Source: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
DETERMINING THE ROLES AND LIMITING FACTORS FACING NATIVE POLLINATORS IN ASSURING QUALITY APPLE PRODUCTION IN PENNSYLVANIA...
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0222347
Grant No.
2010-51181-21346
Cumulative Award Amt.
$1,338,438.00
Proposal No.
2010-01130
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2010
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2015
Grant Year
2010
Program Code
[SCRI]- Specialty Crop Research Initiative
Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802
Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
The folly of relying on a single pesticide, tactic or cultivar has been seen repeatedly in the development of IPM programs. With pollinators, a similar reliance on just the honey bee is no less a folly. Many projects are dealing with threats (CCD) to the honey bee, but to truly address the threats to pollination there should be contingency plans that include the development of alternative pollinators and baseline data to measure future impacts on our native bees. Developing multiple tactics with multiple pollinator species represents the most robust management approach for a future of uncertain climate, environmental disruptions, and invasive species introductions. What is certain is that: a) the supply of honey bees in the U.S. will not be able to meet the demand for pollination services; b) that production costs for honey bees will go up; and c) that the cost to growers to rent honey bee hives will continue to increase. The economic impacts of pollinator shortages on US specialty crops could be considerable and for fruit growers have resulted in a 3 fold increase in the cost of renting hives. Rising costs combined with declining yields would lead to higher prices of US nuts, fruits and vegetables which would reduce exports of major commodities during a record US trade deficit. Another 3,500 non-Apis bee species in the US,however,are also important pollinators. These include bumble bees and many species of solitary bees which are collectively known as pollen bees. The value of pollen bees in US agriculture is conservatively estimated at $3 billion annually. The importance of native bees in the pollination of fruit in the Mid-Atlantic region has been underestimated due to our unique landscape ecology of agricultural and non-agricultural lands and the mosaic of diversified fruit and vegetable farms. These impart unique advantages in pollinator conservation and utilization compared to the monocultures of the Midwest or dry areas of the West. For most bee species, the paucity of long-term population data and our incomplete knowledge of even basic taxonomy, life history and ecology makes assessing their value and possible declines in some regions very difficult. Wild and managed species of pollen bees in many cases can supplement honey bees for pollination, and, in some situations, replace them. The National Research Council's Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America (2007) issued a report assessing pollinators in North America. Our proposal applies the expertise of agricultural specialists in entomology,horticulture, ag economics, and ecology to address the NRC recommendations and long-term goals in the areas of basic discovery, research, extension, public outreach, and USDA-NRCS conservation programs for pollinators. Extension and outreach efforts of university extension and state governments will be coupled with the conservation expertise and outreach potential of the Xerces Society who represent many public and private groups outside of the agricultural sector.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
50%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1360850113010%
1361119113010%
1363099113010%
2110850113020%
2111119113025%
2113099113025%
Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity; 211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1119 - Deciduous tree fruits, general/other; 0850 - Wildlife habitats; 3099 - Bees, honey, and other pollinators, general;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology;
Goals / Objectives
Objectives 1)establish baseline biodiversity and abundance data for native bees in and adjacent to Pennsylvania tree fruit orchards 2)determine which species are tree fruit pollinators and their relative significance and economic importance, 3)determine the biological and pesticide threats to pollinators and how to mitigate them, 4)understand the effects of landscape ecology, plant diversity, and foraging ranges of pollen bees in their utilization in tree fruit pollination, 5)develop, demonstrate and evaluate management practices/guidelines for native bee conservation and utilization in tree fruit, 6)develop greater public awareness of the importance of non-honey bees in agriculture and in nature Long-term Goals a)use the baseline data to determine if native bees are declining and if so, identify potential causes; b)quantify the current economic contributions of native bees to apple pollination in the mosaic of agricultural lands and natural areas typical of specialty crop production in the Mid-Atlantic region; c)reduce our reliance on honey bees as the primary pollinator of tree fruits by diversifying managed pollinator species to include pollen bees, d)provide scientifically tested and practical, pollinator-friendly practices to both local extension and to state-level Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) offices. Expected outcomes and sustainability Benefits include: a) cost savings on honey bee rentals to growers if can rely on wild pollinators, b) redundancy in pollination services when honey bee shortages are expected, c) increased pollination in non-agricultural areas where feral honey bees have been lost, and d) baseline data on bee populations and diversity to measure environmental impacts and e) increased public awareness. Estimated number of EQIP/AMA Eligible Producers directly involved is approximately 25 and the number impacted would be 500 fruit growers. Environmental Impacts: Increase in pollinator and plant biodiversity. We will use only native and non-invasive plants for pollinator strips and meadows in our demonstration plots.
