Courtesy of the Lakeland Times August 28, 2015
The earnest importance of bees
Bees and other pollinators thrive in diverse ecosystems, according to Jeremy Hemberger.
"What we're trying to do here is basically to figure out what kinds of environments bees are doing best in and what kind of relationships they have with the environment they're in - the landscape they're in - so we can point to areas to conserve and give farmers and growers suggestions on how they can improve their properties to better score pollinator populations in the long haul." Jeremy Hemberger, UW-Madison Graduate Researcher
Ryan Matthews
Outdoors Reporter
Location, location, location. Given the choice, where would a honey bee colony choose to build a residence? That is the question University of Wisconsin-Madison entomology graduate student Jeremy Hemberger is hoping to answer with a novel research project using radio frequency identification tags to track honey bee behavior and environmental preferences.
North American farmers and growers have relied on European honey bees, Apis mellifera, as a pollinator since the species was brought to the continent in the 1600s. Hemberger said this "incredibly amazing species" is particularly adept at pollinating crops because of its complex social behaviors and colony sizes, 10,000-60,000 honey bees per colony (compared to about 200-300 individuals in native bee colonies). European honey bees are easy to transport and have become docile from centuries of breeding. They also have the sweet benefit of creating honey.
The problem is that North American agriculture puts itself at a risk when it relies on the survival of only one species of pollinator to do the bulk of the labor. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says honey bees are under "serious pressure" from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
CCD is defined as a dead colony with no adult bees or a colony of dead bees with a live queen. So far, scientists have not been able to conclusively demonstrate the cause of CCD.
Bee pollination accounts for more than $15 billion in annual crop values, according to the USDA. In Wisconsin, crops like apples and cranberries rely upon honey bee pollination. Hemberger believes focusing on one species of pollinator is a like putting all of one's eggs into one basket. Apis mellifera is a non-native species in America. What would happen if a disease or epidemic like CCD wiped it off the continent?
Taking out the 'guess work'
Hemberger has been working with farms in Central Wisconsin to determine what kind of habitat best suits the needs of honey bee colonies. Until recently, identifying bee habitat was purely speculative. Entomologists were asked to suppose what kind of habitat was best for honey bees based off what they knew of the species.
Hemberger wanted empirical data. He wanted to "take the guess work out of it" and find a way to let the honey bees "tell us about how they perceive their environment."
He devised a research experiment in which he measures the amount of time honey bees spend outside their colonies to determine how adequately their location meets the needs of bees.
To do this, Hemberger utilizes simple radio frequency identification tags (RFID) similar to those employed by the I-PASS system in Illinois and other states for toll payment. In Illinois, drivers may purchase a small, window-mounted box with an RFID inside that is registered with a unique ID code. When a driver passes underneath E-ZPass scanners, the scanners detect the RFID tag, note its unique ID code and bill the I-PASS owner's account.
Hemberger mounts tiny RFID tags on the backs of honey bees between their wings. The tags are so small that they do not inhibit movement or flight. He has to incapacitate the bees with dry ice to attach the tags without damaging the bees. Hemberger has about 20 seconds before the bees wake up, just enough time to unobtrusively super glue the small chips to the backs of bees.
A reader mounted near the colony exit tracks how long each bee is outside the colony. Just like the I-PASS, when a RFID-wearing bee leaves the colony, it's unique RFID code is recorded by the reader. It is registered again upon re-entry. This allows Hemberger to know precisely how much time each of his tagged honey bees spends outside its colony.
"If they're out for a really long time, maybe the environment is not that great for them," Hemberger said. "The stuff is so hard to find that they're having to stay out a really long time. And then, on the flip side, if they're out there for a short amount of time, maybe it's a really great environment for them because they can find what they need really quickly."
Hemberger has been monitoring RFID-tagged colonies in three environmental settings: agricultural settings, urban settings and natural settings. So far, his findings have been surprising.
"We found that bees in agricultural areas in Wisconsin actually tended to do pretty well, which is not at all what I expected to find," Hemberger said. "We kind of expected the opposite."
