About

Dr. Marla Spivak is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Minnesota, with a research focus on social insects, honey bees, social immunity, behaviors, breeding, and beekeeping on large and small scales. Her position involves a three-way split among research, teaching, and extension, which allows her to explore basic mechanisms and real-world applications in her studies and educational endeavors. She earned her PhD from the University of Kansas in 1989 and her B.A. in Biology from Humboldt State University in 1978. Her notable achievements include having a sweat bee named after her (Lasioglossum spivakae), receiving a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010, and the WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Earth Award in 2016. Her work and contributions significantly advance understanding of honey bee health, behavior, and ecology.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Ecology
• Geography
• Environmental science
• Political Science
• Environmental resource management
• Telecommunications
• Environmental planning
• Agroforestry

Selected publications

• A checklist of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Minnesota

  The Catalogue of Life · 2026-02-16

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Taxonomy of Agapostemon angelicus and the A. texanus species complex (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) in the United States

  The Catalogue of Life · 2026-02-16

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Ghost records and unverifiable specimen data hinder bee research: a reply to Cobb et al.

  Annals of the Entomological Society of America · 2026-01-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A review of the Augochloropsis (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) and keys to the shiny green Halictinae of the midwestern United States

  The Catalogue of Life · 2026-02-16

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Prairie and edge habitats provide valuable nesting resources for bumble bees (Bombus) in the midwestern U.S.

  Apidologie · 2025-11-12

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Bumble bees use three main habitats to complete their life cycle: foraging habitat, overwintering habitat, and nesting habitat. Overall, the majority of bumble bee research has focused on the foraging habitat and flower preferences of bumble bees, leaving a large knowledge gap regarding nesting and overwintering habitats. These aspects of the bumble bee life cycle are notoriously difficult to observe, and the time required to locate such locations is often considered prohibitive, leaving them to be largely understudied. This lack of information on the nesting habitat requirements of bumble bees also has negative consequences regarding conservation action. Here, we set out to determine the nesting habitat preferences in a rigorous, standardized fashion. In 2022 and 2023, we conducted standardized surveys for nesting bumble bees to assess habitat preferences in forest, prairie, and edge habitats. We surveyed 21 plots for a total of 168 person hours per habitat type (63 plots, 504 h total) at sites along the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA. We found a total of 25 nests of 6 different bumble bee species. Bumble bee nests were more likely to occur in prairie and edge habitats than in forest habitat. The results of this study indicate the importance of prairie and edge habitats for nesting bumble bees. Furthermore, results from this study are useful for informing management of bumble bee nesting habitat and further developing protocol for finding bumble bee nests more efficiently.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pollinator habitat in solar facilities has potential to support high diversity of bee species

  Environmental Research Communications · 2025-04-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Conversion of agricultural and degraded lands to solar energy production provides opportunities to support diverse bee communities—and their pollination services—by creating habitat at solar facilities. Habitat restoration for bees at solar facilities follows the general principle of installing a diverse flowering plant community and assuming bees will come. However, selecting seed mixes for solar facilities is challenging because selected plants need to establish in the unique abiotic conditions of solar facilities and not interfere with solar energy production (tall plants may shade panels). Recent research tested commercially available and bespoke pollinator mixes for establishment success in Minnesota solar facilities and identified 14 forb species that established successfully over three years of the experiment. We ask an important follow-up question: how many native bee species, and which bee species, are these 14 plant species capable of supporting? We used a plant-bee interaction data set from Minnesota to calculate the number of bee species that would be supported by the 14 plant species for the duration of their flight seasons using a published bee species richness function. We found 122 unique bee species (24% of Minnesota diversity) may be supported for their entire flight seasons by the 14 focal plants.

  PublisherDOI

• Soil sand content is a driving force in structuring bee communities

  Insect Conservation and Diversity · 2025-12-22

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Floral and nesting resources are two major components of habitat specialization that drive patterns of bee distribution. However, nesting resources are largely understudied in comparison to floral resources. For nesting, bees are generally thought to prefer nesting in sandy soils, and numerous species are considered sand specialists. With little empirical evidence to date, we aimed to test how soil sand content and floral resource availability interact to affect patterns of bee distribution and whether sand specialist bees predominantly occur in sandy habitats. We set up a carefully designed observational study in Minnesota, USA, across three classes of soil sand content ( N = 28 plots) using a focal prairie plant species ( Dalea purpurea ) that attracts a wide range of bee species and can grow in different soil types. We identified three key results: (1) soil sand content, not floral resource availability, affected patterns of bee distribution; (2) contrary to expectations, sandier sites did not host the highest diversity of bee species; and (3) there was clear evidence of sand specialization for select bee species, but sand specialists were associated with both moderate and high amounts of sand rather than extremely sandy areas. Our findings highlight that soil properties, specifically soil sand content, can be important in driving patterns of bee distribution, specifically sand specialists. Therefore, not factoring soil properties into bee conservation and restoration decisions may limit our effectiveness and ability to support habitat specialists and rarer bee communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Soil sand content is a driving force in structuring bee communities

