USDA SCRI Grant: Conserving Native Bees

The Department of Entomology in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at East Lansing, MI, will study conserving native bees and valuing their services for sustainable specialty crop pollination. This project will help identify barriers to the adoption of bee conservation practices and will design integrated research and extension-outreach programs to guide pollination-related management decisions.

Project leader: Rufus Isaacs

GP: What’s the problem?

Isaacs: Wild or managed native bees can provide pollination for fruit, vegetable, and nut farmers in specialty crop agriculture, either as a supplement to honey bees or in some cases as the dominant group of pollinators. There is increasing interest in diversification of pollination sources to guard against complete dependence on managed honey bees, but relatively little research and information for growers on how best to manage farms to support native bees for increased pollination and yield.

GP: How do you plan to solve it?

Isaacs: Our grant is a one year planning grant, and we have been meeting as a group this year to develop a proposal to USDA-SCRI that will tackle this question. Our team combines the expertise of entomologists, sociologists, economists, outreach specialists, and private sector partners in an integrated project.

GP: When do you hope to achieve it?

Isaacs: If funded, our SCRI grant would be complete in 2016.

GP: Are there any ancillary goals?

Isaacs: As a result of this project, five years from now, growers will have better tools and information for diversified management of their crop pollination.