Squash, Bees and Mastodons!

Squash and mastodons? Do bumble and honey bees collect Cucurbit pollen? What does some of the current research suggest about the history of squash distribution and Cucurbit bee (Peponapis pruinosa) habitat expansion? Opening and closing tune: 'Beeloved' by Carmen PorterReferences:Logan Kistler, Lee A. Newsom, Timothy M. Ryan, Andrew C. Clarke, Bruce D. Smith, George H. Perry. Gourds and squashes (Cucurbita spp.) adapted to megafaunal extinction and ecological anachronism through domestication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dec 2015Brochu, K.K., van Dyke, M.T., Milano, N.J. et al. Pollen defenses negatively impact foraging and fitness in a generalist bee (Bombus impatiens: Apidae). Scientific Reports 10, Article 3112 (2020)Horticulture Seminar Series Fall 2020: Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Penn State University: https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/1_1k6dxy8hCucurbitacin: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/cucurbitacin