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Balvino‐Olvera FJ, Olivares‐Pinto U, González‐Rodríguez A, Aguilar‐Aguilar MJ, Ruiz‐Guzmán G, Lobo‐Segura J, Cortés‐Flores J, Cristobal‐Perez EJ, Martén‐Rodríguez S, Patiño‐Conde V, Quesada M. Effects of floral resources on honey bee populations in Mexico: Using dietary metabarcoding to examine landscape quality in agroecosystems. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11456. [PMID: 38895569 PMCID: PMC11183941 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The decline of honey bee populations significantly impacts the human food supply due to poor pollination and yield decreases of essential crop species. Given the reduction of pollinators, research into critical landscape components, such as floral resource availability and land use change, might provide valuable information about the nutritional status and health of honey bee colonies. To address this issue, we examine the effects of landscape factors like agricultural area, urban area, and climatic factors, including maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation, on honey bee hive populations and nutritional health of 326 honey bee colonies across varying landscapes in Mexico. DNA metabarcoding facilitated the precise identification of pollen from 267 plant species, encompassing 243 genera and 80 families, revealing a primary herb-based diet. Areas characterized by high landscape diversity exhibited greater pollen diversity within the colony. Conversely, colonies situated in regions with higher proportions of agricultural and urban landscapes demonstrated lower bee density. The maximum ambient temperature outside hives positively correlated with pollen diversity, aligning with a simultaneous decrease in bee density. Conversely, higher relative humidity positively influenced both the bee density of the colony and the diversity of foraged pollen. Our national-level study investigated pollen dietary availability and colony size in different habitat types, latitudes, climatic conditions, and varied levels and types of disturbances. This effort was taken to gain a better insight into the mechanisms driving declines in honey bee populations. This study illustrates the need for more biodiverse agricultural landscapes, the preservation of diverse habitats, and the conservation of natural and semi-natural spaces. These measures can help to improve the habitat quality of other bee species, as well as restore essential ecosystem processes, such as pollination and pest control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J. Balvino‐Olvera
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Unidad de Posgrado, Edificio D, 1° Piso, Circuito de PosgradosCiudad UniversitariaCDMXMexico
| | - Ulises Olivares‐Pinto
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad JuriquillaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoJuriquillaQuerétaroMexico
| | - Antonio González‐Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y SustentabilidadUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMoreliaMichoacánMexico
| | - María J. Aguilar‐Aguilar
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
| | - Gloria Ruiz‐Guzmán
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
| | - Jorge Lobo‐Segura
- Escuela de BiologíaUniversidad de Costa RicaSan PedroCosta Rica
- Laboratorio Binacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela de BiologíaUniversidad de Costa RicaSan PedroCosta Rica
| | - Jorge Cortés‐Flores
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
- Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Sede TlaxcalaUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoSanta Cruz TlaxcalaMexico
| | - E. Jacob Cristobal‐Perez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
- Laboratorio Binacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela de BiologíaUniversidad de Costa RicaSan PedroCosta Rica
| | - Silvana Martén‐Rodríguez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
| | - Violeta Patiño‐Conde
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios SuperioresUnidad MoreliaMoreliaMichoacánMexico
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y SustentabilidadUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoMoreliaMichoacánMexico
- Laboratorio Binacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela de BiologíaUniversidad de Costa RicaSan PedroCosta Rica
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2
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Steele TN, Schürch R, Ohlinger BD, Couvillon MJ. Apple orchards feed honey bees during, but even more so after, bloom. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
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3
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Stoner KA, Nurse A, Koethe RW, Hatala MS, Lehmann DM. Where Does Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera L.) Pollen Come from? A Study of Pollen Collected from Colonies at Ornamental Plant Nurseries. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13080744. [PMID: 36005369 PMCID: PMC9409349 DOI: 10.3390/insects13080744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Ornamental nursery plants are both a major agricultural industry in the U.S. and a major feature of the urban and suburban landscape. Interest in their relationship with pollinators is two-fold: the extent to which they provide a nutritional benefit to pollinators, and the extent to which they have the potential to harm pollinators by exposing them to pesticide residues in nectar and pollen. We identified plant genera as sources of trapped pollen collected by honey bee colonies located at commercial ornamental plant nurseries in Connecticut in 2015 and 2018 and quantified the percentage of pollen volume collected from each genus for each weekly sample over two seasons. Plant genera grown at these nurseries, particularly Rosa, Rhus, and Ilex, contributed substantially to pollen volume during weeks 23-27 of the year. Among the genera not grown in nurseries, Toxicodendron was also important during weeks 23 and 24, and Trifolium was important in both frequency and quantity throughout the season. Zea was a major component of pollen volume from weeks 28-36 in both sites, even though cropland was not over 11% of land cover at either site.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Nurse
