Fatal Attraction: Testing the Efficacy of Bee Attractants

Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Kristi Bugajski

College

College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)

Discipline(s)

Biology

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 5-1-2025

Abstract

This study tested the behavior of Northern Indiana’s bee populations using two common bee attractants. The aim was to determine which attractant drew the most bees to the wood pollinator boxes (beehives). Three hives were used as the control groups (left untreated), three were treated with Mason Bee Attractant Spray (lemongrass oil as active ingredient), and three were treated with Lemongrass Oil diluted to a 10% oil-to-water ratio. The boxes were attached to six foot metal poles placed in the ground. The poles were spaced roughly three feet apart from each other. The boxes were observed for a one month period. During this period, observations were conducted twice daily, excluding weekends, to track the number of bees constructing combs within the hive boxes. The data tracked over the month-long period was then analyzed. An ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference in bee preference between the treatments (p-value=0.723912). These results show that the bee boxes are attractive on their own, and there is no benefit to buying commercial attractants. This research was cut short due to facilities management on campus completely negligently removing all of the foliage from the test site. Once the foliage was removed, there were no bees observed.

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