1st Place: D3022: Do pollen-borne microbes benefit juvenile growth and survival in the solitary bee, Megachile rotundata

The alfalfa leaf cutting bee, Megachile rotundata F. is an important field crop pollinator that collect pollen from different plant species. Pollen has a diverse community of microbes that may contribute to their health and survival. Additionally, Lactobacillus clade is the most abundant microbe in the gut helping  honey bees to digest pollen and has demonstrated resistance to a broad range of antibiotics. Despite the apparent importance of the microbial community, evidence concerning affects of provision microbes on physiology, growth, and survival is lacking in M. rotundata. To test this hypothesis, we reared larva on the following provision treatments: pollen provision with antibiotics, sterile pollen provision, sterile pollen provision + Lactobacillus micheneri, natural pollen provision + Lactobacillus micheneri, and natural pollen provision (control). Gamma irradiation was used to sterilize the natural pollen provision. We hypothesis that individuals reared on manipulated diet showed significant effects on the growth rate, survival, and mass of larvae, prepupae, and cocoon. Moreover, we used 16s gene sequencing to study whether the bee-microbiome interaction and quality of diet can shape the fitness of M. rotundata. In the future, this study will improve the understanding of microbiome symbiotic relations with bee health and nutrition.