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Robert W. Koethe
- Region 1 Office, Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division RCRA, UST and Pesticides Section, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Boston, MA 27711, USA
| | | | - David M. Lehmann
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Health and Environmental Effects Assessment Division, Integrated Health Assessment Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27711, USA
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4
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Silliman MR, Schürch R, Malone S, Taylor SV, Couvillon MJ. Row crop fields provide mid‐summer forage for honey bees. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8979. [PMID: 35784068 PMCID: PMC9170536 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees provide invaluable economic and ecological services while simultaneously facing stressors that may compromise their health. For example, agricultural landscapes, such as a row crop system, are necessary for our food production, but they may cause poor nutrition in bees from a lack of available nectar and pollen. Here, we investigated the foraging dynamics of honey bees in a row crop environment. We decoded, mapped, and analyzed 3459 waggle dances, which communicate the location of where bees collected food, for two full foraging seasons (April–October, 2018–2019). We found that bees recruited nestmates mostly locally (<2 km) throughout the season. The shortest communicated median distances (0.474 and 0.310 km), indicating abundant food availability, occurred in July in both years, which was when our row crops were in full bloom. We determined, by plotting and analyzing the communicated locations, that almost half of the mid‐summer recruitment was to row crops, with 37% (2018) and 50% (2019) of honey bee dances indicating these fields. Peanut was the most attractive in July, followed by corn and cotton but not soybean. Overall, row crop fields are indicated by a surprisingly large proportion of recruitment dances, suggesting that similar agricultural landscapes may also provide mid‐summer foraging opportunities for honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary R. Silliman
- Department of Entomology (MC0319) Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology (MC0319) Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia USA
| | - Sean Malone
- Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center Virginia Tech Suffolk Virginia USA
| | - Sally V. Taylor
- Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center Virginia Tech Suffolk Virginia USA
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5
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Samuelson AE, Schürch R, Leadbeater E. Dancing bees evaluate central urban forage resources as superior to agricultural land. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ash E. Samuelson
- Department of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- Department of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
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6
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Japanese Honeybees ( Apis cerana japonica Radoszkowski, 1877) May Be Resilient to Land Use Change. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12080685. [PMID: 34442251 PMCID: PMC8396638 DOI: 10.3390/insects12080685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Pollinators are threatened globally by growing urban sprawl and agriculture. The Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera) readily adapts to whatever food is available, so people have made it the most widely distributed pollinator across the world. Previous research has suggested that the Western Honeybee may be less resilient to land use change outside of its natural range. This study examines a different honeybee species—the Japanese Honeybee (Apis cerana japonica). Unlike the Western Honeybee, this species is found almost exclusively in its natural range in Japan. Consequently, it may be better adapted to its local food sources and therefore more resilient. Working in southern Japan, in the Nagasaki and Saga prefectures, we looked at the nectar and pollen that the Japanese Honeybee feeds on. Their food intake was then examined in relation to local land use composition. We found minimal impact of increasing urban sprawl on the forage of the Japanese Honeybee. This goes against previous studies on the Western Honeybee elsewhere in the world. Though in need of a direct comparison with Western Honeybee, these preliminary results could be due to differences in urban green infrastructure in Japan, or due to an adaptation by the Japanese honeybee to its surroundings. Abstract Pollinators are being threatened globally by urbanisation and agricultural intensification, driven by a growing human population. Understanding these impacts on landscapes and pollinators is critical to ensuring a robust pollination system. Remote sensing data on land use attributes have previously linked honeybee nutrition to land use in the Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Here, we instead focus on the less commonly studied Apis cerana japonica—the Japanese Honeybee. Our study presents preliminary data comparing forage (honey and pollen) with land use across a rural-urban gradient from 22 sites in Kyushu, southern Japan. Honey samples were collected from hives between June 2018 and August 2019. Pollen were collected and biotyped from hives in urban and rural locations (n = 4). Previous studies of honey show substantial variation in monosaccharide content. Our analysis of A. cerana japonica honey found very little variation in glucose and fructose (which accounted for 97% of monosaccharides), despite substantial differences in surrounding forage composition. As expected, we observed temporal variation in pollen foraged by A. cerana japonica, likely dependent on flowering phenology. These preliminary results suggest that the forage and nutrition of A. cerana japonica may not be negatively affected by urban land use. This highlights the need for further comparative studies between A. cerana japonica and A. mellifera as it could suggest a resilience in pollinators foraging in their native range.
