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<DIV><FONT size=2>From: Capital Press; July 13, 2007.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4>Native bees in need<BR>Researchers hope to foster
native backup to ailing European honeybees <BR></FONT></STRONG><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR>Colony collapse disorder in honeybees hasn't seriously
disrupted Pacific Northwest crop production so far, and Joe Williams hopes it
stays that way. If it ever does become a serious emergency, however, Williams
wants farmers to have an insurance policy in place: namely, native pollinator
habitat.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Currently, the agricultural industry in the Northwest and throughout the
U.S. is overly reliant on European honeybees for pollination, said Williams,
manager of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Materials
Center in Corvallis, Ore.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We're concerned (that) we're putting all of our eggs in one basket," he
said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Honeybees are convenient to transport from place to place for pollination,
and the delicious end product of their efforts obviously adds to the species'
popularity, Williams said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But the danger to growers is that pests, diseases and colony collapse can
drastically reduce the number of available hives, hindering pollination and
driving up prices, he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"If colony collapse comes to Oregon, those hives are going to be pretty
expensive," said Williams.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>By planting native flowering plants near fields of blueberries,
raspberries, blackberries, tree fruits and other pollinator-dependent crops,
growers can supplement European honeybees with native bee species - and have a
backup plan in case of disaster, he explained.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The nectar from flowering fruit plants such as blueberries is only
available to bumblebees, sweat bees, wasps, yellowjackets and other native
pollinators for a limited period of time, explained Mace Vaughan, conservation
director for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Once the blueberries are done, there needs to be something else in bloom,"
he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If their blooming periods are staggered, Oregon grape, willow, yarrow and
ocean spray, among others, can provide pollinators with a source of food
throughout the growing season, building up beneficial insect populations over
time, said Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Currently, the USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center in Corvallis - which
specializes in native plants - is studying flowers, shrubs and grasses to
determine which ones most attract pollinators, said Williams.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"What we're trying to do is broaden that list," he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Plant Materials Center is also trying to narrow down exactly when each
plant blooms, in order to give farmers a better idea of what mix of species they
can use to stagger blossoms throughout the season, he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"The problem is that the (existing) guidelines are pretty generic," said
Williams, noting that they describe bloom schedules in terms of months rather
than weeks.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Other important factors also require more study. Right now, not much is
known about the precise ratio of habitat to farmland needed to ensure complete
pollination, said Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One study in California indicated that a watermelon patch could be fully
pollinated by native insects if a land area one-third of the field's size was
left in natural habitat nearby, he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On a large scale, that would require taking a significant amount of land
out of production, he said. In reality, though, a natural habitat even one-tenth
the size of a field could significantly impact pollination, said Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>After all, some habitat is always than none.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"The more, the better," he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>While some native plants are easy to find, securing a reliable supply of
many species can be tough. For this reason, the Plant Materials Center is
developing seeds for lesser-known flowering plants like Prunella, a type of
native self-heal, and Oregon sunshine, among others.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Much of their production is geared toward governmental agencies that
conduct restoration work, especially soil and water conservation districts,
explained Williams.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Over time, the Plant Materials Center plans to refine the agronomic
practices for raising such plants while building a more robust market demand for
them.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>That way, cultivating native species will become more feasible for
commercial farmers, giving the public better access to pollinator-boosting
plants, he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We're trying to get a big plethora of plant species out there," Williams
said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Habitat management entails more than getting the right plant species
established, though. Many native pollinator species live underground or in
snags, so those areas need to be preserved, said Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Usually, that doesn't necessarily involve much extra effort. In fact,
farmers can get a lot done simply by maintaining their properties less
fastidiously, not clearing away piles of excavated dirt or dead trees, according
to Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Farmers can also re-evaluate what they consider weeds; permitting
non-invasive plants to grow at the edge of their fields can benefit pollinators,
he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Spraying pesticides after dark, when pollinators aren't foraging, and
avoiding applications on blooming plants will also help, according to
Vaughan.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"A lot of times it doesn't take much to change practices," said
Williams.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT size=1>Mateusz Perkowski is based in Salem, Ore. His e-mail
address is </FONT></EM><A href="mailto:mperkowski@capitalpress.com"><EM><FONT
size=1>mperkowski@capitalpress.com</FONT></EM></A><EM><FONT
size=1>.</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial size=2><FONT size=1><STRONG>Copyright, 2007, Capital Press
(Salem, OR). All Rights Reserved.</STRONG></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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<DIV><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>The Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>The Xerces Society is an international
nonprofit organization that </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>protects the diversity of life through
invertebrate conservation. </FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>To
</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=1>join the Society, make a </FONT></FONT><FONT
size=1>contribution</FONT><FONT size=1>, </FONT><FONT size=1>or read about our
work, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>please visit </FONT><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</A>.</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Matthew Shepherd</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Director, Pollinator Conservation Program</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215,
USA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233
6794</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1>Email: </FONT><A href="mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org"><FONT
size=1>mdshepherd@xerces.org</FONT></A><FONT size=1> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
size=1>______________________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=1></FONT> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>