A new study, published April 3 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led by Penn State found that the squash bee (Eucera pruinosa) has evolved in response to intensifying agriculture -- namely squashes in the genus Curcurbita. The research is the first to demonstrate the role of agriculture as an evolutionary force acting on a wild insect pollinator and may have implications for food security.

"When we think of insects benefiting from and adapting to widespread agriculture, we tend to think of pests such as certain kinds of moths, flies and beetles," said Margarita López-Uribe, Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor and Associate Professor of Entomology. "But the impact of agricultural intensification on the evolution of beneficial pollinators is poorly understood. We found that agriculture facilitated increases in population size of this squash bee, and this may be the case for other insect pollinators, as well."

López-Uribe noted that the study is the first to identify adaptive processes of an insect pollinator in response to human agricultural practices. This study demonstrates that human agriculture in North America has had a profound impact on the evolutionary history of an insect that is an essential pollinator of squash crops, she said.