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7
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Lin C, Sponsler DB, Richardson RT, Watters HD, Glinski DA, Henderson WM, Minucci JM, Lee EH, Purucker ST, Johnson RM. Honey Bees and Neonicotinoid-Treated Corn Seed: Contamination, Exposure, and Effects. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2021; 40:1212-1221. [PMID: 33289922 PMCID: PMC8048971 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Most corn (Zea mays) seeds planted in the United States in recent years are coated with a seed treatment containing neonicotinoid insecticides. Abrasion of the seed coating generates insecticide-laden planter dust that disperses through the landscape during corn planting and has resulted in many "bee-kill" incidents in North America and Europe. We investigated the linkage between corn planting and honey bee colony success in a region dominated by corn agriculture. Over 3 yr we consistently observed an increased presence of corn seed treatment insecticides in bee-collected pollen and elevated worker bee mortality during corn planting. Residues of seed treatment neonicotinoids, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, detected in pollen positively correlated with cornfield area surrounding the apiaries. Elevated worker mortality was also observed in experimental colonies fed field-collected pollen containing known concentrations of corn seed treatment insecticides. We monitored colony growth throughout the subsequent year in 2015 and found that colonies exposed to higher insecticide concentrations exhibited slower population growth during the month of corn planting but demonstrated more rapid growth in the month following, though this difference may be related to forage availability. Exposure to seed treatment neonicotinoids during corn planting has clear short-term detrimental effects on honey bee colonies and may affect the viability of beekeeping operations that are dependent on maximizing colony size in the springtime. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1212-1221. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia‐Hua Lin
- Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development CenterThe Ohio State UniversityWoosterOhioUSA
| | - Douglas B. Sponsler
- Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development CenterThe Ohio State UniversityWoosterOhioUSA
| | - Rodney T. Richardson
- Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development CenterThe Ohio State UniversityWoosterOhioUSA
| | - Harold D. Watters
- Department of ExtensionThe Ohio State UniversityBellefontaineOhioUSA
| | | | - W. Matthew Henderson
- Center for Environmental Measurement and ModelingUS Environmental Protection AgencyAthensGeorgia
| | - Jeffrey M. Minucci
- Center for Computational Toxicity and ExposureUS Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle ParkNorth Carolina
| | - E. Henry Lee
- Center for Public Health and Environmental AssessmentUS Environmental Protection AgencyCorvallisOregon
| | - S. Thomas Purucker
- Center for Computational Toxicity and ExposureUS Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle ParkNorth Carolina
| | - Reed M. Johnson
- Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development CenterThe Ohio State UniversityWoosterOhioUSA
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8
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Richardson RT, Eaton TD, Lin CH, Cherry G, Johnson RM, Sponsler DB. Application of plant metabarcoding to identify diverse honeybee pollen forage along an urban-agricultural gradient. Mol Ecol 2020; 30:310-323. [PMID: 33098151 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding animal foraging ecology requires large sample sizes spanning broad environmental and temporal gradients. For pollinators, this has been hampered by the laborious nature of morphologically identifying pollen. Identifying pollen from urban environments is particularly difficult due to the presence of diverse ornamental species associated with consumer horticulture. Metagenetic pollen analysis represents a potential solution to this issue. Building upon prior laboratory and bioinformatic methods, we applied quantitative multilocus metabarcoding to characterize the foraging ecology of honeybee colonies situated in urban, suburban, mixed suburban-agricultural and rural agricultural sites in central Ohio, USA. In cross-validating a subset of our metabarcoding results using microscopic palynology, we find strong concordance between the molecular and microscopic methods. Our results suggest that forage from the agricultural site exhibited decreased taxonomic diversity and temporal turnover relative to the urban and suburban sites, though the generalization of this observation will require replication across additional sites and cities. Our work demonstrates the power of honeybees as environmental samplers of floral community composition at large spatial scales, aiding in the distinction of taxa characteristically associated with urban or agricultural land use from those distributed ubiquitously across the sampled landscapes. Observed patterns of high forage diversity and compositional turnover in our more urban sites are likely reflective of the fine-grain heterogeneity and high beta diversity of urban floral landscapes at the scale of honeybee foraging. This provides guidance for future studies investigating how relationships between urbanization and measures of pollinator health are mediated by variation in floral resource dynamics across landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodney T Richardson
