Field pansies (Viola arvensis) growing near Paris produced 20% less nectar than those growing there 20 to 30 years ago, the study found. Photograph: Courtesy of Samson Acoca-Pidolle

Study: Flowers are Starting to Self-Pollinate Due to Fewer Insects

Flowers are “giving up on” pollinators and evolving to be less attractive to them as insect numbers decline, researchers have said.

A study has found the flowers of field pansies growing near Paris are 10% smaller and produce 20% less nectar than flowers growing in the same fields 20 to 30 years ago. They are also less frequently visited by insects.

“Our study shows that pansies are evolving to give up on their pollinators,” said Pierre-Olivier Cheptou, one of the study’s authors and a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. “They are evolving towards self-pollination, where each plant reproduces with itself, which works in the short term but may well limit their capacity to adapt to future environmental changes.”

Plants produce nectar for insects, and in return insects transport pollen between plants. This mutually beneficial relationship has formed over millions of years of coevolution. But pansies and pollinators may now be stuck in a vicious cycle: plants are producing less nectar and this means there will be less food available to insects, which will in turn accelerate declines.

“Our results show that the ancient interactions linking pansies to their pollinators are disappearing fast,” said lead author Samson Acoca-Pidolle, a doctoral researcher at the University of Montpellier. “We were surprised to find that these plants are evolving so quickly.”

Insect declines have been reported by studies across Europe. One study on German nature reserves found that from 1989 to 2016 the overall weight of insects caught in traps fell by 75%. Acoca-Pidolle added: “Our results show that the effects of pollinator declines are not easily reversible, because plants have already started to change. Conservation measures are therefore urgently needed to halt and reverse pollinator declines.”

The method used in the study is called “resurrection ecology”. It involved germinating ancestral pansy plants from seeds collected in the 1990s and 2000s, which were being stored in the national botanical conservatories. The team compared how four populations of field pansies (Viola arvensis) had changed during this period.

Other than changes to the flowers, they found no other changes between the populations, such as the leaf size or total size of the plant, according to the paper, published in the journal New Phytologist.

If flowers are not likely to attract insects, then a plant is wasting energy making them large and nectar-rich. Previous research has shown the percentage of field pansies relying on self-pollination has increased by 25% over the past 20 years.

“This is a particularly exciting finding as it shows evolution happening in real time,” said Dr Philip Donkersley, from Lancaster University, who was not involved in the study.

“The fact that these flowers are changing their strategy in response to decreasing pollinator abundance is quite startling. This research shows a plant undoing thousands of years of evolution in response to a phenomenon that has been around for only 50 years.

“Although most research has been done in Europe and North America, we know that pollinator declines are a global phenomenon. These results may just be the tip of the iceberg: areas with far greater plant diversity will likely have many more examples of wild plants changing their pollination strategies in response to a lack of pollinators.”

Similar processes can be seen in invasive populations that need to adapt new ecological niches. Populations of foxglove have evolved to be pollinated by bumblebees in Europe. However, 200 years ago they were introduced to Costa Rica and Colombia, and they have since changed the shape of their flowers so they can be pollinated by hummingbirds, researchers found.

Other research shows plants that are unable to self-pollinate go the other way, producing more pollen when pollinators are scarce. Because they cannot resort to other methods, they have to outcompete other plants to attract a shrinking number of pollinators.

Prof Phil Stevenson, from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who was also not involved in the research, said it made sense that traits that guide or reward pollinators are likely to change when the number of pollinators drops, especially among species that have the option of self-pollinating.

“This is especially so for reproduction,” he said, “which is arguably the most important living function of organisms and likely the most adaptive trait of all.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/12/study-flowers-are-starting-to-self-pollinate-due-to-fewer-insects/

Whole Foods Market announced a new pollinator policy for its Fresh Produce and Floral purchasing to support pollinators in recognition of the critical role they play in our food system and the environment. The company has long championed pollinator health through its commitment to organic agriculture, which prohibits toxic persistent pesticides.

As part of the new pollinator policy, by 2025, the company will:

• Require all fresh produce and floral growers to implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system, which prioritizes preventative and biological pest control measures and reduces the need for chemical pesticides.
• Prohibit the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids (clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) in all potted plants they sell.
• Encourage all fresh produce and floral suppliers to phase out the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids.

In addition to honeybees, Whole Foods Market recognizes native pollinators, such as bumble bees, wasps, and butterflies, are critical to the food system and an important indicator of biodiversity.

“We understand the important role pollinators play in our food system and, through this policy, will build on our long legacy of supporting biodiversity and pollinator health,” said Karen Christensen, senior vice president, Perishables & Quality Standards at Whole Foods Market. “This is another critical step forward in our journey of climate-smart agriculture as part of our purpose to nourish people and the planet.”