  2025-08-06

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  \received DD MMMM YYYY \acceptedDD MMMM YYYY Floral and nesting resources are two major components of habitat specialization that drive patterns of bee distribution. However, nesting resources are largely understudied in comparison to floral resources. For nesting, sand preference is seen as a community-wide trait for bee species and numerous species are considered sand specialists. With little empirical evidence to date, we aimed to test how soil sand content and floral resource availability interact to affect patterns of bee distribution. We also designed the study to evaluate whether sand specialist bees predominantly occur in sandy habitats. We set up a controlled field experiment in Minnesota, USA across three classes of soil sand content (N = 28 plots) using a focal prairie plant species (Dalea purpurea) that attracts a wide range of bee species and can grow in different soil types. We identified four key results: 1) soil sand content, not floral resource availability, affected patterns of bee distribution; 2) contrary to expected, sandier sites did not host the highest diversity of bee species; 3) there was clear evidence of sand specialization for select bee species, but sand specialists were associated with both moderate and high amounts of sand rather than extremely sandy areas; and 4) the proportion of abundance of sand specialists increased as the soil sand content within discrete pockets increased, even in areas with average values of low sand content. Our findings highlight that soil properties, specifically soil sand content, can be more important than floral resources in driving patterns of bee distribution, specifically sand specialists. Therefore, not factoring soil properties into bee conservation and restoration decisions may limit our effectiveness and ability to support habitat specialists and rarer bee communities. Sandy areas and places with high soil heterogeneity should be prioritized for conservation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Standardized protocols for collecting data on bee-flower interactions and the associated floral community

  Journal of Melittology · 2025-09-26 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Pollen and nectar from flowers constitute the primary food resources of bees, inextricably linking bee and flowering plant communities in space and time. Thus, our understanding of bee biology and distribution can be greatly enhanced by documenting interactions between bees and their host plant species. Plant-pollinator interaction data are routinely collected in studies with diverse research goals, but the lack of standardization in data collection has limited our ability to integrate datasets and address outstanding questions in bee ecology, conservation, and pollination biology. Here, we provide standardized protocols for (A) documenting plant-pollinator interactions and (B) quantifying associated floral resources available to foraging bees. These protocols can be combined for a more detailed understanding of plant-pollinator interactions and can be applied in inventories, surveys, and monitoring programs of bees. We also provide case studies demonstrating their application. We discuss tradeoffs that are inevitable in any methodological approach, including the use of lethal versus non-lethal sampling approaches, and highlight the need to prioritize rigorous testing of the scalability and generalizability of current methodologies. These protocols are part of a series developed in association with the U.S. National Native Bee Monitoring Network to standardize bee monitoring practices.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pollinator plantings in the intensively farmed Midwest (U.S.A.) support a core set of common bee species, regardless of local and landscape controls

  Restoration Ecology · 2025-08-21

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Amidst widespread habitat loss and homogenization of landscapes, pollinator plantings can provide bees with a diversity of foraging resources. Yet, plantings may fall short of restoring historical bee communities. While previous studies have sought to investigate which factors contribute to effective plantings for bee communities, lack of experimental control may have limited their ability to tease apart planting effects versus effects from study design artifacts. We conducted one of the largest randomized, landscape‐level experiments to date in order to examine the degree to which planting size, seed mix type (low cost honey bee [HB] mix vs. high cost native bee [NM] mix), and the percentage of natural land surrounding habitat plantings affect native bee diversity, abundance, and composition, in addition to floral abundance, richness, and area. We selected 38 sites for plantings with a fully factorial design, varying sites by seed mix type, size, and proportion of surrounding natural landscape. Despite landscape‐level experimental control, bee diversity, abundance, and composition were not significantly related to seed mix type, planting size, or the amount of surrounding natural land. Rather, we found that bee diversity and abundance increased in the first 2 years following implementation and then leveled off. This initial uptick was largely driven by a core set of common bee species from the regional pool. Our findings show that plantings can quickly enhance bee communities; however, there may be limits to the diversity of bees initially supported by these plantings, given the difficulties of establishing diverse plant species on former farmland.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Zachary M. Portman

  University of Minnesota

  49 shared

• Ígnasi Bartomeus

  29 shared

• Andrea Gruver

  Center for Plant Conservation

  28 shared

• Paul J. CaraDonna

  Center for Plant Conservation

  28 shared

• Alexandra Duffy

  University of California, Davis

  28 shared

• Ian G. Lane

  University of Minnesota

  26 shared

• Robert A. Haack

  24 shared

• Elly Maxwell

  Northern Research Station

  24 shared

Labs

• Spivak LabPI

  Dr. Marla Spivak Emeritus Professor