About This Project

Pollination services are crucial to food security and the success of agricultural communities around the world. Recently, there have been drastic declines in pollinator populations due to commercial hives, pesticide use, habitat fragmentation, and more. Our project aims to help farmers in the eastern United States establish pollinator conservation efforts on their land, in order to increase and promote population growth of native bees and other pollinators. This will be done through outreach and education campaigns for farmers and surrounding communities, as well as through installment and restoration of pollinator-friendly habitats.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Our proposed project builds on our work this past year with Rhode Island farmers to synthesize recommendations for practices they can implement to increase pollinator populations, including restoring pollinator-friendly flowers and other flora and creating natural and artificial places for pollinators to nest.

The next phase calls for: 1) expansion into Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; 2) continuing work in Rhode Island; 3) piloting pollinator habitat management practices; 4) examining and studying selected native bee species that are among the most productive agricultural pollinators but also among the most challenging to support; and, 5) analyzing ways in which creating and maintaining bee habitats can support other types of pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds and moths that perform their pollinating services at night.

By designing programs and initiatives to increase bee populations on farms, The Heinz Center will help improve agricultural sustainability, increase crop yields and protect and secure the food chain from natural and man-induced threats.

What is the significance of this project?

Pollinators – including bees, bats, beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, flies, moths and wasps – are responsible for one-third of the human food supply worldwide. Pollinated crops – including alfalfa, almonds, apples, blueberries, cantaloupes, cranberries, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash – contributed $29 billion to the U.S. economy in 2010. Farmers in the U.S. who grow fruit, nut, berry, and vegetable crops are critically reliant on managed and native pollinators for their livelihood – as are commercial honey producers and commercial beekeepers who provide pollination services to growers.

Unfortunately, pollinators in the United States are under assault from multiple directions. Major environmental threats such as climate change, pesticides, invasive species, human development and introduced diseases have led to substantial reductions in pollinator populations in recent years. The mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder, which began affecting honeybee colonies in 2005, is only the latest in a long series of diseases, pests, and parasites that threaten the pollination of the U.S. food supply. Significant declines have also been noted in many of our native bumblebee species, with one bumblebee species currently under consideration for the Endangered Species list.

What are the goals of the project?

The funds will be used to support demonstration projects with farmers to restore native bee populations on working farms in the eastern United States. We will test artificial nesting sites and different seed mixes to identify methods that actually work to restore native bee populations on farms. Education and outreach efforts will help spread the word to other farmers and community members.