Refinement of techniques for monitoring bee health and productivity in commercial orchards of the Upper Midwest
The use and maintenance of land can directly affect pollinator health. Different cropping or planting systems have different levels of forage availability, affecting the health of the pollinators that they support. Recently, many programs have been implemented to provide conserved land areas with forage plants for bees. These areas have been created under various federal and local programs, and are found throughout the country. There are some areas in the country where these pollinator focused conservation lands are critically important, including concentrated areas of pollination dependent orchard crops, like Western Michigan. Understanding the value of these conservation areas is important to their continued support and their success. Detailed colony health and productivity data can inform location choices of conservation target areas, as well as decisions for planting and seed mixes.
This project focuses on the application and development of monitoring techniques to quantify 1) how land-use conditions surrounding apiaries affect the health and productivity of honey bees in Michigan orchard landscapes, and 2) forb utilization rates of honey bees and other pollinators foraging on conservation lands. This project provides much needed information on pollinator health in orchard systems and the value of conservation lands in these areas.
The team at Michigan State University is working with commercial beekeepers, using hives on two types of sites: 1) areas with high proportion of the landscape in conservation plantings, and 2) in landscapes with low proportion of this habitat type. Each site has around 20 hives, 2 of which are monitored for weight and temperature every 15 minutes using digital scales and probes. Hive health and productivity are measured throughout the summer, using weight and sensor data, visual inspections, and disease testing kits demonstrating changes over time and between sites. Collected nurse bees in the fall are analyzed for health, and data include the status of the colony the following spring to determine the survival and performance of the colony, including queen health. Plant usage is determined by weight (showing nectar flows), identification of collected pollen, and transect surveys for bees in habitats within the flight range of the apiaries.
This project demonstrates the actual value and ecosystem services provided by pollinator focused conservation lands, while adding information on forb use to determine important species to add to and improve seed mixes. By identifying the community of pollinators that are using conservation sites, and by recording differences in colony health of honey bees at these sites, and establishing a record of the plants that are most widely used by all, we can determine the value of various conservation plantings, and better inform land use decisions to protect pollinator health.