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD, USA
| | - Tyler D Eaton
- Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Chia-Hua Lin
- Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Garrett Cherry
- Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Reed M Johnson
- Department of Entomology, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA
| | - Douglas B Sponsler
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Department of Botany, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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9
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Magdas DA, Guyon F, Puscas R, Vigouroux A, Gaillard L, Dehelean A, Feher I, Cristea G. Applications of emerging stable isotopes and elemental markers for geographical and varietal recognition of Romanian and French honeys. Food Chem 2020; 334:127599. [PMID: 32711278 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The research towards the identification of new authenticity markers is crucial to fight against fraudulent activities on honey, one of the top ten most falsified food commodities. This work proposes an association of stable isotopes and elemental content as markers for honey authentication, with respect to its floral and geographical origin. Emerging markers like isotopic signature of honey water alongside with carbon and hydrogen isotopic ratios of ethanol obtained from honey fermentation and Rare Earth Elements, were used to develop new recognition models. Thus, the efficiency of the discrimination potential of these emerging markers was discussed individually and in association. This approach proved its effectiveness for geographical differentiation (>98%) and the role of the emerging markers in these classifications was an essential one, especially of: (D/H)I, δ2H, δ18O, La, Ce and Pr. Floral recognition was realized in a lower percentage revealing the suitability of these markers mainly for geographical classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Alina Magdas
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Str., 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Francois Guyon
- Service Commun des Laboratoires, 3 Avenue du Dr. Albert Schweitzer, 33608 Pessac, France.
| | - Romulus Puscas
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Str., 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Audrey Vigouroux
- Service Commun des Laboratoires, 3 Avenue du Dr. Albert Schweitzer, 33608 Pessac, France
| | - Laetitia Gaillard
- Service Commun des Laboratoires, 3 Avenue du Dr. Albert Schweitzer, 33608 Pessac, France
| | - Adriana Dehelean
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Str., 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ioana Feher
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Str., 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Gabriela Cristea
- National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat Str., 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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10
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McMinn-Sauder H, Richardson R, Eaton T, Smith M, Johnson R. Flowers in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Pollinator Plantings and the Upper Midwest Agricultural Landscape Supporting Honey Bees. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11070405. [PMID: 32629811 PMCID: PMC7411617 DOI: 10.3390/insects11070405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A present goal of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is to manage land in agricultural landscapes to increase pollinator abundance and diversity. CP42, or the pollinator seed mix, is planted and managed to support foraging pollinators with blooming flowers present at all points in the foraging season. This high-quality habitat provides an excellent opportunity to study honey bee nutrition and determine whether honey bees located near CRP sites use known resources included in planting seed mixes. This study aims to highlight the primary sources of honey bee forage in the northern Midwest as well as to assess honey bee utilization of the floral resources provided by the pollinator seed mix used for CRP plantings. We received pollen samples collected using pollen traps by beekeepers in Ohio, South Dakota, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Metabarcoding methods were used to identify and quantify pollen collected at different points in the season. The results indicate that honey bees frequently used major mass flowering resources such as Glycine, Trifolium, and Symphiotrichum throughout the season. In addition, flowers included in the CRP pollinator seed mix were used modestly. These results have implications for pollinator seed mix design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harper McMinn-Sauder
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (R.R.); (T.E.); (R.J.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Rodney Richardson
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (R.R.); (T.E.); (R.J.)
