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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a name=bees id=bees></a><strong><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Insecticides Can Affect
Wild Bee Populations, MSU Research Shows</span></strong><span
class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Fruit
and vegetable growers all over the country rely on pollinators -- mainly bees
-- to produce crops from blueberries to almonds. In addition to managed honey
bees, wild bees that live in and around crop fields also provide pollination
services.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>To
help growers make pest control choices that conserve these valuable native
pollinators, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station entomologist<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>Rufus Isaacs<span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>and entomology postdoctoral scientist
Julianna Tuell studied how wild bee populations are affected by pest management
programs in highbush blueberries. The research was published in the June issue
of the Journal of Economic Entomology.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>During
crop bloom, growers avoid using insecticides or use only bee-safe products to
ensure that pollinators are protected. After bloom, honey bee colonies are
removed from the fields, but wild bees stay in the fields.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"A
rich wild bee community can be present before, during and after blueberry
bloom, with more than 100 species of wild bees found in these fields,"
Tuell said. "Of these, approximately 10 species are present in high
numbers and consistently pollinate blueberries."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"Michigan
is the leading producer of blueberries in the world, and this crop is very
dependent on pollination for good yields," Isaacs added. "It also
faces some important insect pest challenges. This provides a great opportunity
to test the hypothesis that insecticide applications made when the crop is not
in bloom affect the wild bee community present during the bloom period -- when
bees are most important to the crops and to the growers."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Tuell
and Isaacs developed a risk index to quantify the relative risk to wild bees
from insecticide applications to blueberry fields and then analyzed the
relationship between the index and the abundance, diversity and species
richness of wild bee communities over three growing seasons. The study also
evaluated the stability of the wild bee population.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>In
the first two years of the study, bee abundance and species richness declined
with increasing insecticide risk index values. Bee diversity declined only in
the first year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"The
results indicate that wild bee communities are negatively affected by
increasingly intensive chemical pest management activities in crop
fields," Tuell said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>She
said that studying wild bee populations is important because it can help
growers make informed decisions about their pest management program that will
result in more sustainable crop pollination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"Most
insecticides are applied after the crop is finished blooming," she said.
"Growers who rent honey bee hives know to avoid spraying insecticides
until after hives are removed. Many native bees live in the ground and nest in
crop fields or in field margins, where they are likely to come into contact
with post-bloom insecticides."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Using
the scientists' results, growers can make more informed choices about how to
manage pests while continuing to get benefits from wild bees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"Growers
can reduce the toxicity and amount of insecticide they apply for pest control,
and they can make adjustments in application timing," Tuell said.
"More focused spraying that targets only pest-infested areas also is
expected to improve the overall farm environment for bees. Our data suggest
that reducing the risk of pest control programs to bees will help conserve
populations of these beneficial pollinating insects that are active during crop
bloom."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"With
fruits and vegetables an increasing component of the nation's diet and honey
bee colonies continuing to face challenges, it makes good sense to find
strategies to help promote wild bees on farmland," Isaacs said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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