The company engages its foundations and internationally recognized third parties to create campaigns that raise awareness of pollinators and their impact. In addition, its Whole Kids Bee Grant Program helps schools and non-profit organizations receive support for educational beehives and bee programming so students can observe bees up close and learn more about the vital role of pollinators. Since 2014, the Whole Kids Bee Grant program has awarded more than 850 educational beehives to schools and nonprofits with support from The Bee Cause Project.

Whole Foods Market continues to work across the industry to encourage all fresh produce and floral suppliers to phase out the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids, which are particularly harmful to pollinators, and pave the way for other solutions. Whole Foods Market suppliers like Rainier Fruit continue to demonstrate their commitment to advancing pollinator health by maintaining 150 acres of dedicated pollinator habitat, in addition to 325 acres of Bee Better Certified® orchard in partnership with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

“Every single piece of fruit we grow requires pollination. We wouldn’t have a crop without honeybees, so pollinator health is of utmost importance for us as farmers,” said Mark Zirkle, president of Rainier Fruit. “We’re appreciative of Whole Food’s advocacy and look forward to continued efforts towards more sustainable agriculture.”

For more information on how Whole Foods Market is protecting pollinators and raising awareness for the critical role they play in our lives, visit https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-in-action/environmental-stewardship/pollinator-health.

About Whole Foods Market

For more than 40 years, Whole Foods Market has been the world’s leading natural and organic foods retailer. As the first certified organic national grocer, Whole Foods Market has more than 500 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. To learn more about Whole Foods Market, please visit https://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/whole-foods-market-unveils-new-pollinator-health-policy-for-fresh-produce-floral/

ISSN: 2475-4315

Released December 15, 2023, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Cost per Colony to Pollinate Almonds down 3 Percent from 2022

In Regions 6 & 7, the average cost per colony for almonds decreased 3 percent from 194 dollars per colony in 2022 to 188 dollars per colony in 2023. The average price per acre decreased from 336 dollars per acre to 310 dollars per acre during that period. The total value of pollination for almonds decreased 8 percent. Almonds were the highest valued crop in that region. The total value of all pollination in Regions 6 & 7 for 2023 was 356 million dollars, down 8 percent from 2022.

Cranberries had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 1 in 2023. The price per colony for cranberries increased 1 percent to 82.8 dollars per colony in 2023. The price per acre increased 8 percent to 200 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for cranberries in Region 1 for 2023 was 6.46 million dollars. The total value for pollination of all crops in Region 1 for 2023 was 19.8 million dollars, down 10 percent from 2022.

Blueberries had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 2 in 2023. The price per colony for blueberries decreased 15 percent to 66.4 dollars per colony in 2023. The price per acre unchanged at 139 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for blueberries in Region 2 for 2023 was 3.25 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 2 for 2023 was 6.75 million dollars, up 2 percent from 2022.

Watermelons had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 3 in 2023. The price per colony for watermelons decreased 26 percent to 57.0 dollars per colony in 2023. The price per acre decreased 19 percent to 81.5 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for watermelons in Region 3 for 2023 was 2.00 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 3 for 2023 was 5.59 million dollars, down 24 percent from 2022.

Apples had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 4 in 2023. The price per colony for apples increased 44 percent to 74.2 dollars per colony in 2023. The price per acre increased 57 percent to 64.4 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for apples in Region 4 for 2023 was 141 thousand dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 4 for 2023 was 1.28 million dollars, up 104 percent from 2022.

Apples had the highest total value of pollination of crops reported in Region 5 in 2023. The price per colony for apples increased 2 percent to 59.5 dollars per colony in 2023. The price per acre increased 8 percent to 68.0 dollars per acre. The total value of pollination for apples in Region 5 for 2023 was 9.76 million dollars. The total value of pollination of all crops in Region 5 for 2023 was 24.6 million dollars, up 41 percent from 2022.

To Access Report go to;

downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/d504rk335/02872g46s/tq57qb51x/cstpol23.txt

The Penn State Honey and Pollen Diagnostic Lab identifies the flowering plants from which bees have collected pollen and nectar through a process called DNA metabarcoding. This figure shows a mixed pollen sample collected from a honey bee colony. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

By Noah Evans

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Honey and Pollen Diagnostic Lab now is accepting honey and pollen samples from researchers and beekeepers who would like to identify the plants at the genus level from which honeybees are collecting nectar and pollen.

“Bees and other pollinators, such as flies or butterflies, collect the nectar and pollen from flowers as their main source of food,” said Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State. “Honeybees will convert nectar to honey. So, if you are designing pollinator gardens or if you are a beekeeper and want to market specialty honey, knowing which plants the bees are foraging on is essential.”