Project Methods
Obj 1&2 Protocols for monitoring and sampling native bees, linking behavior with alternate hosts, examining the effects of landscape will be developed and data collection will follow the Bee Inventory Plot survey protocols. Identifications will be made by trained taxonomists. Obj 3. a)Determine if pathogen spillover from honey bee and bumble bees has already occurred. Bees and their pollen loads collected in Objectives 1&2 will be examined for diseases. Specimens will be processed through PSU Entomology labs that have developed RNA analytical procedures, including the use of reverse transcriptase-PCR, as well as sequencing-based viral identification. b) Pesticide exposure of Osmia to pesticides in large commercial orchards will determined from pollen collections and from assessing the effects on brood and adults. Residue analysis will be conduced by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service National Science Laboratory. For multi-residue pesticide analysis, a modified QuEChERS method is used. c) Bees collected and prepared from Objectives 1&2 will be examined for mites, particularly those hand collected from the flowers and sent to Dr. O'Connor for identification and parasitoids will be identified by Biddinger or the USDA SEL lab. Obj 4. Distance from the orchard edge, state of crop bloom, time of season and other factors will be recorded to determine how far solitary species are flying into the crop to visit flowers. We will use a cheap and effective ELISA immunoassay marking technique developed by Jones et. al.(2006) to mark floral provisioning strips being developed with NRCS to determine if bees using these floral resources are also moving into the orchards and to mark adults of managed nests of JOB and commercial bumble bees to determine their foraging ranges. In apple, Dr. Schupp will collect uniform data pertaining to fruit set and seed number. Standard methods of assessing fruit set in pome fruit include the calculation of the ratio of fruit per 100 flower clusters, and the number of fruit per cm2 of limb cross-sectional area. Seed count may be taken from a random sample of fruit after June drop to ensure we are measuring fruit that would be present at harvest. Pollinator strips will be tested using a replicated transect method of sampling including both standardized bowl sampling as well as in-crop floral counts and visitation measurements for species and species groups of interest. Through spatial analysis of this information in combination with the pollinator abundance data measures, we will have a higher probability of detecting effects from specific manipulations of in-crop and near-crop habitats on pollen bee ecological services in the agroecosystem. Obj 5 We will increase the capacity of farmers to protect, enhance or restore pollinator habitat by: a) presenting workshops, farm walks, and seminars to farmers and staff from farm-related agencies; b) developing and distributing audience-specific educational materials.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences include the 450 fruit growers in Pennsylvania with over 25,000 acres of tree fruit and equivalent numbers of growers and acreage in the adjacent mid-Atlantic fruit growing regions of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey,and North Carolina. Many presentations havebeen made at professional meetings to peer scientists, government officials, pesticide industry, and policy makers in various agencies within USDA, including APHIS, NRCS, ARS, and NIFA as well as EPA. The public has been engaged through large field days at the PSU Research Station, through workshops with the Xerces Society and PASA (PA Sustainable Agric.) and several on-line publication through the NE IPM centers, Penn State Center for Pollination Research, USDA-NRCS publications, and the Xerces Society website. Most audiences are aware of problems with pollinators, especially the honey bee, but are not aware of alternative pollinators, how to conserve pollinators with appropriate habitat, and especially the roleof pesticides in this decline. We have also reached an international audience of researchers through an international pollinator conference in August and through multiple presentations to government policy makers, fruit growers, researchers and extension in three trips to Serbia in the last year through a USDA-FAS project on fruit IPM . In addition to an informational video on youtube about native pollinator research for this project developed in 2011, another video on the biological control of the invasive pest, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, is about to be released and has a section on the impact of sprays for this insect on pollinators. Fruit growers and homeowners will recieve updated reccomendations on pesticideimpacts and conservation of honey bees and native bees in the upcoming revised 2014-15 & the upcoming 2016-17 editions of the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide. This guide has always been available on-line and is considered on of the most complete and effective guides of its type in the US and internationally recognized. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two post-doctoral scholars have been involved in this project and are now pursuing new careers in entomology in universities in Kenya and Arkansas. Both continue to work with me to continue to publish our pollinator work with apples. One Ph.D. student dropped out of the program in 2014, but another MS student graduated (M. Kammerer) with 2 pubilications and is currently a Ph.D. student at Penn State the may continue research into landscape ecological effects on wild pollinators. A new student (S. Shugrue) started a MS program on this project to continue the bee/pesticide impact work looking at 'field relevant' doses in apple nectar and pollen from pre-bloom sprays and the chronic mortality through ingestion by both Osmia cornifrons and the honey bee for comparison. She will complete her degree in 2016. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Grower training through workshops and extension publications continues as does education of the general publich through outreach publications through the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. I continue to serve on a Pollinator Protection advisory panel to EPA on pesticide/pollinator issues and work closely with USDA-NRCS as the state level to incorporate pollinator protection and augmentation in their conservation and IPM programs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Highlights for pollinators include: Planting of 200+ acres of pollinator plantings with fruit growers in orchards through NRCS conservation programs (EQIP, CSP, & WHIP) after obtaining and providing a no-till drill which was lent to growers by Penn State for these plantings after training. Evaluation of the pollinator community in some of these plantings for 4 years to evaluate effectiveness on conserving or enhancing the fruit pollinator community of 50-60 species which resulted in the NE IPM pollinator guide to apple pollinators. Incorporation of the results of pesticide testing on pollinators into grower recommendations in the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide in 2012, 2014 & 2016 editions. Results of 4 years of apple orchard evaluations indicate that the pollination needs of most apple orchards in Pennsylvania are met by native pollinators in the diverse adjacent landscape and the cost of renting honey bees is not necessary. The savings to growers at a previously recommended rate of 2 hives/acre is over $200/acre. Over half our apple growers no longer rent honey bees for pollination and suffer no loss in yield or quality. Many of these growers have smaller acreage, so we estimate that of our 22,000 acres of apple in the state , approximately 5,500 acres were not renting honey bees (11,000 fewer honey bee hives with a potential savings in rentals of $1.1 million by relying on wild bees). We believe our research and outreach will at least double this acreage and potential savings to growers. We are currently researching whether the pollination potential by wild bees holds true for Pennsylvania cherry orchards as well. Although not finalized yet, movement of rNA viruses from honey bees to wild species of pollinators does occur.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2015 Citation: Kammerer, M. A., D. J. Biddinger, E. G. Rajotte, and D. Mortensen. 2015. Local plant diversity across multiple habitats supports a diverse wild bee community in Pennsylvania apple orchards. Environ. Entomolo. (in press).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Biddinger, D. J. and E. G. Rajotte. 2015. Integrated pest and pollinator management  adding a new dimension to an accepted paradigm. Current Opinion in Science, 10:204-209.


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences include the 450 fruit growers in Pennsylvania and equivalent numbers in the adjacent mid-Atlantic fruit growing regions of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey,and North Carolina. Many presentations have been made at professional meetings to peer scientists, government officials, pesticide industry, and policy makers in various agencies within USDA, including APHIS, NRCS, ARS, and NIFA as well as EPA. The public has been engaged through large field days at the PSU Research Station, through workshops with the Xerces Society and PASA (PA Sustainable Agric.) and several on-line publication through the NE IPM centers, Penn State Center for Pollination Research, USDA-NRCS publications, and the Xerces Society website. Most audiences are aware of problems with pollinators, especially the honey bee, but are not aware of alternative pollinators, how to conserve pollinators with appropriate habitat, and especially the roleof pesticides in this decline. We have also reached an international audience of researchers through an international pollinator conference in August and through multiple presentations to government policy makers, fruit growers, researchers and extension in three trips to Serbia in the last year through a USDA-FAS project on fruit IPM . In addition to an informational video on youtube about native pollinator research for this project developed in 2011, another video on the biological control of the invasive pest, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, is about to be released and has a section on the impact of sprays for this insect on pollinators. Fruit growers and homeowners will recieve updated reccomendations on pesticideimpacts and conservation of honey bees and native bees in the upcoming revised 2014-15 edition of the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide. This guide has always been available on-line and is considered on of the most complete and effective guides of its type in the US and internationally recognized. