Module 11: Pollinators

• wild bees and flies are important pollinators but farmers see as pests
• how do farmers harm pollinators?

  • chemical use and farming practices destroy nests
  • not educated on what crops are pollinator plants
• why are pollinators beneficial to farmers?

  increase production
• queen honey bee:

  • long thorax to store sperm
  • single mating flight per year
• drone honey bee:

  • male, mates with queen
  • removed from hive in winter
• worker honey bee:

  • female
  • clean hive
  • tend to queen and larvae
  • when older fly to collect pollen
• capped brood frame: wax honeycomb where queen lays eggs
• what is the shape of capped brood honeycomb?

  angled, allows honey to drain out and not let debris in
• capped honey frame: food, seperate from larvae
• how is raw honey harvested?

  melt top wax surface
• threats to pollinators:

  • intensive agriculture: monocultures and pesticide use
  • climate change
• how does intensive agriculture cause habitat degradation/fragmentation?

  monocultures extend further than bee's range
• how does intensive agriculture reduce disease resistance?

  globalization, transmission of pests and diseases
• how is climate change a threat to pollinators?

  • droughts/floods
  • extreme climate events
  • seasonality changes flowering time, hinders pollination
• european honey bees are threatened by africanized bees that intermate and reduce honey production
• how is crop pollination managed in monocultures dependent on bees?

  truck in bees at time of blooming
• what are the downsides to monoculture crop pollination?

  • trucking bees can increase disease spread
  • threaten native bee's role in pollination
  • rental fee for farmers is rising
• what is the most effective pollinator in cranberry pollination?

  native bumble bees, produce larger quantities and size
• how are honeybees used in cranberry pollination?

  used when not enough wild pollinators, colony cost has increased 4-5x
• what can honeybee diseases commonly be caused by?

  used equipment, spores viable indefinitely
• american foulbrood: destroys larvae and turns into string material
• chalkbrood: fungal, turns larvae into hard mummies
• nosema: parasite, causes diarrhea, lethal
• tracheal mites: parasite, airways infected with mites
• varroa mites: external parasite, feed on budy fluid (hemolymph)
• how can varroa mites be fatal?

  can transmit viruses, weaken immune system
• what are the 3 tiers of integrated pest management?

  cultural practices: keep hive clean

  genetics: good nutrition for immune support

  chemistry: pesticides