Bees: At the Crossroads of Science & Emotion Dr. Becky Langer-Curry Gueth Braddock

Transcription

1 Bees: At the Crossroads of Science & Emotion Dr. Becky Langer-Curry Gueth Braddock

2 GLOBAL FOOD PRODUCTION By 2050 WEATHER FLUCTUATIONS/ WATER AVAILABILITY -322 kg rice per hectare +1 C +60% Need for a sustainable productivity increase POPULATION GROWTH 7,3 billion people on the planet today 9.6 billion people in 2050 Chemophobia Growing Middle class Urbanization Devices & robotics Social media & E-commerce NGO Pressure CHANGING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS Increasing demand for protein HUNGER 1 in 9 goes hungry today Yields under pressure HECTARES OF FARMLAND PER CAPITA 1950 : : : 0.15 INSUFFICIENT STORAGE Up to 40% of fruit and vegetables lost in India Equivalent to the annual consumption in UK

3 Emotions Contradictory views on food production Fear of science and technology General societal mistrust of profit-driven companies Consumer alienation from agriculture and food production Critical public perception amplified by NGO campaigning and negative media reports

4 Consumer Data: Bees & Pesticides Number of consumers who said they have boycotted a product to reduce pesticide use. Number of consumers who said they have done nothing to reduce pesticide use. Data from PN Survey Styles 2015

5 North America Landscape Intense focus on pollinators Increase in media coverage Organized campaigns Patchwork measures for provinces, states & municipalities Pressure on retailers, growers, etc. National Pollinator Strategy

6 Media and Information Transfer Every 60 seconds 168 million s sent. 694,445 Google searches.

7 The National Pollinator Strategy

8 Pollinators

9 Pollinators Facilitate 1 of every 3 bites of food/beverage consumed o Key to growing many fruits, nuts and vegetables Birds, Bats, Butterflies, beetles, flies and bees Bees are the most common & effective insect pollinator o 20,000 Bee species worldwide

10 Pollinators & Crop yields Apples Depend heavily on cross-pollination by bees for marketable fruit Watermelons Require at least 8 visits from pollinators for proper fruit set Green Beans Seed yields are 9-35% higher with bumble bees present Strawberries Require at least 20 bee (honey or wild) visits per receptacle Almonds 100% dependent on bees for fruit set Cucumbers Tend to be misshapen when not fully pollinated by bees Soybeans 18% higher yield and heavier seeds when honey bees and wild bees are present Cotton Up to 18% yield boost when a diverse abundance of pollinators present Raspberries Set more and heavier fruit when bee pollinated

11 Bees: Social versus Solitary Social (Honey Bees, Bumble Bees) Cooperative brood care Division of labor Solitary (Carpenter Bees) 90% of bees Use ground, crack, crevices and walls to create galleys Gather nectar and pollen for offspring Provide little care after eggs are laid

12 Bees: Managed versus Un-Managed Apis Bombus Megachile Osmia Managed bees includes Apis and specific species of Bombus (Tomatoes, curcubits), Megachile (Alfalfa), and Osmia (orchards) Un-Managed (wild) bees are important pollinators as well, but are not reliable or predictable in occurrence, and often not in adequate numbers.

13 Bee Biodiversity Bombus Osmia Habropoda Andrena Xylocopa Apis Bumble Bee Small Native Bee Orchard Bee Carpenter Bee SE Blueberry Bee Honey Bee Produce the most seeds in single visit Sporadic and/or sparse presence Pollinator Performance in Blueberries Abundance Per-visit efficiency Activity Pattern Visitation Rate Species Interaction Produce relatively few seeds Abundantly present o HB = less active when weather is poor o SBB = most active in early bloom Based on NCSU Study of NC Blueberries:

14 Honey Bees Apis mellifera - western honey bee most important managed bee species Account for ~$15B of US economy Produce highly sought after products Health challenges are visible CCD often misused to describe any colony decline