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? For this project, I was the major advisor of a Ph.D student in entomology who was evaluating plant diversity and landscape effects on bee populations and evaluating USDA-NRCS pollinator conservation plantings of wild flowers as a way to enchanced these populations. She left the PhD program for personal reasons in August of 2013. Her work is being completed with the help of the Xerces Society and two post-doctoral scholars. A MS student started in August of 2014 in entomology to complete this work, but is more interested in continuing the pesticide effects on pollinator work and to incorporate these results into tree fruit IPM programs. Both post-doctoral scholars working on this project left in July of 2014, but continue to work on preparating manuscripts using data from this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through extension and research oral presentations, posters, on-line articles, videos, production manuals, refereed and popular journal publications that have bee listed previously. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1) Finish the economic analysis of three years of fruit evaluations to see if not using honey bees in apple orchards is dependant on the size of the orchard and distance from bee habitat. 2) Evaluate multiple pollen bee species to determine if rNA viruses from honey bees has moved into pollen bee populations. This has been delayed due to lack of available expertise and lab equipement, but is scheduled to occur within the next month. 3) Determine if neonic pesticide residues persist within apple for multiple seasons - samples are awaiting analysis in a private lab. 4) Finish bee samples from the 3rd year and identify to species for analysis of specific foraging ranges, abundance, and baseline levels. 5) Incorporate lessons learned into a sequel to the previous Youtube video that identified the problem and into the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide. 6) Transition the baseline data and studies into the new ICP NIFA-CAPS grant. 7) Publish like crazy

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objectives 1, 2, & 4 Approximately 40,000 bees have now been collected from 6 commercial apple orchards and adjacent UDSA-NRCS pollinator conservation planting adjacent to orchards that include over 200 of the 450 bee species found in Pennsylvania. Of these 50+ species have been identified pollinating apple and a NE IPM guide with Cornell has been developed to help fruit growers and the public identify the most important genera of bees, associated life histories, and apple pesticide safety information. We developed compared a new bee trapping system that is 10X more effective than traditional pan trapping in gathering an abundance of bees, is attractive to a greater diversity of bee species, and is less labor intensive and weather dependant than pan traps. Over a dozen records of bee species new to the state have been recorded during this study and a number of very rare bees or bees thought to be in decline in Pennsylvania such as Bombus fervidus, Cemolobus impomoeae, Osmia texana, Osmia lignaria, and Eucera hamata were found to be more abundant than previously thought using this new blue vane trap system. Nesting sites of the appropriate diameter holes appear to be the limiting factor for O. lignaria species and with this knowledge we have been able to increase numbers locally. Evaluation of USD-NRCS pollinator strip adjacent to apple orchards with a mix of 10-12 native wildflowers has shown that the majority of bees species that pollinate apple or other tree fruit are not present in these plantings as most of these bees are early season univoltine species and the flowers do not bloom until after apple. The major exceptions are the honey bee and 5 species of Bombus which are multivoltine and are enhanced by this additional food source later in the season. These lesson have been incorporated into NRCS practice specifications for developing pollinator hedgerows of woody perrenials next to orchards and for cover crops. We are planting a more apple bee specific mix of wildflowers this fall with red maple trees and other native plants to evaluate under the new ICP project. Nesting blocks for Osmia and other bees will be incorporated into these new plantings as well. We have determined that plant diversity adjacent to the orchards is what drive the bee diversity through MS student M. Kammerers work. Publications are in progress on this and she will defend her thesis in Oct of 2013. This data base of apple pollinators is now being moved into the next NIFA-CAPS grant, Integrated Crop Pollination, with Rufus Isaacs at Michigan state to serve as a baseline for measuring future changes in bee diversity and abundance. Foraging distance measures based on where in each orchard the bees were trapped or net collected are being analyzed to determine foraging ranges for each species. At present, it appears that 100 m from wooded edges is about the limit for most pollen bees other than bumble bees and for some small species such as Ceratina, the limit may be as low as 25 m. Under the ICP program (Longsdorf) this data will be developed into landscape level models to help better understand the value and range of bee habitat next to orchards or the cost of removing exisiting habitat. The foraging ranges of Osmia cornifrons in orchard was determined to be only about 50 m when nests are placed within orchards by developing an innovative marking technique involving the use of egg white proteins and immunassays of the flowers to see where they were foraging. This was developed in tart cherry and published in PlosOne, with a second study in apple orchards is in preparation for submission