Introductory course on bee taxonomy and ecology
Presentation
Did you know that there are more than 20,000 species of bees known to science? Don’t miss the opportunity to discover their overwhelming diversity!
“Know your bees” is a theoretical-practical course aimed at providing trainees with the tools and skills necessary to determine bee families, genera and, in some cases, species. After the course, trainees are expected to know what to look for when observing bees (key identification traits) and to interpret general and specific differences between genera/species. Course instructors will also provide trainees with basic knowledge on how to prepare specimens for easy examination and how to preserve and label them for use by future researchers. Basic knowledge on laboratory and field macrophotography will also be provided.
The course is part of INC-STEP, a 3PP project funded by TETTRIs that aims to create a national reference collection for 6 taxa of Spain’s threatened pollinators.
Organisation
The course is organised by Department of Arthropods of the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, (MCNB, Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona) , one of the five institutions that make up the INC-STEP consortium.
Course instructors
The course will be given by specialists in bee taxonomy and ecology.
- Luis Óscar Aguado Martín, Agricultural and Forestry Assistant Technician with a long experience in entomological studies and deep knowledge in identification and conservation of pollinating and saproxylic insects, macrophotography, landscape and flora photography, UV and infrared photography. Oscar has participated in different conservation and management projects in collaboration with natural parks throughout the Iberian Peninsula, research centres, universities and scientific collections of many institutions.
- Alejandro Núñez Carbajal, BSc in Biology specialized in Entomology with a long experience in pollinator identification, bee taxonomy and ecology. Alejandro is currently affiliated to the University of Oviedo (Asturias, Spain) as a researcher in charge of the cataloguing and identification of specimens housed in the entomological collection of the same university. He has also given numerous courses on identification of insect pollinators.
Course coordinators
- Berta Caballero López, PhD in Biology by the University of Barcelona (UB) and curator-researcher of the Arthropod Collection of the MCNB. Berta combines the management of a collection of 2 million specimens with research on agroecology in dryland systems with the aim of unravelling how agricultural intensification is deteriorating the essential services of ecosystems, in particular predation and pollination.
- Irene Lobato Vila, PhD in Biodiversity by the University of Barcelona (UB) and curator-researcher of the Arthropod Collection of the MCNB. Irene combines her work as curator of arthropods at the MCNB with research on gall wasp systematics (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) to continue the arduous task of revising and rearranging the taxonomy and phylogeny of this group, especially of the polyphyletic genus Synergus.
Course information
- Target audience: all those interested in bee taxonomy and ecology, especially young researchers and students (undergraduates, postgraduates, MSc, PhD), collection technicians, curators, and managers of entomological collections.
- Course typology: 25-hour classroom course (theoretical-practical, both in the lab and the field).
- Language: Spanish
- Venue: Jardí Botànic de Barcelona (Botanical Garden of Barcelona )– Sala Gaia (plus a guided visit to the MCNB’s Arthropods Collection the last day of the course).
- Maximum number of trainees: 15 (all selected trainees will be granted).
- Dates and schedule: 10th, 11th, 12th (9:00–17:30) and 13th (9:00–16:30) March, 2025 [with morning and evening refreshment breaks and lunch pause].
- Registration period: 10th to 31th January, 2025.
- Registration platform: in this link. IMPORTANT: after filling the form, both CV and motivation letter must be sent to artropodes.mcnb@gmail.com
Programme summary
- Monday, 10th March
- Introduction to native insect pollinators
- Introduction to the bee families of the Iberian Peninsula
- The Apidae family I
- The Apidae family II
- Tuesday, 11th March,
- The Melittidae family
- The Halictidae family
- Field practice (botanical garden)
- Practical session in the lab
- Wednesday, 12th March
- The Andrenidae family
- The Colletidae family
- Field practice (botanical garden)
- Practical session in the lab
- Thursday, 13th March
- The Megachilidae family
- Practical session in the lab (all bee families involved)
- Visit to the MCNB’s Arthropods Collection
More information about the course here