Rather than directly tracking the flowers from which bees forage, which can be a difficult task because bees can travel miles search of flowers, the lab uses DNA metabarcoding to analyze samples of pollen or honey. This method allows for the identification of all plant genera that are present in a sample. Using this technique, the lab can process about 200 samples at a time.

“Metabarcoding involves concentrating and homogenizing the pollen, extracting DNA, performing PCR amplification to replicate and uniquely barcode the DNA target for identification, and finally analyzing the samples using next generation sequencing,” said Michele Mansfield, director of the Honey and Pollen Diagnostic Lab. “After sequencing, our data analysis platform creates reports for each sample, where each plant source is identified along with the proportion it contributes to the total floral resources in the sample.”

Beekeepers can submit samples of their honey, which contains trace amounts of pollen that is concentrated during processing, for analysis. Because nectar from different flower species has different concentrations of sugars and plant compounds, honey can vary in color, taste and medicinal properties depending on the flowers from which the bees foraged.

“There is tremendous interest for beekeepers to be able to identify and market ‘specialty honey’ that is made from specific plant species,” Grozinger said.

Pollen samples can be collected from colonies of honeybees, nests of wild bees, or bodies of insects captured in the field. Identifying the pollen can help researchers, beekeepers, gardeners and conservationists determine the flowers that are both most attractive to and nutritious for different pollinator species, said Grozinger. This information can then be used to design pollinator gardens and habitats that can support specific species of pollinators or a diverse community of pollinators.

For more information about honey and pollen diagnostic services, including spotted lanternfly identification in honey that will be available in 2024, visit the lab’s website. Please contact Michele Mansfield at man203@psu.edu with any questions or for additional sample submission information. More details about the Penn State Center for Pollinator Research can be found at pollinators.psu.edu.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/penn-state-honey-and-pollen-diagnostic-lab-offers-pollen-identification/

University of Gothenburg

Credit pixabay

To obtain the biggest cherry harvest, trees should be pollinated by both honey bees and mason bees. A new study led by a researcher at the University of Gothenburg shows yet another benefit of biodiversity.

Like many other fruit trees, most sweet cherry cultivars depend on cross-pollination to produce their fruit. This means that there need to be several different cultivars of sweet cherry trees in an orchard for the bees to transport pollen from one to another.

“Sweet cherry trees are usually planted in alternate rows of different cultivars. In some cases, you can put different cultivars in the same row, but this can make the harvesting logistics tricky. In other words, the bees have to fly from one row of trees to the next to ensure that the trees set fruit,” says Julia Osterman, a biologist at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the study published in the scientific journal Ecology and Evolution.

Two bee species produce a synergy effect

Working with German researcher colleagues at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Julia Osterman found that if trees were pollinated by more than one bee species, they produced more cherries. The researchers observed bees in a total of 17 cherry orchards in eastern Germany. Some growers used honey bees in hives as pollinators, while others used wild mason bees. Some orchards used both species to different extents. The researchers noticed a synergy effect in those orchards in which both species of bee were present.

“It had an impact on the sweet cherry fruit set. The orchards with honey bees and lots of mason bees could have cherries on up to 70 per cent of the blossom. In orchards with only honey bees or only mason bees as pollinators the rate could be as low as 20 per cent,” says Julia Osterman.

Many growers were already using two species of bees, often as a back-up if the weather was too cold for the honey bees when the cherry trees were in bloom, as cherries flower early. Honey bees only become active once the temperature is above 12°C, but mason bees can cope with lower temperatures. The sharp increase in fruiting occurred when both species were active. The researchers are now speculating on the reasons for this.

“One theory is that the presence of mason bees affects the foraging behavior of honey bees,” says Julia Osterman. “This disturbs them and so they change rows more often, resulting in more cross-pollination. But all we know at the moment is that interaction between the bees produces a synergy effect.”

Of course, this is valuable data for cherry growers who can attract wild mason bees to their orchards by providing good nest material.

“Mason bees are solitary and don’t make honey in honeycombs like honey bees,” Julia Osterman explains. “They are more focused on collecting pollen to feed their offspring. They like to crawl into tube-shaped spaces where they can lay their eggs. Fruit growers can encourage mason bees to nest in their orchards by placing bamboo or wood with holes drilled in it at the site. However, it only seems to work up to a certain limit, after which you won’t attract any more mason bees, no matter how much nest material you bring in.”

Similar results have been observed in almond orchards and Julia Osterman’s next step will be to investigate whether this synergy effect applies to other fruit trees, as well as trying to determine exactly how the two bee species are affecting each other.

Facts: The study was conducted in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia in Germany in spring 2020 with researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and a research institute in Erfurt and is published in Ecology and Evolution. To the study: Mason bees and honey bees synergistically enhance fruit set in sweet cherry orchards

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Pollination by more than one bee species improves cherry harvest – ScienceBlog.com

Bees are an essential partner in helping pollinate our flowers, enabling healthy production of quality fruits in greenhouses and vertical farming.

