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European honey bee extracts nectar from an Aster flower (Credit: John Severns/ Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain)

In addition to providing us with delicious honey, the hardworking honey bees also pollinate about a third of food crops and almost 90 percent of wild grasses, like alfalfa, used to feed livestock. Hence, it is not surprising that their declining population, caused by climate change, habitat loss, and deadly microbial diseases, has researchers scrambling to find ways to protect the vulnerable insects, which are so crucial to our existence. Now, scientists from the University of Helsinki in Finland have found a way to help honey bees fight off infectious diseases with a sweet, edible vaccine!

Vaccinating non-humans is not a novel idea. Domesticated dogs and cats have been inoculated against rabies, Lyme disease, and even the flu for many years. However, using them to protect insects has never been considered possible. That's because vaccinations entail injecting a dead, or weakened, version of the virus into the body and allowing the immune system to create antibodies to fend off the disease. Since insects do not possess antibodies, they lack a "memory" for fighting infections and therefore do not benefit from traditional vaccinations.

Some of the foods that could be affected if honey bees disappear (Credit: Specialtyfood.com)

Dalial Freitak, a biologist at the University of Helsinki, came up with the idea of an edible insect vaccine in 2014, after observing that when a moth was fed certain bacteria, it was able to pass on immunity to its offspring. Meanwhile, her colleague, Heli Salmela, had noticed that vitellogenin, a bee protein, appeared to have a similar effect to invasive bacteria in bees.

"So they could actually convey something by eating. I just didn't know what the mechanism was. At the time, as I started my post-doc work in Helsinki, I met with Heli Salmela, who was working on honeybees and a protein called vitellogenin. I heard her talk, and I was like: OK, I could make a bet that it is your protein that takes my signal from one generation to another. We started to collaborate, got funding from the Academy of Finland, and that was actually the beginning of PrimeBEE," Freitak explains.

How the American foulbrood bacteria invade and decimate hives (Credit: Current Opinion in Insect Science/Sciencedirect.com)

The first PrimeBEE vaccine, which is still undergoing safety tests, aims to protect honeybees against American foulbrood, or AFB, an infectious disease which affects bee colonies worldwide. The harmful bacteria, introduced to the hive by nurse bees, feed on larvae and generate spores which spread and infect the entire hive. "It's a death sentence for a hive or colony to be diagnosed with the disease," says Toni Burnham, president of the D.C. Beekeepers Alliance in Washington.

The researchers, who unveiled their findings on October 18, 2018, say the vaccine teaches honeybees to identify harmful diseases, similar to how antibodies function in humans and animals. They explain, "When the queen bee eats something with pathogens in it, the pathogen signature molecules are bound by vitellogenin. Vitellogenin then carries these signature molecules into the queen's eggs, where they work as inducers for future immune responses." The researchers believe that once the first PrimeBEE vaccine is perfected, defense against other pathogens will be easy to create.

"We need to help honey bees, absolutely. Even improving their life a little would have a big effect on the global scale. Of course, the honey bees have many other problems as well: pesticides, habitat loss and so on, but diseases come hand in hand with these life-quality problems," Freitak says. "If we can help honey bees to be healthier and if we can save even a small part of the bee population with this invention, I think we have done our good deed and saved the world a little bit."

Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, NPR.org, mnn.com.

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Finnish Scientists Develop Edible Insect Vaccine To Save Bees

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In addition to providing us with delicious honey, the hardworking honey bees also pollinate about a third of food crops and almost 90 percent of wild grasses, like alfalfa, used to feed livestock.

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Virtually all of the world's seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant's male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle.

With adequate pollination, wildflowers:

Reproduce and produce enough seeds for dispersal and propagation.

Maintain genetic diversity within a population.

Develop adequate fruits to entice seed dispersers.

The Simple Truth: We Can't Live Without Them!

Pollination is not just fascinating natural history. It is an essential ecological survival function. Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth's terrestrial ecosystems would not survive. Of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, i.e., those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals. Visits from bees and other pollinators also result in larger, more flavorful fruits and higher crop yields. In the United States alone, pollination of agricultural crops is valued at 10 billion dollars annually. Globally, pollination services are likely worth more than 3 trillion dollars.

More than half of the world's diet of fats and oils come from animal-pollinated plants (oil palm, canola, sunflowers, etc.).

More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops.

The USDA estimated that crops dependent on pollination are worth more than $10 billion per year.

Environmental Benefits of Pollination

Clean Air (Carbon Cycling/Sequestration)

Flowering plants produce breathable oxygen by utilizing the carbon dioxide produced by plants and animals as they respire. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have been rapidly increasing in the last century, however, due to increased burning of fossil fuels and destruction of vital forests, the "earth's lungs." Pollinators are key to reproduction of wild plants in our fragmented global landscape. Without them, existing populations of plants would decline, even if soil, air, nutrients, and other life-sustaining elements were available.

Water and Soils

Flowering plants help to purify water and prevent erosion through roots that holds the soil in place, and foliage that buffers the impact of rain as it falls to the earth. The water cycle depends on plants to return moisture to the atmosphere, and plants depend on pollinators to help them reproduce.

Reference: Flowering Plants, Pollinators, and the Health of the Planet (Marinelli, 2005): Plant. 2005. Janet Marinelli, Editor in Chief. First American Edition. Dorling Kindersley Limited (DK Publishing, Inc.). New York. 512 Pages.

Cultural Importance of Pollination

Native Peoples traditionally recognized the importance of pollinators:

Cultural symbolism

Food plants

Medicinal plants

Plant-based dyes

We explore only a few examples of culturally important pollinators or pollinated plants here. To learn more about culturally important plants and pollinators:

Cultural Symbolism

Butterflies

Raven's spokesperson - Haida (Pacific NW).

