Prescribed fire increases the number of ground?nesting bee nests in tallgrass prairie remnants

Prescribed burning is a common management technique in tallgrass prairie remnants, but there have been few empirical studies that directly examine impacts on the nesting preferences and habitat of ground-nesting bees. We used emergence traps remnant prairies western Minnesota, USA to determine whether bees prefer nest burned or unburned prairies. estimated total number nests made by actively patches assessing each specimen for wing mandible wear, sex, sociality. also measured characteristics may influence bee including bare ground, thatch depth, vegetative cover, floral community. found more than patches, no differences effective species community composition. Burned had higher amounts percent ground thinner layer, abundance, flowering plant richness, flowers Our results suggest highlight opportunities future research better understand ecology response management.