Picking the right light source is an important step in boosting the performance of pollinators.

Below are three key ways in which LEDs improve bee pollination:

Bees can see and navigate better under broad-spectrum LEDs compared to HPS
Bees can see from 300nm to 650nm, which includes UV, blue, and green regions of light until the beginning of the red part of the spectrum. This differs from humans, who typically see 390nm to 750nm.

If you were only using HPS (High Pressure Sodium), most of the light produced would be in the yellow to red areas of the spectrum, which interferes with the bee’s vision because bees primarily use blue, green, and UV parts of the spectrum. For bees to navigate effectively and find their flowers, they need to be able to see all the wavelengths encompassing their visual senses.

Hitting the floral bullseye
Floral bullseyes in the center of flowers are marked with patterns in UV reflectance. These are invisible to the human eye but visible to bees.

If your greenhouse is blocking UV from entering, or you are running a vertical farm, then having some UV present in your LEDs will help illuminate these floral bullseye zones, which act as a target to help the bees land and pollinate your flowers.

Figure 2. Flowers that appear simply yellow to the human eye secretly contain patterns in the UV spectrum that are visible to bees and help guide them to their nectar.

Bee activity during the day
It has been reported that with HPS, bee activity is often delayed and requires the presence of natural light. However, trials with Valoya LEDs have shown that bees can begin earlier and become immediately active when the LEDs are switched on. Using Valoya LEDs not only helps the bees navigate and hit their floral bullseyes but also activates them to start their day.

For more information:
Valoya
Greenlux Lighting Solutions
Mekaanikonkatu 1, 00880 Helsinki, Finland
Tel.: +358 29 3700 670
sales@greenlux.com
www.greenlux.com
www.valoya.com

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.verticalfarmdaily.com/article/9554052/how-can-leds-improve-bee-pollination/

They are accepting honey samples for pollen type confirmation, identification, and concentration values. All inquiries may be directed to Dr. Heather Thakar (thakar@tamu.edu).

Updated Information:

SAMPLE requirements: 30-50 grams of fresh honey that comes directly from the hive and have not been strained or filtered.  Include important information about the origin of the honey sample (location of origin, local vegetation, expected or unexpected plant types). Knowing the origin will speed our analysis.

SAMPLE processing time: Allow 1 month for standard sample processing, analysis, and report. Samples submitted close to holidays and University closures may take up to 2 months for completion. Expedited services are available for an additional fee.

SAMPLE shipping: Send honey in well-sealed plastic or glass containers. Seal each container in its own individual plastic Ziploc back to prevent loss or contamination.

Palynology Laboratory, Anthropology Department

Texas A&M University (TAMU-4352)

College Station, TX, 77843-4352.

Per SAMPLE cost: $200 – $350 per sample, depending on specific analyses (pollen type confirmation or full pollen concentration values), sample origin, and whether expedited services are requested.

Local (Texas) Sample                 $200

Domestic (USA) Sample               $250

Hawaii and Foreign Samples           $300

Expedited Services                   $50 per sample

By Community Environmental Council

Recently, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) awarded a nearly $2 million grant through its Pollinator Habitat Program to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District and its partners (Community Environmental Council, Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, and Ventura County Resource Conservation District), to boost pollinator habitat on agricultural lands along California’s Central Coast.

California produces more than one-third of the nation’s vegetables and two-thirds of the nation’s fruit and nuts, of which an estimated $11.7 billion are dependent on pollinators. Unfortunately, due to habitat destruction, pesticides, disease, and climate change, pollinator populations have dramatically declined. The loss of pollinators in California affects both agricultural and natural ecosystems.

The CDFA Pollinator Habitat Program administers funding to established and experienced organizations to work directly with farmers and ranchers to install habitat and implement management practices that support pollinators. The program is aligned with the suite of Climate Smart Agriculture incentive programs administered by CDFA’s Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation.

“Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties are heavily agricultural communities, producing a diverse array of crops that compose a significant portion of the region’s GDP,” said Doug Kern, Executive Director of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy. “These crops rely on healthy pollinator populations to thrive and in recent years these populations have been steadily declining. This funding will mark a critical step in mitigating the effects of this decline by directly supporting pollinator habitat installation.”

The program’s primary objective is to support pollinators through provision of floral resources, host plants and other elements of suitable habitat. Projects funded through the PHP are expected to have additional benefits to California’s biodiversity and agricultural production. Projects will support integrated pest management, support beneficial species (beyond pollinators), enhance carbon sequestration and improve soil health among other co-benefits.