Messenger (in dreams) from Great Spirit - Blackfoot.

Earth's fertility - Hopi "Bulitikibi" harvest dance.

Flame, Teotihuacan (Palace of the Butterfly) - Ancient Mexicans (Olmecs, Toltecs, later Aztecs).

Ancestor - Sumatra, Naga (Madagascar), Pima (N. America).

Related to Morning Star - Arapaho, Mexecal.

Moths

'Tun tawu = "goes in and out of fire" - Cherokee (North America).

Symbol of knowledge, guardians of gold dust of eternity - Yaqui (Mexico).

Powder - insanity (moth-crazy, sexual excess, incest, aphrodisiac) - Navajo (North America).

Guardian of tobacco (caterpillar of Sphinx moth) - Navajo (North America).

"Our Future Flies on the Wings of Pollinators" This poster is made available by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Botanical Gardens, and the NAPPC (North American Pollinator Protection Campaign). Artist: Paul Mirocha

Plant Pollination Strategies

Pollination occurs when birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, other animals, water, or the wind carries pollen from flower to flower or it is moved within flowers. The successful transfer of pollen in and between flowers of the same plant species leads to fertilization, successful seed development, and fruit production. Other factors such as drought, extreme temperature shifts, or diseases may prevent full fruit and seed production. For more information, also see The Birds and the Bees.

Morphological Adaptation

Flowering plants have co-evolved with their pollinator partners over millions of years producing a fascinating and interesting diversity of floral strategies and pollinator adaptations. The great variety in color, form, and scent we see in flowers is a direct result of the intimate association of flowers with pollinators. The various flower traits associated with different pollinators are known as pollination syndromes. Flowering plants have evolved two pollination methods: 1) pollination without the involvement of organisms ( abiotic), and 2) pollination mediated by animals ( biotic). About 80% of all plant pollination is by animals. The remaining 20% of abiotically pollinated species is 98% by wind and 2% by water.

Wind

Plants that use wind for cross-pollination generally have flowers that appear early in the spring, before or as the plant's leaves are emerging. This prevents the leaves from interfering with the dispersal of the pollen from the anthers and provides for the reception of the pollen on the stigmas of the flowers.

In species like oaks, birch, or cottonwood, male flowers are arranged in long pendant catkins or long upright inflorescences in which the flowers are small, green, and grouped together, and produce very large amounts of pollen. Pollen of wind-pollinated plants is lightweight, smooth, and small.

Plants that are wind pollinated generally occur as large populations so that the female flowers have a better chance of receiving pollen. For more information, see Wind and Water Pollination.

Water

The small percentages of plants that are pollinated by water are aquatic plants. These plants release their seeds directly into the water. For more information, see Wind and Water Pollination.

Animals

Flowering plants and their animal pollinators have co-evolved where the forces of natural selection on each has resulted in morphological adaptations that have increased their dependency on one another. Plants have evolved many intricate methods for attracting pollinators. These methods include visual cues, scent, food, mimicry, and entrapment.

Likewise, many pollinators have evolved specialized structures and behaviors to assist in plant pollination such as the fur on the face of the black and white ruffed lemur or a bat. Animal pollinated flowering plants produce pollen that is sticky and barbed to attach to the animal and thus be transferred to the next flower.

Flowering Time

Plants have evolved differing flowering times that occur throughout the growing season to decrease competition for pollinators and to provide pollinators with a constant supply of food. From the first hints of warmth in late winter through spring and summer, until last call in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.

in autumn, flowering plants are available to their pollinators providing pollen and nectar in exchange for the pollination service.

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Why is Pollination Important? | US Forest Service

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Virtually all of the world's seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant's male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle.

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Scientists warn of severe honeybee losses in 2025

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Researchers at Washington State University projected that honeybee colonies in the U.S. could decline by up to 70% this year.

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Struggling beekeepers stabilize U.S. honeybee population after nearly half of colonies died last year

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Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Scientists said a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change keep causing large die-offs.

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A lack of bees in agricultural areas is limiting the supply of some food crops, a new US-based study has found, suggesting that declines in the pollinators may have serious ramifications for global food security.
'Murder hornets': race to protect North America's honeybees from giant invader
Species of wild bees, such as bumblebees, are suffering from a loss of flowering habitat, the use of toxic pesticides and, increasingly, the climate crisis. Managed honeybees, meanwhile, are tended to by beekeepers, but have still been assailed by disease, leading to concerns that the three-quarters of the world's food crops dependent upon pollinators could falter due to a lack of bees.

The new research appears to confirm some of these fears.

Of seven studied crops grown in 13 states across America, five showed evidence that a lack of bees is hampering the amount of food that can be grown, including apples, blueberries and cherries. A total of 131 crop fields were surveyed for bee activity and crop abundance by a coalition of scientists from the US, Canada and Sweden.

"The crops that got more bees got significantly more crop production," said Rachael Winfree, an ecologist and pollination expert at Rutgers University who was a senior author of the paper, published by the Royal Society. "I was surprised, I didn't expect they would be limited to this extent."

The researchers found that wild native bees contributed a surprisingly large portion of the pollination despite operating in intensively farmed areas largely denuded of the vegetation that supports them. Wild bees are often more effective pollinators than honeybees but research has shown several species are in sharp decline. The rusty patched bumblebee, for example, was the first bee to be placed on the US endangered species list in 2017 after suffering an 87% slump in the previous two decades.