15 Honey Bee History

16 Honey Bee Pollination National Geographic (

17 Honey Bee Pollinated Crops Key Honey Bee Pollinated Crops National Geographic (

18 Honey Bee Pests Introductions Around the World Based on Wikipedia Reports Early 1960s Japan, USSR 1960s-1970s Eastern Europe 1971 Brazil Late 1970s South America 1980 Poland 1982 France 1984 Switzerland, Spain, Italy 1987 Portugal 1987 USA 1989 Canada 1992 United Kingdom 2000 New Zealand (North Island) 2006 New Zealand (South Island) 2007 Hawaii (Oahu, Hawaii Island)

19 Honey Bee Numbers Fairbrother et. Al. (2014) Number of managed honey bee colonies (in millions) Bee population rising around the world by Syngenta, Jan. 19,

20 Current Challenges & Focus

21 Many Stakeholders, One Agriculture

22 Feed a Bee Feedabee.com Cover Crops Rights of Ways Open Land Roadsides Fence Rows Golf Courses

23 Opportunity Miles of VM Use Sites 350,000 4,000,000 7,000,000 Roadways Electric Pipeline What were these sites before they became a road, power line?

24 Land Management Investment How will you manage the investment to meet your objectives? Are the resources invested to provide short or long term benefits? Asset or liability? Sustainability?

25 Prairie Plant Types In Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas, nearly 99 percent of acres originally in prairie types have been lost. Habitat Problem? 2002 Southern Forest Resource Assessment

26 IVM Partners Forage & Habitat: Right of Way Cost, Safety and Sustainability In conjunction with Bayer Vegetative Management Controlling non-native invasive plants, such as lespedeza and autumn olive, allows expansion of native forbs that benefit all pollinators Target States: AL, AR, CA, FL, OR, NC, TN, TX Multiple presentations scheduled by Bayer & IVM NC Example: Partner with Duke Energy on 2 sites

27 Are we price seekers or program silviculturists? Gueth Braddock, Bayer

28 Non-Native Tree Seed (Incompatible Vegetation) Johnsongrass 80,000 seeds/plant/year and 275 ft. rhizome/plant/year Chinese Tallow 100,000 seeds/tree Bicolor lespedeza 300 million seeds/acre Privet species number two (2) on the list of acres taken over by non-native plants. What non-native plant is number one (1)?

29 Mechanical Reclamation along I-20 $15,000 per acre and clearing contractor Keeps timber

30 Back slope Highway 49 (MS)

31 Back slope Interstate 55 (MS)

32 Alabama selective removal of trees and invasive privet to retain native pollinator plants Courtesy of IVM Partners 3

33 Grass/Forbs Debris/Bare Soil Target Trees/Shrubs Sumac Woody Vines Courtesy of IVM Partners

34 DEMCO 69 KV LINE MOWED ONE TIME SINCE 1992; BROADCAST ONCE FB IPT/LVF APPLICATIONS PHOTO TAKEN IN 2015 POLLINATOR HABITAT DEVELOPMENT USING IVM DEMCO and Superior Forestry

35 TVA and SE Woodlands

36 EMEPA and ChemPro Services

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38 Opportunities for Partnering with Agencies and Environmental Groups on Monarchs

39 If you create it Pictures provided by IVM Partners

40 They will come! Pictures provided by IVM Partners

41 Summary Honey bee numbers are stable. Maintaining healthy honey bee colonies is challenging. Pesticides when used according to label do not adversely affect long term colony health. Forage provides critical pollinator nutrition and promotes local pollinator activity We can promote natural prairie/pollinator acres. Consider managing roadways by doing selective herbicide applications on the back slopes.

42 Summary (continued) The acres managed (whether electric utility or back slopes on roadways) with selective herbicide applications more closely resemble natural plant communities as God created them sustainability. What is the forest telling me based on the management practices we selected review your prescriptions every 10 years?

43 Bee responsible, bee friendly, and bee safe