In collaboration with the project partners, the Community Environmental Council is working to identify eligible farms and ranches in the region, and provide technical assistance. Applications are currently open for farmers and ranchers who wish to apply for up to $200,000 to plant and maintain pollinator habitats, such as hedgerows, cover crops or riparian forest buffers. The application is here: cec.pub/pollinatorapp

“This project aligns with CEC’s broader climate resilience and climate-smart agriculture initiatives that aim to reverse the compounding effects of climate change, such as extended drought, extreme heat, and flood,” said Em Johnson, CEC’s Director of Climate Resilience.“To build true community-wide resilience, CEC is pioneering climate adaptation and resilience efforts that are rooted in equity and catalyzed by place-based innovation, elevating solutions that are community-led, ready to activate, and intersectional, supporting a broad range of community needs.”

To learn more about this work, visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/php/

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Pollinators Get a Boost in Santa Barbara Thanks to CDFA Funds – The Santa Barbara Independent

The California-grown almonds in your trail mix or almond milk were likely made possible through the pollination services provided by honey bees. In the United States, all commercially grown almonds—a crop worth more than $5 billion in 2021—are grown in California. Almond blossoms largely require insects for pollination, and honey bees are widely used to provide this yield-supporting service. While some almond growers maintain their own honey bee colonies, many opt to secure pollination services by renting hives from beekeepers. Beekeepers often transport their commercial honey bee colonies more than 1,000 miles as part of an annual journey that typically begins in the Northern Great Plains—which includes North and South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota—and proceeds to California and beyond. Driven by the timing of the almond bloom, between July 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018, an estimated 384,600 bee colonies were transported into California from the Northern Great Plains. Colonies also traveled from nearby areas of the West and Pacific Northwest, while still other colonies came from as far away as the Northeast and Southeast. Some beekeepers reported moving honey bee colonies more than 2,000 miles to pollinate almonds. After pollinating almonds and other crops in the region, many beekeepers later return to the Great Northern Plains to support colony recuperation and honey production. This chart first appeared in the USDA, Economic Research Service report, Honey Bees on the Move: From Pollination to Honey Production and Back, June 2021.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: USDA ERS – Chart Detail

Gary McDonald Business Editor

Some of the staff and pickers at work in the Gilpin farm in Armagh

POLLINATOR: A bee inside a flower

NATURE – and the art of reproduction – is being given a helping hand in Co Armagh in a unique initiative where farmers are being assisted to track pollinators to maintain quality of produce and improve crop yields.

Retailer M&S is teaming up with agri-tech start-up AgriSound to provide in-field noise sensor technology to boost pollinator activity.

More than 70 per cent of the world’s food crops grown for human consumption rely on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality.

And one of 18 sites across the UK chosen for the experiment is Gilpin Farms in Armagh, where sensors will be placed in its pumpkin patches.

Two in-field sensor trials were launched last year to help farmers better support pollinators like bumblebees and increase crop yields.

AgriSound technology allows farmers to track the number of pollinators visiting their farm in real-time and target specific interventions, like differing wildflower densities, for improving numbers and yields and quality of crops.

Now the technology is being scaled up across the UK to cover a diverse range of M&S’s fruit, veg and salad farms, with monitors covering 120 habitats and more than 1,000 hectares.

The technology will provide growers like Gilpins – which supplies M&S with carrots, leeks, pumpkins and Brussels sprouts – with access to real-time data and insights to help set their farms up to be more nature friendly.

Richard Gilpin, head of operations at Gilpin Farms, said: “The technology will be invaluable to help us monitor the pollinator activity across the whole farm, but particularly in the pumpkin crops.

“We currently bring in over 100 hives of bumble bees and honey bees to aid the pollination of the pumpkins, and the AgriSound technology will monitor how effective this is and also help us to make informed decisions about further interventions.

“We’re delighted to have been selected by M&S as one of the locations for this expansion and are excited to see what beneficial outcomes can be achieved by these relatively simple measures.

“If we can attract more pollinators to our farm, this will be a huge success.”

Andrew Clappen, technical director at M&S Food, added: “Improving biodiversity is at the forefront of our plans to help farmers become more resilient to the impact of climate change.

“Pollinators are the unsung heroes of farming – helping to improve yields and quality while benefitting the wider environment.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: How technology is giving nature – and pollinators – a helping hand in Armagh – The Irish News

Contact: Kim Kaplan
Email: Kim Kaplan

MADISON, WI,—Honey bees are more faithful to their flower patches than bumble bees when it comes to returning to collect more pollen and nectar, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists.

Overall, 76 percent of honey bees in the study revisited the same plot of alfalfa flowers in contrast to just 47 percent of eastern bumble bees.