Swaths of American agriculture is propped up by honeybees, frantically replicated and shifted around the country in hives in order to meet a growing need for crop pollination.

Almonds, one of the two crops not shown to be suffering from a lack of bees in the study, are mostly grown in California, where most of the beehives in the US are trucked to each year for a massive almond pollination event.

The US is at the forefront of divergent trends that are being replicated elsewhere in the world - as farming becomes more intensive to churn out greater volumes to feed a growing global population, tactics such as flattening wildflower meadows, spraying large amounts of insecticide and planting monocultural fields of single crops are damaging the bee populations crucial for crop pollination.

Honeybee colonies are weaker than they used to be and wild bees are declining, probably by a lot

Rachael Winfree

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the amount of crop production dependent upon insect and other pollinators has increased 300% over the past 50 years. Pollination shortfalls could cause certain fruit and vegetables to become rarer and more expensive, triggering nutritional deficits in diets. Staple foods such as rice, wheat and corn won't be affected, however, as they are pollinated via the wind.

"Honeybee colonies are weaker than they used to be and wild bees are declining, probably by a lot," said Winfree. "The agriculture is getting more intensive and there are fewer bees, so at some point the pollination will become limited. Even if honeybees were healthy, it's risky to rely so much on a single bee species. It's predictable that parasites will target the one species we have in these monocultural crop fields."

The paper recommends that farmers gain a better understanding of the optimal amount of pollination needed to boost crop yields, as well as review whether the level of pesticide and fertilizer put on to fields is appropriate.

"The trends we are seeing now are setting us up for food security problems," Winfree said. "We aren't yet in a complete crisis now but the trends aren't going in the right direction. Our study shows this isn't a problem for 10 or 20 years from now - it's happening right now."
Topics

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Loss of bees causes shortage of key food crops, study finds

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A lack of bees in agricultural areas is limiting the supply of some food crops, a new US-based study has found, suggesting that declines in the pollinators may have serious ramifications for global food security.

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Daniel Raichel Director, Pollinators & Pesticides, Nature

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On World Bee Day, bees need our help as much as ever.

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Pollinator Partnership works with diverse stakeholders representing various perspectives with the goal of creating positive change for pollinators. We work with farmers, gardeners, land managers, scientists, and industry to develop tools and programs that help keep pollinators safe from pesticides, habitat loss, climate change, and other threats.
Threats to Pollinators And why they need our help

Pollinator populations face multiple threats that can impact their ability to thrive and survive. Many pollinator populations are threatened by habitat degradation and fragmentation. Pollution, pesticides, pests, pathogens, and changes in land use, and climate change have all been associated with shrinking and shifting pollinator populations, particularly insect pollinators.

Below are some pollinator trends by the numbers:

Monarch overwintering loss in the western population has risen from between 35-49% to a 58% seasonal decrease;

Several species of native bumble bees have exhibited declines in geographic range and number in the last twenty years, including common bumble bee, western bumble bee, and Rusty-patched bumble bee;

The number of managed honey bee colonies in the United States has dropped from 5 million in the 1940's to approximately 2.68 million in 2023, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Habitat Loss

Agricultural Intensification

Agricultural intensification refers to the process of changing agricultural practices that make use of an area more frequently or more intensely in order to increase the yield per unit of farmland. This process can have unexpected impacts on pollinators, increasing residual pesticides, reducing habitat connectivity, and decreasing the botanical biodiversity. These multiplying factors have negative effects on pollinator health by reducing or eliminating important food sources, decreasing the carrying capacity for pollinators across the landscape and nesting habitat.

Human Development

The interactions between human development, biodiversity, and conservation are complex and multifaceted. The rapid spread of human development can lead to habitat fragmentation of important species groups including pollinators. Other factors associated with human development such as the Introduction of non-native and invasive plants and animals can also negatively impact the ecosystem by outcompeting native plants for resources. Studies show the linkage between the increase of impervious surfaces with reduced bee and butterfly species richness, reducing the overall biodiversity within urban areas.

Expansive Lawns and Increased Use of Non-Native Plants

Pollinators rely on certain flower species for nectar and host sites. Native plants, or plants that have historically been a part of the natural environment of a region, provide the most benefit to pollinators. The introduction and expansion of non-native plants, or plants that have not historically been part of a region, impact the abundance of native plants required by pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds to forage and reproduce. Non-native plants such as cultivar and hybrid plant species are, in most cases, not good for pollinators as they can result in double flowers, changes in flower color, and sterile flowers with no pollen. Furthermore, the expansion of grass lawns reduces plant species richness and the overall biodiversity of developed areas.

Climate Change

Climate change is the result of increased greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, from the anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels into the atmosphere . Climate change effects such as increased temperatures and more severe weather events have potential negative impacts on important pollinator species. These effects include destruction of habitat and range shifts of native species. Climate change is thought to be a key cause of pollinator decline across the globe. Pollinators, plants, and their interactions will continue to be impacted by a warming climate.

Increased Temperature and Range Shifts

The potential impacts of increased temperatures on pollinators may widely alter their range and distributions. As temperatures increase, suitable habitat for nectar resources and nesting sites become limited. To combat this change, pollinators have begun shifting their ranges north and into higher altitudes. For example, bumble bees are more common in cooler regions due to their cold-adapted fuzzy bodies; however, climate change is resulting in populations disappearing from the southern parts of their range, suggesting that these populations are getting squeezed out of suitable habitats. Additionally, some bumble bee populations are not shifting their range north, but rather shifting towards higher altitudes in mountainous regions. Migration towards mountain areas may result in increased resource competition with existing bumble bee populations.

