ZOONOOZ August 2015

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The pollen caught among the tiny hairs on these honeybees’ bodies will be brushed off when they visit another flower, effectively crosspollinating the plant.
every tissue as the plant grows: leaf, stem, pollen, and nectar. As a result, though the insecticide is targeted at “pest” insects, there can be serious consequences for any insect that visits the plant for nectar or pollen. Some need only be present when the planting occurs, since some of the chemical seed coating is released as crop “dust” in agricultural plantings. The effects of these pesticide exposures include immediate death by contact, but some are sublethal, meaning that the animal does not die right away but experiences disorientation, loss of navigational ability, paralysis, and even memory loss as the result of contact. This is not just an agricultural issue; many products containing this type of insecticide can be found in local home improvement stores for landscaping use. Federal regulations govern the concentrations of these poisons used in agriculture, yet there are no restrictions for home use, and that sets up a dangerous scenario. Consumers often do not follow the instructions for application and the concentrations can be many times higher than federal regulations allow. This means more of the poison finds its way to bees and other animals through gardens and runoff from irrigation. It is important to note here that the majority of research on pesticide effects in pollinators has been conducted in honeybees because they are managed commercially, making them more accessible and measurable. Since their biology is very similar to that of native bees, we can assume that the damaging effects from pesticides are also suffered by native bees. Why are native bees important? Because no pollinator serves our plants better. Native bees have evolved alongside the flowering plants that they pollinate, and they are usually much better at it than non-native honeybees. It’s easy for honeybees to get all the attention, because they are used in commercial agriculture and are relatively easy to study. But native bees such as mason bees, mining bees, and leafcutter bees have been quietly carrying their weight in our ecosystems for millennia. Some bees have a different way of transporting pollen. This female masked bee, Hylaeus sp. is about to concentrate a drop of nectar to make it easier to carry back to her nest. By drawing the droplet in and out of her mouth repeatedly, moisture evaporates and the nectar becomes more of a pellet than a drop. She will then swallow it and regurgitate it back at the nest. Masked bees are a solitary species that often uses old burrows of other insect species for a nest. SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL n SANDIEGOZOO.ORG 19
Page 2 and 3: inside august 2015 Mammal of Myster
Page 4 and 5: chairman’s note SAN DIEGO ZOO GLO
Page 6 and 7: through the lens Photo by Ken Bohn
Page 8 and 9: you said it Join our friends @sdzgl
Page 10 and 11: 10 ZOONOOZ n AUGUST 2015 MAMMAL OF
Page 12: Funani is a famously protective hip
Page 15 and 16: Funani kept her baby safely tucked
Page 17: By Paige Howorth ANIMAL CARE MANAGE
Page 21 and 22: The estimated percentage of the ani
Page 23 and 24: non-native fungal disease, while ho
Page 25 and 26: Monarch butterflies have been in th
Page 27 and 28: SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL n SANDIEGOZOO.
Page 29 and 30: Dhole House Once the tigers moved i
Page 31 and 32: SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL n SANDIEGOZOO.
Page 33 and 34: A vaccination is administered by Br
Page 35 and 36: PHOTO BY JOOP KUHN,SDZG It takes a
Page 37 and 38: The beauty of a branch is that the
Page 39 and 40: Unlike most pet domestic cats, zoo
Page 41 and 42: Clockewise from top left: A dead tr
Page 43 and 44: WHEN WISHES COME TRUE AT THE ZOO AN
Page 45: PUBLISHED SINCE 1926 AUGUST 2015 n

ZOONOOZ August 2015

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