Local and landscape level relationships of habitat type and insect pollinator communities in an urban center on the Southern High Plains (Texas, USA)

Insect pollinators are an essential component of ecosystems, contributing to the pollination services of numerous wild and cultivated plants.  In urban lawns, differences in management practices and local habitat characteristics has been shown to influence pollinator communities, but this has not been investigated in the city of Lubbock, TX.  Within this urban area, water conservation has become an important issue and could affect traditional approaches to lawn management and the overall quality of flowering plants for native bees.  A preliminary assessment of bee diversity across urban lawns was conducted in 2015.  Following an assessment of the vegetation structure of each lawn, pollinators were sampled using hand netting and bee bowls.  Species richness was related to both habitat patch size and flowering plant diversity and lawn structure and type.  Information from this study provides an initial assessment of the diversity of pollinators across this urban center and provides background information to investigate potential improvements towards restoration involving native, drought tolerant plants and water conserving lawns.