But size does matter, especially to bumble bees. They were more faithful to larger flower patches, while the likelihood of honey bees returning to a flower patch was not affected by patch size. Large patches in the study were nearly 15 by 15 yards, each planted with 225 plants, more than twice as many as the small patches, which were about 10 by 10 yards with 100 alfalfa plants each.

To remain faithful to a specific location, an insect or animal requires reliable spatial memories enabling them to navigate complex landscapes and repeatedly return to the same site. Both honey and bumble bees have demonstrated this ability to return to previously visited foraging locations, so there must be other species-specific factors to explain the differences in patch fidelity observed between the two species, explained ecologist Johanne Brunet with the ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wisconsin, who led the study along with postdoctoral associate Fabiana Fragoso.

Differences in patch fidelity could be the result of bumble bees’ more explorative foraging behavior—their willingness to invest individually in foraging, often visiting more than one type of flower per foraging bout—compared to honey bees’ more highly developed communication system—the honey bees’ well-known waggle dance. Honey bee foragers perform the dance when they return to the hive to share the location of valuable food sources with other foragers; bumble bees do not.

Honey bees are more faithful to their flower patches than bumble bees when it comes to returning to collect more pollen and nectar. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

“So higher patch fidelity of honey bees, relative to bumble bees, may reflect a greater aversion to risk, be it in terms of wasting energy and resources or encountering predators” Brunet said.

The better our understanding of the characteristics that drive patch fidelity in important pollinators like honey bees and bumble bees, the better beekeepers, producers and conservation biologists will be able to support pollinators health as well as uphold the essential agricultural need to have crops pollinated to produce a harvest, Brunet added.

But the implications go far beyond that. For example, the pattern of pollination can have potential impacts on gene flow, the way in which gene pools of two separate populations of the same species mix.

“Bumble bees’ lower patch fidelity can translate into higher gene flow among the patches they visit, creating a higher probability for bumble bees to move genes longer distances,” Brunet said. “Higher gene flow in plant populations in the natural environment will also tend to homogenize their genetic diversity.”

This study was published in Ecosphere [https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4606]

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4606

Dominant in the San Diego region, foreign honey bees visit nearly twice as many flowers as native bees

A honey bee visits white sage. Researchers have shown that pollination by honey bees, which are not native to the Americas, produces offspring of considerably inferior quality than offspring resulting from native pollinators. Credit: Dillon Travis

By:Mario Aguilera – maguilera@ucsd.edu

With a broad mix of plant and animal species, the San Diego region is widely regarded as a global biodiversity hotspot.

As key pollinators, bees play a foundational role in the region’s floral diversity. But not all bees have the same influence on the plants they pollinate, new research from University of California San Diego scientists has revealed. Pollination by honey bees, which are not native to the Americas, produces plant offspring of considerably inferior quality (lower fitness), than offspring resulting from native pollinators, according to the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study is believed to be the first to directly compare offspring fitness resulting from honey bee pollination with other floral visitors.

Previous research offered evidence that predominantly feral honey bees account for more than 90 percent of the pollinators observed visiting flowers of abundantly blooming native plant species around San Diego. In their new study, School of Biological Sciences recent graduate student Dillon Travis and Professor Joshua Kohn have shown that honey bees visit approximately twice as many flowers on an individual plant before moving to the next plant, compared with native insect visitors. However, this methodical foraging behavior appears to have a detrimental effect on reproduction in the plants they visit because most of the pollen delivered to flowers will come from the same individual plant (known as self-pollination), which can lead to lower-quality offspring.

To gain perspective on the effects of such pollination dominance and propensity to visit multiple flowers on the same plant, the researchers conducted a series of experiments that evaluated the fitness of plant offspring across factors such as seed maturation, germination, survival, growth and reproduction. Using three common plant species from native habitats in San Diego County at locations that included the University of California Natural Reserve System’s Elliott Chaparral and Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserves, the researchers assessed a variety of conditions including natural pollination, no pollination, honey bee pollination, native bee pollination and self- and cross-hand pollination.

Four to six weeks later they collected the seeds from each scenario and compared the fitness of each. Offspring resulting from pollination by native insects (mostly various species of bees), they found, were two- to five-times more fit—characterized as likely to mature into seed, germinate, grow and reproduce—than those resulting from pollination by honey bees. This seems to be the result of higher levels of self-pollen delivered by honey bees, since offspring resulting from hand pollination using pollen from the same individual plant were two- to 10-times less fit than offspring produced using pollen from a different plant of the same species.

“While honey bees are perceived as beautiful mutualists that are helping plants with reproduction, it turns out they may not be as good for plants as many native pollinators. We have found that they deliver lower-quality pollen than do native pollinators.”

— Professor Joshua Kohn

“While honey bees are perceived as beautiful mutualists that are helping plants with reproduction, it turns out they may not be as good for plants as many native pollinators,” said Kohn, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution. “We have found that they deliver lower-quality pollen than do native pollinators.”