Higher temperatures are also associated with increased aridity, potentially reducing available forage and water sources. This is a greater concern to pollinator populations located in already arid regions. For example, bats require specific temperature ranges for their roosting habitat and are not well adapted to even slightly higher temperatures. These bats must drink every night to stay hydrated, especially nursing females in the summer season. Increased aridity implies a stress on the reproductive ability of bats, leading to bat population declines.

Mis-matched Phenology of Plants and Pollinators

Climate change effects include warmer temperatures, less snow cover, more frequent droughts, and less predictable frost and flowering times. Research suggests that the mismatching of flowering time and pollinator visitation leads to decreased pollination and starving pollinators. For example, temperature increases impacts the blooming periods for a number of host plants and in the case of the Karner blue butterfly, increasingly warmer temperatures are causing its host plant, the wild blue lupine ( Lupinus perennis), to emerge sooner in the year, leading to a decline in the larval success rate of the Karner blue.

Increased Extreme Weather Events

The most critical factor affecting pollinator populations is weather: precipitation and temperature. It has been found that climate change-induced higher temperatures and heavier rainfall is associated with lower native bee abundance. This is because weather factors directly impact the growing season thus limiting flight time for foraging due to heavy rain and reducing forage availability due to hot summer weather. This can impact the ability to forage provisions for the next generation of bees, resulting in population declines. Research also shows that changing weather patterns cause an earlier spring onset, resulting in higher pre-emergence weight and higher mortality rates post emergence. In 2023, severe rain and wind storms moved through California that caused a 60% die-off of western monarch butterflies. This population was overwintering in non-native eucalyptus tree groves on the California coast. Monarchs usually experience a die-off rate between 38-49%, however severe climatic events may result in increased overwintering mortality.

Extreme Drought

Like humans, pollinators require water to survive. Current climate predictions suggest that average annual temperatures will rise in temperate zones, leading to exasperated summer droughts and overall water deficits. This can have negative implications for plant-pollinator interactions because pollinators require the nectar from native plants for growth and reproduction. Reduced floral resources can potentially cause pollinator population declines. This is for two reasons: reduced pollinator attraction to flowers and decreased nectar volume. Drought may compromise floral signaling, possibly eluding visiting pollinators as a result of less vibrancy or reduced size of flowers. Additionally, drought directly impacts the volume of nectar available for pollinators to harvest as drought reduces the rate of photosynthesis. Overall, drought impairs the productivity of floral resources, potentially altering important plant-pollinator interactions, which may result in loss of nectar and pollen resources imperative to pollinator populations.

Misuse of Pesticides

A pesticide is a substance used to control unwanted plants, insects, rodents, or plant diseases. Pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and fungicides. Insecticides have the biggest impact on pollinators. Using proper application practices when applying any pesticide is very important in keeping pollinators (and people) safe. Most pollinator poisoning occurs when pesticides that are toxic to pollinators are applied to crops during the blooming period. Poisoning of pollinators can also result from:

Drift of pesticides onto adjoining crops or plants that are in bloom

Contamination of flowering ground cover plants when sprayed with pesticides.

Pesticide residues being picked up by foraging pollinators and taken back to the nest/colony.

Pollinators drinking or touching contaminated water sources or dew on recently treated plants.

Home use of herbicides and insecticides may inadvertently remove important plants required for pollinators to survive. Habitat alteration or reduction may impair a pollinator's ability to navigate and reproduce. Reduced immune response in bees is also associated with pesticide use.

Agricultural use of pesticides has a significant impact on the landscape and pollinators. Used to optimize production, agricultural pesticides target unwanted pests and weeds. However, pollinators are often caught in the crossfire. Direct impacts such as exposure to toxic substances can kill common pollinators such as the honey bee. Agricultural use of pesticides may also harm non-target plants that are important to pollinators for nectar and reproduction. Indirect impacts of pesticides include contaminated soil and waterways.

It's important to review the effects of pesticides in terms of timing, concentration, and location. The use of pesticides may be implemented as a part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The goal of IPM is to solve pest problems at a small or large scale while reducing risk to the environment. IPM plans benefit from a combination of management approaches that use different modes of action and strategies, taking advantage of physiological, ecological, and behavioral characteristics of the target pests. By utilizing non-pesticide approaches first, this reduces potentially toxic exposure to pollinators. The means of applying chemicals are also important in mitigating exposure to pollinators. Growers are encouraged to use a multi-faceted approach that combines physical, biological, chemical, and cultural control methods. In addition, biocontrol is an emerging alternative to common pesticides. Biocontrol is the use of natural enemies to manage unwanted pest populations. The benefits of biocontrol include:

Click here to learn more about how you can protect pollinators from pesticides: https://www.pollinator.org/pesticide-education
Parasites and Pathogens

Pollinators also face pressures from parasites and pathogens that can infect their colonies, decrease their health and lower their numbers. A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. A pathogen is a bacterium, virus or other microorganism that can cause disease. Like the other mentioned pressures, the prevalence of parasites and pathogens are linked to and worsened by other pressures. The threats from parasites and pathogens look slightly different depending on if the pollinator is managed by a human versus if they are in a wild colony.

Native Pollinators

Monarchs and Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE)

Monarchs are susceptible to the damaging effects of the parasite, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, otherwise known at OE. Parasite spores from OE on monarch adults are deposited onto eggs and milkweed and then ingested by the larvae. The parasite can reduce larval survival, butterfly size, life span, mating success, and the ability to fly. The prevalence of infection by OE increases with monarch density at local scales and is negatively correlated with the ability to migrate. As infection prevalence is highest in sedentary monarch populations, this has led to speculation that the use of non-native milkweeds such as the introduced Tropical milkweed species, Asclepias curassavica, leads to higher incidence of OE in Monarch populations. However, there is debate about this and further research is needed to confirm the relationship.

