by Phillip Joseph Russell, B.S. University of Central Florida, 1997

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Central Florida

From January to December, 2001, Apiformes (bees) were collected from 480 pan traps and 2 malaise traps within the sandhill plant communities of Wekiwa Springs State Park (WSSP) and Lower Wekiva River State Preserve (LWRSP) located in central Florida. The colors of the pan traps were white, florescent yellow, yellow, florescent blue, blue, red, green, and black. 20 pan traps of each color were placed at ground level, 30.5 cm above the ground, and 91.5 cm above the ground. 240 pan traps operated at each park for a twenty-four hour period once every two weeks. 1 malaise trap was set up in each park and was emptied every two weeks.

From the pan traps, I collected 262,379 organisms. From this, 14,906 were Apiformes and represented 5.7% of the total catch. The families of Apiformes collected were Andrenidae, Anthophoridae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidae. The family Halictidae made up 96.3% of the total Apiformes collected. A total of 32 genera was collected and represents 84.2% of the total genera found Florida. The genus collected most often was Dialictus, with a total of 13,430 individuals, making up 90.1% of the total Apiformes collected.

From the malaise traps, I collected 463 Apiformes. The families of Apiformes collected were the same as for the pan traps with the addition of Melittidae. The family Halictidae represented 72.8% of the total Apiformes collected. A total of 23 genera was collected, which represents 60.6% of the total genera found in Florida. The genus collected most often was Dialictus, with a total of 248, making up 53.6% of the total Apiformes collected.

A univariate analysis of variance was performed and trap color was found to be a significant (p < .05) variable. Plots of the estimated marginal means were created for each sampling period and showed that Apiformes were collected in blue pan traps 85.2% of the time. In all sampling periods, red, green, and black traps performed poorly.

	Locations of Lower Wekiva River State Preserve (LWRSP) and Wekiwa Springs State Park (WSSP). [Click the image to see it at full size: 700 x 456 pixels.]
	Locations of malaise trap (M) and pan traps (P) at LWRSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 300 x 450 pixels.]
	Locations of malaise trap (M) and pan traps (P) at WSSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 385 x 450 pixels.]
	Malaise trap in a sandhill plant community at LWRSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Phillip empties contents from malaise trap in a sandhill plant community at WSSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Pan trap transect in a sandhill plant community at LWRSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Pan trap transect in a sandhill plant community at WSSP. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	White pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Yellow pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Florescent yellow pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Blue pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Florescent blue pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Red pan trap 1 ft (30.5 cm) from ground. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Green pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Black pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Pan traps 3 ft (91.5 cm) from ground. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Phillip strains contents from a pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]
	Strainer apparatus containing an individual strainer for each type of pan trap. [Click the image to see it at full size: 450 x 300 pixels.]