| | - Tyler Eaton
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (R.R.); (T.E.); (R.J.)
| | - Mike Smith
- Conservation Technology Information Center, West Lafayette, IN 47906, USA;
| | - Reed Johnson
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (R.R.); (T.E.); (R.J.)
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11
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Zhang G, St. Clair AL, Dolezal A, Toth AL, O’Neal M. Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidea) Pollen Forage in a Highly Cultivated Agroecosystem: Limited Diet Diversity and Its Relationship to Virus Resistance. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 113:1062-1072. [PMID: 32274498 PMCID: PMC7362718 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toaa055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Intensified agriculture reduces natural and seminatural habitats and plant diversity, reducing forage available to honey bees (Apis mellifera L. [Hymenoptera: Apidea]). In agricultural landscapes of Iowa, United States, we studied the impact of extrinsic agricultural intensification on the availability of pollen for honey bees by placing colonies next to soybean fields surrounded by either a low or high level of cultivation. The abundance and diversity of pollen returned to a colony were estimated by placing pollen traps on bee colonies during the summer and fall of 2015 and 2016. We observed no difference in abundance and diversity of pollen collected by colonies in either landscape, but abundance varied over time with significantly less collected in September. We explored if the most commonly collected pollen from these landscapes had the capacity to support honey bee immune health by testing if diets consisting of these pollens improved bee resistance to a viral infection. Compared to bees denied pollen, a mixture of pollen from the two most common plant taxa (Trifolium spp. L. [Fabales: Fabaceae] and Chimaechrista fasciculata (Michx.) Greene [Fabales: Fabaceae]) significantly reduced honey bee mortality induced by viral infection. These data suggest that a community of a few common plants was favored by honey bees, and when available, could be valuable for reducing mortality from a viral infection. Our data suggest a late season shortage of pollen may be ameliorated by additions of fall flowering plants, like goldenrod (Solidago spp. L. [Asterales: Asteraceae]) and sunflower (Helianthus, Heliopsis, and Silphium spp. [Asterales: Asteraceae]), as options for enhancing pollen availability and quality for honey bees in agricultural landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ge Zhang
- Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
| | - Ashley L St. Clair
- Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
| | - Adam Dolezal
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
| | - Amy L Toth
- Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
| | - Matthew O’Neal
- Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
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12
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Sponsler DB, Shump D, Richardson RT, Grozinger CM. Characterizing the floral resources of a North American metropolis using a honey bee foraging assay. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas B. Sponsler
- Department of Entomology Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Center for Pollinator Research Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania 16802 USA
| | - Don Shump
- Philadelphia Bee Company Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19125 USA
| | | | - Christina M. Grozinger
- Department of Entomology Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences Center for Pollinator Research Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania 16802 USA
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13
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Samuelson AE, Gill RJ, Leadbeater E. Urbanisation is associated with reduced Nosema sp. infection, higher colony strength and higher richness of foraged pollen in honeybees. APIDOLOGIE 2020; 51:746-762. [PMID: 33122866 PMCID: PMC7584562 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-020-00758-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Bees are vital pollinators, but are faced with numerous threats that include loss of floral resources and emerging parasites amongst others. Urbanisation is a rapidly expanding driver of land-use change that may interact with these two major threats to bees. Here we investigated effects of urbanisation on food store quality and colony health in honeybees (Apis mellifera) by sampling 51 hives in four different land-use categories: urban, suburban, rural open and rural wooded during two seasons (spring and autumn). We found positive effects of urban land use on colony strength and richness of stored pollen morphotypes, alongside lower late-season Nosema sp. infection in urban and suburban colonies. Our results reveal that honeybees exhibit lower colony performance in strength in rural areas, adding to the growing evidence that modern agricultural landscapes can constitute poor habitat for insect pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ash E. Samuelson