Bumble Bee Parasites

Bumble bees face health challenges from parasites such as Crithidia bombi, a widespread parasite which can infect colonies, and reduce reproductive ability and lifespan. C.bombi infects the gut of the host bee and impairs the bee's ability to forage. There is some evidence that transmission can happen to bees who forage on flowers previously visited by infected individuals. Additionally, there is some evidence of spillover between managed and wild populations. Further research is needed to monitor this disease in bumble bee populations as they are being increasingly utilized for commercial pollination services.

Monitoring efforts can help track parasites and pathogens in pollinator populations and give scientists an idea of how widespread these diseases are in both managed and wild populations. Resources are needed to study these parasites and pathogens so that treatments can be developed or prevent their spread all together.

Managed Bees

Parasites

One of the most well-known parasites of managed bees is the Varroa mite, or Varroa destructor, a leading cause of colony mortality in North American honey bee colonies. It is a non-native and invasive species introduced into the U.S. from Asia. Varroa is widely spread, detected in over 90% of the colonies in the U.S. sampled by the APHIS National Honey Bee Disease Survey. Varroa feeds on the blood of honey bees which leads to smaller and cognitively impaired bee individuals and less honey production. Not only does Varroa decrease physical fitness in honey bees by causing direct damage, they also compromise bee immune systems making them more susceptible to viruses. For more information please visit https://www.pollinator.org/miteathon

Pathogens

One of the viruses that can be introduced into managed bee colonies is the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), which damages worker bees in the hive. Bees that are infected with DWV as larvae will have curly deformed wings as an adult and thus are incapable of flight. While this effect does not usually kill the bee directly, it does mean they cannot forage. There is no known cure for this virus so proper monitoring must be done regularly to avoid infestation of the hive.

Managed bees are susceptible to damage from bacteria as well. Paenibacillus is a bacteria that causes American Foulbrood disease. The disease can be recognized by the foul odor and sunken brood cell caps. The bacteria is transferred by the spores being fed to young larvae from the nurse bees which then germinate in the gut of the larvae. As the dead larvae cells are cleaned by the house bees, the spores can spread to the rest of the hive, causing infection.

Nosema ceranae is a fungus that can infect managed bee colonies and reduce reproductive fitness, suppress immune function, cause increased hunger and increase mortality. N.ceranae was first identified in the Asian honey bee in 1975 and eventually the fungus spilled over into honey bee ( Apis mellifera) colonies in North America sometime in the early 2000s. Today, it can be found on all continents where A.mellifera resides and has a similar prevalence in both managed and wild bee populations.

Non-Native and Invasive species

Native plants and their pollinators have coevolved over thousands of years, thus the presence of ecoregionally-appropriate native plants provide the most benefit to pollinators while non-native and invasive species can negatively impact pollinators. For instance, while some pollinators are generalists and can forage on many different plant groups, other pollinators are more specialized and rely on certain native plant species for their nutrition. As those native plants disappear, get over taken by non-native plants or damaged by non-native species, these relationships between pollinators and native plants start to deteriorate, lowering biodiversity and the ability of ecosystems to thrive.

Non-native species and invasive species often refer to similar land management issues. However, these terms mean different things and it's important to distinguish these differences when implementing species management strategies. A non-native species is a plant or animal that has been introduced into an area either deliberately or accidentally by human activities. Invasive species can be either native or non-native, but are unique given that they must do harm to the existing ecosystem in order to be considered invasive. Non-native invasive plant species are not native to the region and reproduce freely on their own. They invade natural or disturbed areas, outcompete native plants, and disrupt the ecosystem. For all concepts, it's important to consider the location; a species that is native in one region may be non-native invasive in another.

A great example of how a non-native invasive species can impact pollinators is garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata). Garlic mustard threatens native plants in forests of the eastern and midwestern U.S. by out-competing native species in the mustard family, known as "toothworts" (Genus Cardamine). Toothworts provide the primary source of food for caterpillars of the rare West Virginia White Butterfly ( Pieris virginiensis). Besides damaging native toothworts, the chemicals in garlic mustard have a toxic effect on the White Butterfly's eggs, keeping them from hatching when butterflies unwittingly lay their eggs on the plant's foliage.

As mentioned previously, increasing temperatures often coincide with range shifts not only for pollinators but other insect groups as well. As invasive insect pests start moving into areas where they were not found previously, this can also damage the relationship between pollinators and their native host/ nectar plants. New pests in agricultural areas can lead to increased use of pesticides posing damage to host plants and a shortage of native plants.
For more information about how to select plants for pollinators, visit the Selecting Plants to Support Pollinators brochure.

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Pollinator Partnership is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and the largest in the world dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of ...

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Dirk Lammers, Associated Press file

Climate change-induced warming may be jeopardizing the survival of honey bee colonies in the Pacific Northwest, a new study has found.

Contributing to this threat is an increasingly long autumn season, which is extending the amount of fall flying weather but is wearing out worker bees for spring, according to the study, published Monday in Scientific Reports.

Worker bees seek out flowers whenever the weather is suitable, no matter how much honey is already in their hives, the authors explained. But flying also shortens the lives of bees, they noted.

"This is a case where a small amount of warming, even in the near future, will make a big impact on honey bees," lead author Kirti Rajagopalan, a Washington State University climate researcher, said in a statement.

