[Pollinator] Fwd:

[Peter Bernhardt]

Thanks to Mary I have an answer to all the questions posed earlier. As
usual, things were not quite s they seemed in the video.

Peter
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matthew Smart <matthewsmart053 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jan 28, 2016 at 7:45 AM
Subject: Re:
To: Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu>
Cc: Matthew Smart <smart053 at umn.edu>, badeehoney at gmail.com,
z_browning at msn.com, mg at pollinator.org, cotto at usgs.gov, bcarlson at usgs.gov


Peter,

This project is being conducted by USGS scientists at the Northern Prairie
Wildlife Research Center in collaboration with commercial beekeepers in the
region. We are using collaborating beekeepers' established apiaries across
the Northern Great Plains as our study sites (for which they have
permission from land owners to place their hives) so that we can better
understand how large scale land use is impacting the health, productivity
and survival of honey bee colonies.  To answer your questions,

1) We are assessing approximately 400 hives across 4-5 states each year.

2) The center is not the site of study, rather we are studying the honey
bees in prior established apiaries (see above).

3) We are not studying mortality of honey bees foraging on milkweed, but we
are able to determine via pollen ID whether foragers are bringing the
pollen (or pollenia) back to the hive.  In my time as a PhD student at the
University of Minnesota I remember seeing returning foragers that appeared
to have deformed heads, legs and tarsi.  We were very excited at first
because we thought we might be seeing the symptoms of some new disease or
virus.  Upon closer inspection we realized it was just the pollenia from
milkweed stuck to their tarsi, legs, and heads.  I can imagine those bees
and/or nestmates pulling them off and legs coming with them though as you
have observed.

On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 2:26 PM, Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu> wrote:

> Hello, Mary Galea suggested you should receive a copy of a communication I
> sent to her several hours ago.  Perhaps one of you can address the
> following concerns.
>
> Please congratulate whoever made this smooth, competent and attractive
> video. It does leave some questions.
>
> 1)  How many hives are under study at the Northern Prairie Research Center
> during a typical research season?
>
> 2) How close does this center lie to national parks and/or Nature
> Conservancy property?  Allowing honeybees to forage in such lands is like
> releasing sheep and cattle in a national park.  Many hives make many
> honeybees and they will outcompete populations of native pollinating
> species (bees, hover flies, butterflies, moths etc.). It is an ongoing
> problem in Australia.
>
> 3)  Several sequences show honeybees foraging on native milkweeds
> (Asclepias).  Is someone studying honeybee mortality as they visit
> Asclepias species at this station?  While milkweed honey is favored by some
> apiculturists it has been known, since the early 20th century, that
> honeybees often lose limbs or become trapped and die of exposure while
> visiting Asclepias flowers (some fail to free themselves from the stigmatic
> slit system).  Our own work on the endangered A meadii showed that at least
> 10% of the honeybees foraging on this flower lacked at least one hind leg.
> Bombs species and Anthophora abrupta don't seem to have this problem.  My
> research partner, Dr Edens-Meier took photos of honeybees hanging dead from
> the flowers.
>
> Peter Bernhardt,
> Prof. of Biology, St. Louis University
> Research Associate, The Missouri Botanical Garden
> Research Associate, The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
>
>
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