In a related study (Travis and Kohn, in press), honey bees were shown to visit more flowers per plant than average among other pollinators across 44 different plant species, which included both crop and non-crop plants. So the foraging behavior of honey bees may regularly deliver more self-pollen, resulting in lower quality offspring.

Honey bees are the world’s most frequent floral visitor, accounting for some 13 percent of all global floral visits to native vegetation. They are native to Europe, Western Asia and Africa and were first brought to the Americas in the 17th century. San Diego is regarded as “honey bee heaven” with a higher frequency of floral visits by honey bees than nearly anywhere else in the world. The area also features more than 650 species of native bees and other pollinating insect species that interact with at least 2,400 types of plants, more than any other county in the United States.

“If honey bees generally lower seed fitness of native plants, it could make the native plant community more susceptible to invasion from introduced plant species that do not require insect pollination…” the researchers note in their paper. These introduced plants are often grasses and other invasives that help spread wildfires in these ecosystems.

“People see honey bees as providing a valuable service, which is pollination, but there’s a decent amount of evidence to show that they’re competing with native insects for resources like pollen and nectar,” said Travis, who indicated that honey bees are also known to have viruses that can be transferred to native bees. “Many conservation efforts are focused on saving the honey bee, but they are not in any danger of going extinct. In fact, their numbers have been increasing. The organisms that do need our help are the native plants and bees.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Plants Pollinated by Honey Bees Produce Lower-quality Offspring (ucsd.edu)

The study was funded by the Sea and Sage Audubon Society, the Messier Family Fund and a UC Multicampus Research Program grant.

By Eurasia Review

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

If you’ve ever wondered how the monarch butterfly got its spots, University of Georgia researchers may have just found the answer.

The new study suggests that the butterflies with more white spots are more successful at reaching their long-distance wintering destination. Although it’s not yet clear how the spots aid the species’ migration, it’s possible that the spots change airflow patterns around their wings.

“We undertook this project to learn how such a small animal can make such a successful long-distance flight,” said lead author Andy Davis, an assistant researcher in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology. “We actually went into this thinking that monarchs with more dark wings would be more successful at migrating because dark surfaces can improve flight efficiency. But we found the opposite.”

The monarchs with less black on their wings and more white spots were the ones that made it to their ultimate destination, nearly 3,000 miles away in south and central Mexico.

“It’s the white spots that seem to be the difference maker,” Davis said.

Migration selects for butterfly spots

The researchers analyzed nearly 400 wild monarch wings collected at different stages of their journey, measuring their color proportions. They found the successful migrant monarchs had about 3% less black and 3% more white on their wings.

An additional analysis of museum specimens that included monarchs and six other butterfly species showed that the monarchs had significantly larger white spots than their nonmigratory cousins.

The only other species that came close to having the same proportion of white spots on its wing was its semi-migratory relative, the southern monarch.

Monarchs use solar energy to improve flight

The authors believe the butterflies’ coloring is related to the amount of radiation they receive during their journey. The monarchs’ longer journey means they’re exposed to more sunlight. As a result, they have evolved to have more white spots.

“The amount of solar energy monarchs are receiving along their journey is extreme, especially since they fly with their wings spread open most of the time,” Davis said. “After making this migration for thousands of years, they figured out a way to capitalize on that solar energy to improve their aerial efficiency.”

But as temperatures continue to rise and alter the solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface, monarchs will likely have to adapt to survive, said Mostafa Hassanalian, co-author of the study and an associate professor at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

“With greater solar intensity, some of that aerial efficiency could go away,” Davis said. “That would be yet one more thing that is hindering the species’ fall migration to Mexico.”

Monarch breeding population is stable

But it’s not all bad news for the flying insects.

Davis’ previous work showed that summer populations of monarchs have remained relatively stable over the past 25 years. That finding suggests that the species’ population growth during the summer compensates for butterfly losses due to migration, winter weather and changing environmental factors.

“The breeding population of monarchs seems fairly stable, so the biggest hurdles that the monarch population faces are in reaching their winter destination,” Davis said. “This study allows us to further understand how monarchs are successful in reaching their destination.”

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: Monarchs’ White Spots Aid Migration – Eurasia Review

By Sydney O’Shaughnessy 

Pollinators including insects, birds, bats, and other animals are essential to agriculture and natural ecosystems throughout North America. About three-quarters of all flowering plant species rely on pollinators for reproduction, including important fruit, vegetable, and seed crops as well as other crops that provide fiber, medicine, and fuel. While the economic and agricultural value of pollinators is clear, these species also help to maintain the healthy functioning of a wide range of natural ecosystems. However, pollinator populations have been rapidly declining in recent years, and if this trend continues, it could put U.S. economic, agricultural, and environmental systems at risk.