"It's not like this is something that can be expected 80 years from now," Rajagopalan continued. "It is a more immediate impact that needs to be planned for."

To explore this phenomenon, the researchers conducted simulations that explored honey bee population dynamics and incorporated climate projections for 2020 and 2100.

They found that Pacific Northwest colonies would likely endure spring collapses in both the near- and long-term cases. This outcome applied both to scenarios in which climate change progressed according to today's trajectories and to those with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Worker bees tend to forage for food whenever temperatures climb above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the authors noted. When the weather is colder, the bees huddle in the hive, eating honey and shivering to keep warm.

As spring begins, the adult worker bees begin flying again, which also means they start dying, the researchers explained. But if too many older worker bees have already died before their replacements are ready to fly, the entire colony can collapse, the authors warned.

Colonies that winter outside in colder areas in the far north of Washington State might be able persist despite the impacts of climate change, according to the study.

However, spring hive populations closer to the Oregon border could plunge below 9,000 adults by 2050 and below 5,000 by the end of the century, the researchers found. Colony collapse, they explained, can happen when there are fewer than 5,000 to 9,000 adult bees in a hive.

"Even if there is no nutritional stress, no pathogens, no pesticides - just the conditions in fall and winter are enough to compromise the age structure of a colony," said co-author Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, in a statement.

"When the hive comes out of winter, the bees are dying faster than they're being born," DeGrandi-Hoffman added.

But the scientists did also provide some room for hope, by exploring certain climate adaptation measures that could be undertaken to mitigate risk.

The scientists decided to simulate a relatively new technique called "cold storage," in which honey bee hive boxes are placed in cold indoor facilities. They found this method would enable bees to start clustering earlier and, in the process, save the lives of workers.

The models looked at the impacts of moving hive boxes from the Washington-Oregon border area into cold storage beginning in mid-October.

Hypothetical releases then occurred either April 1, when pollen starts becoming available in the Pacific Northwest, or Jan. 31, when more than a million hives are shuttled to California to pollinate almonds.

Although both cases generated larger populations than outdoor baseline conditions, the April 1 releases led to stronger growth, because brood-rearing tends to begin in late January, per the study.

"While autumn has historically been a time of preparation for winter hibernation and confinement, climate change is making it a crucible that defines the ranges and diversity of species across habitats," the authors stated.

"The success of the management schemes will have broad implications for the socio-economic viability of the beekeeping industry, the production of crops that rely on honey bee pollination, and food and nutritional security," they concluded.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Honey bee colonies at heightened risk of collapse in the Pacific Northwest: Study

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Climate change-induced warming may be jeopardizing the survival of honey bee colonies in the Pacific Northwest, a new study has found. Contributing to this threat is an increasingly long autumn season, which is extending the amount of fall flying weather but is wearing out worker bees for spring, according to the study, published Monday in Scientific...

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When the first stretch of warm spring weather visits us, the soul is suddenly called to clear house.

Fingers, and especially green thumbs, itch to get rid of the old, to usher in the new, all in the name of spring cleaning, both indoors and outdoors.

But as gardens are turned over from winter to spring, clearing, cutting and cleaning can take food and shelter away from one of the planet's most essential workers - pollinators.

One out of every three bites of food you eat depends on the work of pollinators, which help plants reproduce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pollinators are more than just bumblebees and butterflies. An assortment of other bee species, flies, wasps, beetles, bats, moths, birds and other insects all play an important role in pollinating crops like apples, potatoes, chocolate and coffee.

They "make the world go round," said entomologist and Woodland Park Zoo curator Erin Sullivan, "and we would definitely notice if they weren't there. They're really one of those foundational blocks of ecosystems."

So, before you go all Edward Scissorhands with the shrubbery this spring, here are some tips for how to garden with these crucial creatures in mind.

Wait! Get to know your garden

Before you head outside, armed to the teeth with tools, pause.

"Be a lazy gardener," Sullivan said.

Rather than jumping into your garden and doing all the pruning, deadheading and raking, first spend some time learning about the ecosystem that is your garden.

"Just because there's a bug in your backyard doesn't necessarily mean it's a pest," Sullivan said. "Find out what it is, why it's there and what it's doing."

If you do have a pest or weed, something is out of balance. Take a trip to your local nursery or your neighbor - who may share your garden's ecosystem from yard to yard - if you need a second source of knowledge to assess and evaluate your existing space.

Don't clear that clutter

While taking stock of your garden, your eyes may catch on what is traditionally thought to be unappetizing: the clutter of dead plants.

But for overwintering pollinators, leaf litter and dead branches are shelter and nesting sites.

Oftentimes, people only think about pollinators in the summer, when they're busy pollinating the planet. "But pollinators are around all year," nesting in the ground or in plants, Sullivan said.

Leaving some areas of your garden temporarily uncultivated, like the back half of a flower bed, ensures you're not throwing away a home.

Don't pull up those weeds, either

Early nectar sources are important for pollinators, so while you leave a little clutter, hold off on pulling up every weed, too.

Flowers that bloom the earliest in spring are typically weeds, Sullivan said, and they provide food for pollinators.

Dandelions, for example, are the most abundant first food for emerging pollinators, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Put the 'cides' down

Reduce or eliminate the use of herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and chemicals in your garden.

These tools are easily available, Sullivan said, "but people don't often read the instructions. They think if one squirt works, two squirts are better. That's not the case."

In fact, applying any chemical "should never be the first course of action," she said.

Instead, gardeners should analyze their garden to find out what's inside - and potentially taking it over - to create an action plan.

