A survey of bee diversity between urban and rural lawns using blue and yellow vane traps

I surveyed three prairies and the lawns of two rural and two urban homeowners using vane and bowl traps. This was done to determine the difference in bee types caught using the two methods. Bees were sampled by placing two yellow and two blue vane traps approximately 1.3 meters above the ground at each area, with bowl traps dispersed on the ground. Bowls were in transects 10 m apart on the prairie sites and randomly placed on the lawns, at least 10 m apart. All traps were left out for at least six hours, then collected bees were counted and identified to species or generic level when species identification was not possible. For all areas, the size and types of flower plantings (pollinator friendly, open- or closed-house flowers, inflorescence type) were recorded.  For rural locations, information was also collected on the land use immediately surrounding the lawn.  Results of this survey will be presented.