We tend to make a pretty big deal about milkweed here at Blandy Experimental Farm. During the growing season, you will likely see several posts, stories, and articles from us featuring this special group of plants and their amazing ability to support pollinators. Milkweed attracts more than just pollinators to Blandy, though. Scientists interested in milkweed ecology also flock to Blandy in the summer to take advantage of the field station for their research. One such researcher, Cameron Morris, an undergraduate from the College of William and Mary, shares their approach to the questions they hope to answer this summer.  

"Ecologists consider milkweed a particularly important plant. This is because of the significant number of insect specialists that utilize milkweed nectar and leaves to feed both themselves and their offspring. The most well-known insect specialist of milkweed is the iconic and beautiful Monarch Butterfly. There is another insect which could potentially be a milkweed specialist: the Brown-Belted Bumblebee, (Bombus griseocollis). In order to collect data to answer the question of whether or not it is a milkweed specialist, I must determine the frequency that the Brown-Belted Bumblebee visits milkweed in comparison to other species of flowers. To collect this data, I collect video recordings of individual milkweed flower clusters, called umbels, for 30 minutes, and I count the number of visitors by species recorded in the video. I also record the flowers of other plant species which could possibly be a food source for the Brown-Belted Bumblebee. By gathering data on multiple species for comparison, I hope to potentially identify new trends related to insect visitation.  

In addition to observing visitation rates of these different pollinator/plant combinations, I am also interested in the effectiveness of milkweed visitors. Milkweeds package their pollen in sacs called pollinia, which need to be removed and inserted by pollinators. Removing these pollinia is not an easy task however; not all insects do it and some do it much better than others. To collect data on the effectiveness of milkweed pollination by species, I conduct in-person pollinator observations. I count the number of pollinia in each flower of one umbel before I begin my observation. Then, I watch a single umbel and record who visits and for how long. After each insect visitor leaves, I count the number of pollinia in order to quantify the effectiveness of that species.  

All of our pollinators are important: flies, wasps, bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, and many more. In order to conserve our insect friends, we must learn about them. I am happy to be conducting research on the 'tiny things which run the world'."  

The importance of research like Cameron’s extends far beyond Blandy’s stone walls. Researching specialized species like the Brown-Belted Bumblebee offers insights into evolutionary processes and helps identify the needs and vulnerabilities of these species, guiding conservation efforts to protect them and their habitats.