Use barriers, like netting, and trap plants - those preferred by pests - to protect your plants and unwanted animals. You can even spray water to "blast" pests off your plants, Sullivan said.

The first line of defense against pesky plants is good ol' manual weeding. Pull unwanted plants up yourself, plant species that will outcompete weeds, use mulches to cover problem areas and fertilize your soil naturally with compost and old leaves.

adding the zoo only resorts to chemicals when all other methods of getting rid of pesky plants or pests have been exhausted.

Professional gardeners and certified applicators who work in agriculture are at an advantage with chemicals, though, knowing which "cide" is the right one and when and where exactly to apply them.

"Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners don't have that training or expertise," said State Sen. Marko Liias, "and particularly in our urban areas where there isn't enough habitat for pollinators, layering chemicals is a double whammy."

Liias - who is a self-proclaimed pollinator champion - recently sponsored Senate Bill 5972 to restrict neonicotinoids, or a particularly harmful class of pesticides that kill indiscriminately, exterminating not only pests but also countless pollinators.

Neonicotinoids are absorbed into plants and can be found in their pollen and nectar, which is deadly for the pollinators that feed on them. These chemicals can even wash into drainage systems and end up in rivers, oceans and wetlands, impacting ecosystems beyond their intended targets.

The bill, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in March, will take these pesticides off Washington shelves and move them into the hands of only certified applicators, ending domestic outdoor use by 2025.

"If you want to use them, you'll need to call your local pest company and have them come do it for you," Liias, D-Edmonds, said.

Plant native plants

Your garden doesn't have to be "all native all the time," Sullivan said, but native plants go hand-in-hand with Washington's native pollinators (such as mason bees).

They evolved together, and as such, their ecosystems rely on each other.

As pollinators wake up for spring, they wake up hungry - and native plants are a great source of food. They're best adapted to local climate and soil conditions, providing better-quality nectar and pollen for pollinators compared to nonnative plants.

In Washington, native plants like willows and poplar trees are also larval hosts for many native butterflies.

said.

Extend the nectar season

Pollinators don't just need food during the springtime - they need food in the summer and fall, too.

Extend the nectar season of your garden by planting a variety of flowering plants, a minimum of three species per season.

Pick plants that will survive well and for a long time in your space, as well as some that bloom at different times throughout the growing season. This will provide a continuous source of food for pollinators, which is especially important in urban areas where habitat is scarce.

"Don't just plant a monoculture," Sullivan said. "The more diversity you have in your backyard, the more insect visitors you'll have. It keeps the whole ecosystem in balance."

Shift your mindset

Liias encourages gardeners to shift their mindset from striving for a "manicured golf course looking yard" to making things that are good for pollinators "beautiful in the eyes of our community."

"We need to shift the zeitgeist," he said, "and let's make it the goal to have natural, supportive and sustainable landscapes for everything that we live alongside."

Pollinators are critical creatures, although things that sting often fly a fine line between evoking fear or fascination.

Sullivan encourages gardeners to tune into their fascination because "there's an entire world out there in your backyards and local parks, even in your hanging baskets or container plants, waiting to be discovered."

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How to protect bees and butterflies when you garden this spring

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As gardens turn over from winter to spring, clearing and cutting can take food and shelter away from one of the planet's most essential workers: pollinators.

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Climate Lab is a Seattle Times initiative that explores the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The project is funded in part by The Bullitt Foundation, Jim and Birte Falconer, Mike and Becky Hughes, University of Washington and Walker Family Foundation, and its fiscal sponsor is the Seattle Foundation.

One of nature's most important keystone species is working itself to death.

Colonies of honeybees - crucial pollinators for a wide variety of plants and cash crops - are at risk of collapse because of climate change, a recent study by scientists at Washington State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found.

Long and warmer fall months across the Pacific Northwest encourage bees to emerge from their colonies when they should be resting, said Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, a research leader at the USDA's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona.

"When it's warm out, they fly and when they fly they're physiologically aging," said DeGrandi-Hoffman, who is also one of the study's authors. "It's very taxing to fly."

Come springtime, bees that should be emerging young and rested are instead elderly and infirm, she said. They're too old to care for younger bee generations, which in turn cannot care for the generations after them.

When the colonies sink below a certain threshold (around 5,000 bees), multiple things start to go wrong and the population spirals, said Brandon Hopkins, another author and manager of WSU's apiary program and laboratory. The bees will no longer be able to keep warm, nursing bees can't feed the developing brood and there won't be enough bees to forage for food.

"Everything falls apart," Hopkins said. "The whole system crashes."

All because of a few degrees' increase in temperature.

The study modeled many different climate scenarios for the decades ahead, said Kirti Rajagopalan, another author, and an assistant professor in WSU's Department of Biological Systems Engineering. How severe the warming trend continues for the Pacific Northwest depends on whether humans curtail greenhouse gas emissions and, if so, by how much.

Warmer fall and winter months don't happen every year, and the Earth will continue to see its natural variability, but climate change pushes each end of the spectrum to greater extremes than before.

Not only did global temperatures mark the hottest year on record in 2023 but regional temperatures consistently hit record highs as well.

By 2050 those warm swings for fall and winter months could push between 4 or 5 degrees above normal, Rajagopalan said.

"Two degrees might not make a big difference at the beach," Hopkins said. "But it can be the difference between bees flying and not flying."

The difference between a sustainable bee colony and collapse.

Some years between 40% and 60% of bee colonies collapse across the country, DeGrandi-Hoffman said. The consequences will become more and more apparent.

Not only can the study's findings apply to bees outside of the Pacific Northwest, but other pollinators are suffering as well, DeGrandi-Hoffman said.