What was perhaps most unexpected was that Hemberger did not find significant difference in times between the three environments. Time was not the only data he was collecting from the colonies, though. The number of offspring and virgin queen bees was used as an indicator of colony health. Virgin queen bees are queen bees that are not mated with a drone bee. Virgin queens could potentially become a colony's queen bee in the future.
Hemberger noted that bees in urban areas fared the worst, as was predicted. "The more urban you are, the worse they did."
Bee pastures and citizen science
Increased biodiversity is one potential reason for the relative health of bees in agricultural areas compared to urban ones. Hemberger said Wisconsin farms have more diversity than "industrial farms, like in California" where monoculture dominates naturally dry and unnaturally irrigated landscapes.
"We have a lot of wooded areas and a lot of remnant prairie areas, and a lot of growers in the area are taking some initiatives to let fallow fallen crops revert back to grasslands with woody hedges and woody weedy species that are flowering for bees," Hemberger said. "I think that's helped them out a lot."
Areas where monoculture rules the agricultural landscape only have a couple weeks of flowering each year for honey bees to feed upon, he said. The rest of the year may as well be "a desert for bees."
"What we're trying to do here is basically to figure out what kinds of environments bees are doing best in and what kind of relationships they have with the environment they're in - the landscape they're in - so we can point to areas to conserve and give farmers and growers suggestions on how they can improve their properties to better score pollinator populations in the long haul," Hemberger said.
One of those conservation measures being undertaken is the creation of bee pastures. Bee pastures are areas rich with wildflowers and other flowering plants that offer bees suitable habitat to colonize. The thought is, with better bee habitat, honey bees and other pollinators will be able to have enough food to sustain healthier colonies that will in turn be more effective pollinators.
Hemberger also pointed to citizen science initiatives like bumblebeewatch.org as helpful ways for citizens to get involved. Bumble Bee Watch is a place where gardeners, naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts can post photos of bees, identify species and get verified identification results. This helps scientists track the location of certain species and learn more about their habitats and activity.
Hemberger will present his research and answer questions at Science on Tap 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2 at the Minocqua Brewing Company and via live-streaming online at scienceontapminocqua.org.
Ryan Matthews may be reached at [email protected].
The earnest importance of bees
Bees and other pollinators thrive in diverse ecosystems, according to Jeremy Hemberger.
"What we're trying to do here is basically to figure out what kinds of environments bees are doing best in and what kind of relationships they have with the environment they're in - the landscape they're in - so we can point to areas to conserve and give farmers and growers suggestions on how they can improve their properties to better score pollinator populations in the long haul." Jeremy Hemberger, UW-Madison Graduate Researcher
Ryan Matthews
Outdoors Reporter
Location, location, location. Given the choice, where would a honey bee colony choose to build a residence? That is the question University of Wisconsin-Madison entomology graduate student Jeremy Hemberger is hoping to answer with a novel research project using radio frequency identification tags to track honey bee behavior and environmental preferences.
North American farmers and growers have relied on European honey bees, Apis mellifera, as a pollinator since the species was brought to the continent in the 1600s. Hemberger said this "incredibly amazing species" is particularly adept at pollinating crops because of its complex social behaviors and colony sizes, 10,000-60,000 honey bees per colony (compared to about 200-300 individuals in native bee colonies). European honey bees are easy to transport and have become docile from centuries of breeding. They also have the sweet benefit of creating honey.
The problem is that North American agriculture puts itself at a risk when it relies on the survival of only one species of pollinator to do the bulk of the labor. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says honey bees are under "serious pressure" from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
CCD is defined as a dead colony with no adult bees or a colony of dead bees with a live queen. So far, scientists have not been able to conclusively demonstrate the cause of CCD.
Bee pollination accounts for more than $15 billion in annual crop values, according to the USDA. In Wisconsin, crops like apples and cranberries rely upon honey bee pollination. Hemberger believes focusing on one species of pollinator is a like putting all of one's eggs into one basket. Apis mellifera is a non-native species in America. What would happen if a disease or epidemic like CCD wiped it off the continent?
Taking out the 'guess work'
Hemberger has been working with farms in Central Wisconsin to determine what kind of habitat best suits the needs of honey bee colonies. Until recently, identifying bee habitat was purely speculative. Entomologists were asked to suppose what kind of habitat was best for honey bees based off what they knew of the species.