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Richard J. Gill
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, UK
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK
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Carr-Markell MK, Demler CM, Couvillon MJ, Schürch R, Spivak M. Do honey bee (Apis mellifera) foragers recruit their nestmates to native forbs in reconstructed prairie habitats? PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228169. [PMID: 32049993 PMCID: PMC7015315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies are valued for the pollination services that they provide. However, colony mortality has increased to unsustainable levels in some countries, including the United States. Landscape conversion to monocrop agriculture likely plays a role in this increased mortality by decreasing the food sources available to honey bees. Many land owners and organizations in the Upper Midwest region of the United States would like to restore/reconstruct native prairie habitats. With increasing public awareness of high bee mortality, many landowners and beekeepers have wondered whether these restored prairies could significantly improve honey bee colony nutrition. Conveniently, honey bees have a unique communication signal called a waggle dance, which indicates the locations of the flower patches that foragers perceive as highly profitable food sources. We used these communication signals to answer two main questions: First, is there any part of the season in which the foraging force of a honey bee colony will devote a large proportion of its recruitment efforts (waggle dances) to flower patches within prairies? Second, will honey bee foragers advertise specific taxa of native prairie flowers as profitable pollen sources? We decoded 1528 waggle dances in colonies located near two large, reconstructed prairies. We also collected pollen loads from a subset of waggle-dancing bees, which we then analyzed to determine the flower taxon advertised. Most dances advertised flower patches outside of reconstructed prairies, but the proportion of dances advertising nectar sources within prairies increased significantly in the late summer/fall at one site. Honey bees advertised seven native prairie taxa as profitable pollen sources, although the three most commonly advertised pollen taxa were non-native. Our results suggest that including certain native prairie flower taxa in reconstructed prairies may increase the chances that colonies will use those prairies as major food sources during the period of greatest colony growth and honey production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan K. Carr-Markell
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Cora M. Demler
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Margaret J. Couvillon
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Marla Spivak
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, United States of America
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Corby-Harris V, Bowsher JH, Carr-Markell M, Carroll MJ, Centrella M, Cook SC, Couvillon M, DeGrandi-Hoffman G, Dolezal A, Jones JC, Mogren CL, Otto CRV, Lau P, Rangel J, Schürch R, St. Clair A. Emerging Themes from the ESA Symposium Entitled “Pollinator Nutrition: Lessons from Bees at Individual to Landscape Levels”. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/0005772x.2018.1535951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Johnson AL, Fetters AM, Ashman TL. Considering the unintentional consequences of pollinator gardens for urban native plants: is the road to extinction paved with good intentions? THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017. [PMID: 28626951 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Urban centers are important foci for plant biodiversity and yet widespread planting of wildflower gardens in cities to sustain pollinator biodiversity is on the rise, without full consideration of potential ecological consequences. The impact of intentional wildflower plantings on remnant native plant diversity in urban and peri-urban settings has not received attention, although shared pollinators are likely to mediate several types of biotic interactions between human-introduced plants and remnant native ones. Additionally, if wildflower species escape gardens these indirect effects may be compounded with direct ones. We review the potential positive and negative impacts of wildflower gardens on urban native flowering plants, and we reveal substantial gaps in our knowledge. We present a roadmap for research to address whether wildflower gardens, while benefiting pollinators, could also hasten the extinction of native remnant plants in urban settings, or whether they could have other effects that enrich urban biodiversity. Goals of future wildflower mixes should consider the totality of potential interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Andrea M Fetters
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Tia-Lynn Ashman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
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