"They're really the glue in our ecosystems," she said. "And you never notice the glue - until it stops working."

With bees specifically, that glue (pollination) produces about a third of our diets as humans, Hopkins said.

"Generally the most nutritious and delicious foods that we have," he said. "Fruits and vegetables and many of the nuts are produced by bees."

There's also a beef and dairy component, Hopkins added. Bees pollinate forage crops like alfalfa, which feed cows.

Don't forget the honey, either.

Eric Olson saw that widespread pollination firsthand. He also witnessed the collapses.

For 40 years Olson trucked his 18,000 honeybee colonies between California and Washington, moving among farms and orchards where their job was to pollinate everything from almonds to tree fruits, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, carrots, radishes, onions, canola and alfalfa.

For years, Olson said, "seven days a week at 2 a.m. I was somewhere in my big truck, hauling bees."

Bee populations declined toward the end of Olson's career, and over his last winter in business he lost nearly two thirds of his hives.

He endearingly refers to recently hatched honeybees as "little fuzzies," which are imperiled by unseasonably warm weather during times with low food availability.

"The little fuzzies were hatching when they normally did but because they were outside and it was warm enough to fly they would go out but there wasn't anything out there for them," Olson said.

"They used up their life," he said.

Olson sold his business in 2016 and the decline continued into a complete collapse, he said.

"Last year is the first year since 1980 that there was not Olson's honeybee pollination in the Yakima Valley," he said.

While bee populations are suffering across the country, they're not all collapsing at the same time or for the same reasons. One survey from the nonprofit Bee Informed showed that beekeepers saw their second-highest loss rates on record last year. At the same time other domesticated colonies in Texas have exploded in population in recent years, The Washington Post reported.

The problems a given hive faces depend on many factors, including the climate, its location and whether it's a domestic colony or not.

Aside from warming temperatures, Olson said bees also suffer from a lack of food and widespread viruses.

Fortunately, the experts agree, there are some solutions.

Beekeepers can rely on cold atmosphere storage to replace the chilly climes that usually trigger a dormant period in the hives, Olson said.

And some farmers are using massive black or white tarps to heat or cool the soils in which wild bees live, Hopkins said.

The Washington state Legislature this year passed a measure requiring projects that include landscaping to make at least 25% of the area a "pollinator habitat" using native plants. Gov. Jay Inslee signed that measure into law Thursday.

The thing that will prevent the greatest amount of warming, however, is for humans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and work to reverse the worst effects of climate change, Rajagopalan said.

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PNW honeybee colonies at risk of collapse, WSU study finds

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Bees and other pollinators are "really the glue in our ecosystems," said USDA scientist Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman.

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FOX13 News | Seattle & Western Washington | Formerly Q13 News

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A recent study from Washington State University (WSU) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sheds light on the potential risks posed to honey bee populations by warmer autumns and winters, with significant implications for pollination services and agricultural productivity.

Published in Scientific Reports, the study delved into the impacts of climate change on honey bee colony dynamics, particularly focusing on the Pacific Northwest, but holds implications for hives across the U.S.

"This is a case where a small amount of warming, even in the near future, will make a big impact on honey bees," said lead author Kirti Rajagopalan, a WSU climate researcher. "It's not like this is something that can be expected 80 years from now. It is a more immediate impact that needs to be planned for."

Keep reading to learn more about the study and its key findings.

Rising concerns for honey bee survival

Honey bees and other pollinators play a crucial role in agriculture, responsible for pollinating approximately 75% of global crops, including fruits, nuts, and vegetables. However, these vital insects are facing multiple challenges, including changing land use, habitat loss, pest pressures, pesticide exposure and climate change. While previous studies have highlighted correlations between monthly meteorological variables and honey bee colony losses, this study looked deeper into the effects of warmer autumn and winter temperatures on colony population dynamics and age structure.

Key findings of the study

The study used the VARROAPOP population dynamics model driven by future climate projections to simulate honey bee populations under different scenarios. Results indicated that warmer autumns and winters are expected to extend honey bee flight times, leading to changes in the age structure of the overwintering colony. Specifically, late-season flights alter the colony's age distribution, skewing it towards older bees, which in turn increases the risk of colony failure in the spring. This "spring dwindling" phenomenon occurs when warmer spring temperatures stimulate flight activity, causing mortality, especially in older foraging bees.

Implications for beekeepers and agriculture

For beekeepers and the agricultural industry, these findings signal potential challenges ahead. The transition from summer to winter bees is critical for colony survival, and disruptions in this process due to extended flight times could have detrimental effects. The study also evaluated an emerging management strategy to mitigate these impacts: overwintering colonies in temperature-controlled indoor facilities. The use of cold storage facilities could help maintain stable temperatures, reducing the physiological stress on bees and potentially improving overwintering survival rates.

Bridging gaps for bee conservation

The researchers emphasize the need to bridge critical gaps in understanding how to optimize winter management strategies in different locations and conditions. This includes identifying the most effective ways to support honey bee populations in the face of a changing climate. By studying the effects of climate change on honey bee dynamics, WSU researchers aim to provide insights that can aid in the conservation of these essential pollinators.

As concerns for pollinator health continue to grow, studies like this one play a vital role in guiding conservation efforts and sustainable agricultural practices. Through a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change on honey bee populations, researchers and beekeepers alike can work towards ensuring the resilience and survival of these important insects.

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PNW honey bees threatened by warmer autumns, winters: study

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A recent study from WSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sheds light on the potential risks posed to honey bee populations by warmer autumns and winters.