Hemberger wanted empirical data. He wanted to "take the guess work out of it" and find a way to let the honey bees "tell us about how they perceive their environment."
He devised a research experiment in which he measures the amount of time honey bees spend outside their colonies to determine how adequately their location meets the needs of bees.
To do this, Hemberger utilizes simple radio frequency identification tags (RFID) similar to those employed by the I-PASS system in Illinois and other states for toll payment. In Illinois, drivers may purchase a small, window-mounted box with an RFID inside that is registered with a unique ID code. When a driver passes underneath E-ZPass scanners, the scanners detect the RFID tag, note its unique ID code and bill the I-PASS owner's account.
Hemberger mounts tiny RFID tags on the backs of honey bees between their wings. The tags are so small that they do not inhibit movement or flight. He has to incapacitate the bees with dry ice to attach the tags without damaging the bees. Hemberger has about 20 seconds before the bees wake up, just enough time to unobtrusively super glue the small chips to the backs of bees.
A reader mounted near the colony exit tracks how long each bee is outside the colony. Just like the I-PASS, when a RFID-wearing bee leaves the colony, it's unique RFID code is recorded by the reader. It is registered again upon re-entry. This allows Hemberger to know precisely how much time each of his tagged honey bees spends outside its colony.
"If they're out for a really long time, maybe the environment is not that great for them," Hemberger said. "The stuff is so hard to find that they're having to stay out a really long time. And then, on the flip side, if they're out there for a short amount of time, maybe it's a really great environment for them because they can find what they need really quickly."
Hemberger has been monitoring RFID-tagged colonies in three environmental settings: agricultural settings, urban settings and natural settings. So far, his findings have been surprising.
"We found that bees in agricultural areas in Wisconsin actually tended to do pretty well, which is not at all what I expected to find," Hemberger said. "We kind of expected the opposite."
What was perhaps most unexpected was that Hemberger did not find significant difference in times between the three environments. Time was not the only data he was collecting from the colonies, though. The number of offspring and virgin queen bees was used as an indicator of colony health. Virgin queen bees are queen bees that are not mated with a drone bee. Virgin queens could potentially become a colony's queen bee in the future.
Hemberger noted that bees in urban areas fared the worst, as was predicted. "The more urban you are, the worse they did."
Bee pastures and citizen science
Increased biodiversity is one potential reason for the relative health of bees in agricultural areas compared to urban ones. Hemberger said Wisconsin farms have more diversity than "industrial farms, like in California" where monoculture dominates naturally dry and unnaturally irrigated landscapes.
"We have a lot of wooded areas and a lot of remnant prairie areas, and a lot of growers in the area are taking some initiatives to let fallow fallen crops revert back to grasslands with woody hedges and woody weedy species that are flowering for bees," Hemberger said. "I think that's helped them out a lot."
Areas where monoculture rules the agricultural landscape only have a couple weeks of flowering each year for honey bees to feed upon, he said. The rest of the year may as well be "a desert for bees."
"What we're trying to do here is basically to figure out what kinds of environments bees are doing best in and what kind of relationships they have with the environment they're in - the landscape they're in - so we can point to areas to conserve and give farmers and growers suggestions on how they can improve their properties to better score pollinator populations in the long haul," Hemberger said.
One of those conservation measures being undertaken is the creation of bee pastures. Bee pastures are areas rich with wildflowers and other flowering plants that offer bees suitable habitat to colonize. The thought is, with better bee habitat, honey bees and other pollinators will be able to have enough food to sustain healthier colonies that will in turn be more effective pollinators.
Hemberger also pointed to citizen science initiatives like bumblebeewatch.org as helpful ways for citizens to get involved. Bumble Bee Watch is a place where gardeners, naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts can post photos of bees, identify species and get verified identification results. This helps scientists track the location of certain species and learn more about their habitats and activity.
Hemberger will present his research and answer questions at Science on Tap 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2 at the Minocqua Brewing Company and via live-streaming online at scienceontapminocqua.org.
Ryan Matthews may be reached at [email protected].