The National Academies have worked for decades to develop sustainable solutions to halt pollinator decline. National Pollinator Week was designated as the third week in June by the U.S. Senate.

Why are pollinator populations declining?

The reasons vary depending on whether the pollinator is considered a wild or managed species. Wild pollinators are animals and insects native to a particular area that aid in pollination for both crops and other plants. Managed pollinators, such as imported, nonnative honeybees, are considered commercial livestock. Managed pollinators typically have larger populations than their wild counterparts, and aid in the pollination of over 90 commercially grown crops.

Beehives in Chico, California, almond orchard to aid in the pollination of the trees in bloom. Beekeepers provide bees for pollination throughout California, which contributes over 80% to the worldwide almond market.

Wild pollinators are declining because of spillover of pathogens, like parasites, bacteria, and viruses, from nearby managed populations. Excessive pesticide use, climate change, resource competition with managed pollinators, and habitat degradation and loss from human development also contribute to wild pollinator decline. Habitat degradation is especially detrimental for some wild bats, bees, and butterflies.

Despite the agricultural industry’s propping up of managed pollinators, these populations are also experiencing declines. In addition to the loss of habitat and excessive pesticide use, parasitic mites are causing managed honeybee colonies to collapse.

What is being done to conserve and restore pollinator species and communities?

Pollinator conservation and restoration solutions come from many different sources. For example, a 16-volume National Academies series examines ways transportation agencies can make a meaningful difference in pollinator habitat. The series says that state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) can manage roadside vegetation with pollinator needs and habitat in mind. By using native plant materials, for instance, DOTs can establish diverse plant communities along roadways, minimize mowing and pesticide use, provide water sources, and create pollinator habitat corridors, which is a pathway that offers contiguous habitat and forage.

In addition, a recent report on the nation’s native seed supply says that insufficient supply of these seeds is a major barrier to ecological restoration and other revegetation projects across the United States. The report calls for concerted action to build a more robust native seed supply and industry, so that habitat restoration can be beneficial to both wild and managed pollinator populations, especially in the face of climate change.

What can you do to help pollinators?

There are many individual actions that can be taken to help restore local pollinator populations. Get involved by:

• Building native bee houses
• Planting pollinator-friendly gardens
• Attending native plant sales
• Advocating for responsible or pesticide-free practices
• Spreading awareness on social media

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: To Mark National Pollinator Week, National Academies Offer Sustainable Solutions to Restore and Protect Critical Species | National Academies

Pollinator Grants Offered to High Schools

Sand County Foundation is now accepting applications from high school teachers for pollinator habitat grants.

This competitive grant program gives Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin high school students hands-on experience growing native wildflowers and establishing habitat for imperiled insect pollinators and monarch butterflies.

Successful applications will receive prairie seeds and seedlings, consultation, and $1,000 to support project expenses. This year the program will make two rounds of awards, with applications deadlines of August 10 and November 17, 2023. To apply, visit www.sandcountyfoundation.org/SchoolGrants.

Insect pollinators are essential for crop pollination and ecological diversity. In recent years their populations have declined partly due to loss habitat, especially in the agricultural landscape.

“Students will germinate and grow native plants over the winter, and plant them outside in the spring as an experiential learning opportunity,” said Haley Diem, Sand County Foundation school grant program coordinator. “We encourage applicants to partner with landowners to establish pollinator habitat on agricultural and other working lands.”

Pollinator habitat grant program sponsors include: Syngenta, Enel North America, Monarch Joint Venture, and U.S. Forest Service International Programs.

“Enel understands the fundamental role pollinators play in our natural world. We’ve incorporated pollinator habitats into solar projects, recognizing that renewable energy can not only reduce carbon emissions but also support the ecosystems surrounding these projects,” said Jesse Puckett, Director of Sustainability Projects and Community Affairs for Enel North America. “We’re honored to support this important program and are grateful for the Sand County Foundation’s work to engage high schoolers in developing pollinator habitats.”

In addition to the grant program, teachers can access a Pollinator Habitat Curriculum Guide. Aligned with state and national education standards, the guide’s activities engage students in planning, establishing, managing, and monitoring prairie habitat. The guide is available for free download at https://bit.ly/2JHdq1u.

Sand County Foundation is a national non-profit that champions voluntary conservation practices by farmers and ranchers to improve soil, water, and wildlife habitat.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Casey Langan, Sand County Foundation

608.295.6001, clangan@sandcountyfoundation.org

We are here to share current happenings in the bee industry. Bee Culture gathers and shares articles published by outside sources. For more information about this specific article, please visit the original publish source: https://www.sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/soil-and-water-conservation/monarch-pollinator-conservation