Bees provide essential ecosystem services, such as pollination of agricultural crops and the maintenance of biodiversity. The Sonoran Desert is home to the greatest diversity of bee species worldwide. Phoenix is situated in the Sonoran

Desert where little research has focused on urban bee ecology, and even fewer studies have focused on how people view and interact with bees.

Therefore, I used survey data to explore attitudes and perceptions about bees in the Phoenix area.

Resident Attitudes toward Bees in Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona

M. Fleeger1, K.L. Larson1,2, M.M. Wheeler3, and R. Andrade2

Conclusion & Next Steps

Attitudes by Location of Neighborhoods

• Overall, ethnicity and locational factors influence attitudes toward bees more so than perceived problems.

• Despite the importance of bees to agriculture, people living in close proximity to agricultural lands dislike bees more so than others.

• We aim to link what people think about bees to the presence and diversity of bees as it pertains to land use and land cover (examples of Phoenix bee specimens above).

Hispanic/Latinx Responses

Bees Are Important!

Survey Methods & Response Rates

The 12 Surveyed Neighborhoods in Metro Phoenix, AZ

1 School of Sustainability, 2 School of Geographic Sciences and Urban Planning, 3School of Life Sciences

• Those close to agriculture dislike bees more so than those who live further away (p<0.01)

• Risks perceptions did not differ (p=0.17)

Acknowledgement: This material is based uponwork supported by the National Science Foundationunder grant number DEB-1637590,Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research.

• All data presented herein were collected via the 2016-17 Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS). Surveys were delivered by mail only.

• The response rate was 39.4%, yielding 496 survey respondents.• Non-parametric tests determined if differences in attitudes and perceptions

(in the bar charts) were statistically significant: Mann-Whitney U for comparing 2 groups, and Kruskal Wallis for comparing 3.

• Survey questions: To what extent do you like or dislike bees? (figure below left) & To what extent are bees a problem in your home? (figure below right)

Our Research QuestionWhat do people think of bees in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, and how do

attitudes toward bees vary in relation to ethnicity and locational factors across diverse neighborhoods?

Proximity to Desert Parks

Proximity to the Rio Salado River

Location within the Metro Region• Location affected attitudes toward bees (p=0.01), but not risk perceptions

(p=0.09)• Urban core residents like bees more so than others, especially suburban

residents

• No significant differences in attitudes (p=0.20) nor perceptions (p=0.63)

• Residents close to desert parks like bees significantly more than those who live further away (p<0.01)

• Perceptions of problematic bees did not differ significantly (p=0.59)

Attitudes by Location (continued) Proximity to Agriculture

• Dislike bees more than other residents (p<0.01)• Do not see bees as more problematic in their neighborhoods (p=0.28).

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