeCroy, K.A., Savoy-Burke, G., Carr, D.E. et al. Decline of six native mason bee species following the arrival of an exotic congener. Sci Rep 10, 18745 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75566-9

Three maps of Virginia for 2017, 2018, and 2019, with dots showing volunteer mason bee collection sites each year
Mason Bee Monitoring Project site locations for 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Project Timeline
The Mason Bee Monitoring Project has completed the data collection phase (2017-2019) and we are underway with the next phase: data processing and analysis. Researchers are now cataloging three years of data from many locations (see maps). We plan to share reports with our citizen scientist participants based on the projected timeline below (amended to consider disruptions to research due to the COVID-19 pandemic). If you have any questions, or if you’re interested in keeping up with the progress of data processing and analysis, feel free to reach out to Kate LeCroy at: masonbeemonitoring @ gmail.com and she’ll be happy to update you!
Research Description
Data Processing
Reporting to Citizen Scientists
Native mason bee declines and exotic mason bee surges
Completed
September 2020
Novel exotic fungal infections in native mason bees
Completed
December 2020
How climate restricts exotic mason bee spread
Completed by early Spring 2020
April 2021
Differential enemy attack on native and exotic mason bees
Completed by Summer 2020
August 2021
Project Leaders and Contacts
Kathryn (Kate) LeCroy, Graduate Student, University of Virginia, masonbeemonitoring@gmail.com
T’ai Roulston, Research Assoc. Professor, Environmental Science, University of Virginia, thr8z@virginia.edu (540-837-1758, ext. 276)
Project Resources
  • Mason Bee Project 2019 Training Webinar Video
  • Mason Bee Project 2019 Training Webinar Slides (PDF)
  • Mason Bee Research Flyer 2019 (PDF)
  • Mason Bee Project Update Continuing Education Webinar Video, November 2018 
Virginia Master Naturalist Program | 460 Stagecoach Road, Suite E201 | Charlottesville, VA  22902 | Phone: 434-872-4587 | Fax: 434-872-4578

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