soon. Economic Importance - Analysis of fruit yield, fruit size, seed count, and pre-harvest evaluation of fruit/limb from bloom through harvest on 120 trees in each of 6 commercial apple orchards (720 trees total) over 3 years have shown that most apple orchards In Pennsylvania even without commercial stocking of honey bee hives are not pollination limited and that wild solitary bees are providing the 2-8% of apple blossoms needed for a commercial crop. Despite most solitary bees having been found within the first 100 m of the forest edge into the orchards, chemically thinning small apple fruit levels any range effects that might happen with increased fruit set closer to wooded area and presumably the habitat source for the bees. Objective 3: During the course of rearing and trap nesting several species of Osmia bees and a few other species we have identified many differeent cleptoparasites of pollen stores and parasites of the bees themselves. I some cases, such as with a Chaetodactylus pollen mite and Monodontomerus parasitic wasp, we have developed mitigating management techniques such as the use of certain paper straws in nest blocks or by substituting bamboo for Phragmites reeds and increased sanitation of nesting materials from one season to the next. Pesticides have been found to be the biggest limiting factor of pollen bees and we have conducted many lab bioassays and field trials to look at innate toxicity of certain pesticides to both the honey bee and Osmia and found the responses by each species to specific compounds to be very different in some cases. Synergism of neonicotinoid insecticides with fungicides was found to be minimal when using water and formulated product rather than the 1,000+ fold increases reported for technical product in acetone. Several neonicotinoid insecticides were evaluated from pre-bloom sprays to see if they moved into nectar and pollen and if there was carry-over of residues from one season to the next. Preliminary results indicate low levels of only 2-4 ppb in nectar, but 40-60 ppm in the pollen for some products and indicate which products should be used if necessary and which ones should be limited to post-bloom applications. Analysis of carry-over effects by neonics for mutiple seasons are still being evaluated. Objective 5&6: Impacts of pesticides, management practices for rearing Osmia bees as alternative pollinators, are all being incorporated into managment guidelines for fruit growers through extension publications and those by the Xerces Society on their website. Several field days with fruit growers and the public numbering from 100-400 people at a time or at fruit industry shows have been conducted each year as well as a half dozen or so county extension meetings with growers each winter. Two videos have been developed on native bee conservation and IPM programs to control stink bugs without killing bees and other beneficial insects

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sidhu, C. S. and D. J. Biddinger. 2014. Active sampling used to collect northern-most North American records of introduced flower fly, Syritta flaviventris (Diptera: Syrphidae) and flower visitation records of it and the sympatric species, Syritta pipiens. Great Lakes Entomologist
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2014 Citation: Biddinger, D., E. G. Rajotte, N. K. Joshi (2014). Integrating pollinator health into tree fruit IPM- A case study of Pennsylvania apple production (Chapter- 2). In: The pollination of cultivated plants: a compendium for practitioners (Editor- D. Roubik). FAO Book.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Biddinger, D. J., N. Joshi, E. G. Rajotte, N. Halbrendt, C. Pulig, K. J. Naithani, and H. K. Ngugi. 2013. An Immunomarking Method to Determine the Foraging Patterns of Osmia cornifrons and Resulting Fruit Set in a Cherry Orchard. Apidologie: DOI: 10.1007/s13592-013-0221-x.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Biddinger, D. J., J. Robertson, C. Mullin, J. Frazier, N. Joshi, M. Vaughn, and S. Ashcraft. 2013. Comparative toxicities and synergism of orchard pesticides to Apis mellifera (L.) and Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski). PloS One 8(9): e72587. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072587
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Kammerer, M. A., D. J. Biddinger, N. K. Joshi, E. G. Rajotte, & D. A. Mortensen. 2014. Forest and Forest Edge Resources Drive Spatial Patterns of Wild Bee Abundance in Pennsylvania Apple Orchards. Submitted to Biological Conservation 9/14.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Kammerer, M., D. J. Biddinger, & D. A. Mortensen. 2014. Local plant diversity across multiple habitats supports a rich apple pollinator community. Submitted to Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 7/14.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Otieno, M. D. J. Biddinger, N. K. Joshi, E. G. Rajotte, E. Winzler, K. Watrous, C. S. Sidhu, & S. J. Fleischer. 2014. Proximity to natural woodland and landscape structure drive pollinator visitation in uniformly managed apple orchard systems. Submitted to Environmental Entomology, 10/14


Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences include the 450 fruit growers in Pennsylvania and equivalent numbers in the adjacent mid-Atlantic fruit growing regions of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey,and North Carolina. Many presentations have been made at professional meetings to peer scientists, government officials, pesticide industry, and policy makersin various agencies within USDA, including APHIS, NRCS, ARS, and NIFA as well as EPA. The public has been engaged through large field days at the PSU Research Station, through workshops with the Xerces Society and PASA (PA Sustainable Agric.) and several on-line publication through the NE IPM centers, Penn State Center for Pollination Research, USDA-NRCS publications, and the Xerces Society website. Most audiences are aware of problems with pollinators, especially the honey bee, but are not aware of alternative pollinators, how to conserve pollinators with appropriate habitat, and especially the role of pesticides in this decline. We have also reached an international audience of researchers through an international pollinator conference in August and through multiple presentations to government policy makers, fruit growers, researchers and extension in three trips to Serbia in the last year through a USDA-FAS project on fruit IPM. In addition to an informational video on youtube about native pollinator research for this project developed in 2011, another video on the biological control of the invasive pest, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, is about to be released and has a section on the impact of sprays for this insect on pollinators. Fruit growers and homeowners will recieve updated reccomendations on pesticide impacts and conservation of honey bees and native bees in the upcoming revised 2014-15 edition of the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide.This guide has always been available on-line and is considered on of the most complete and effective guide of its type in the US. Changes/Problems: My Ph.D. graduate student has withdrawn from the program after 1 year of work due to personal family issues. I may be able to hire her part-time to finish some projects and move them into the hands of the post-docs or transfer to a new student through the ICP grant. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? I am the major advisor of a Ph.D. student in enomology on this grant who is evaluating plant diversity and landscapeeffects on bee populations and evaluating methods such as floral provisioning strips as enhancements. She will also be identifying pollen in bee provisions to determine plant species that are being visited. I am a graduate committee member for another MS student in Agronomy funded by this grant that is examining landscape effects of adjacent wild habitat on bee populations Two post-doctoral scholars are at least partially funded through this grant with one working on molecular techniques for determining foraging patterns and incidence of honey bee viruses and one working to transition this project into the new ICP bee project headed by Rufus Isaacs at Michigan State University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through extension & research oral presentations, posters, on-line articles, videos, production manuals, refereed and popular journal publications that have been listed previously. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1) Finish the economic analysis of three years of fruit evaluations to see if not using honey bees in apple orchards is dependant on the size of the orchard and distance from bee habitat. 2) Evaluate multiple pollen bee species to determine if rNA viruses from honey bees has moved into pollen bee populations. This has been delayed due to lack of available expertise and lab equipement, but is scheduled to occur within the next month. 3) Determine if neonic pesticide residues persist within apple for multiple seasons - samples are awaiting analysis in a private lab. 4) Finish bee samples from the 3rd year and identify to species for analysis of specific foraging ranges, abundance, and baseline levels. 5) Incorporate lessons learned into a sequel to the previous Youtube video that identified the problem and into the Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide. 6) Transition the baseline data and studies into the new ICP NIFA-CAPS grant. 7) Publish like crazy!!

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objectives 1,2, & 4:Approximately 16,000 bees have now been collected from 6 commercial apple orchards representing about 180 species of the 450 bee species found in Pennsylvania. Of these 40-50 species have been identified pollinating apple and a NE IPM guide with Cornell has been developed to help fruit growers and the public identify the most important genera of bees,associated life histories, and apple pesticide safety information. We developed and are comparing a new bee trappingsystem that is 10X more effective than pan trappingand which isattractive to a greater diversity of bee species. Some bee species that were thought to beindecline such asOsmia lignaria and Bombus fervidus have been found to be more abundant than previously thought using this new trap. Nesting sites of the appropriate diameter holes appear to be thelimiting factor for O. lignaria species andwith thisknowledge we have been able to increase numbers locally. Evaluation of USD-NRCS pollinator strip adjacent to apple orchards with a mix of 10-12 native wildflowers has shown that the majority of bees species that pollinate apple or other tree fruit are not present in these plantings as most of these bees are early season univoltine species and the flowers do not bloom until after apple. The major exceptions are the honey bee and 5 species of Bombus which are multivoltine and are enhanced by this additional food source later in the season. These lesson have been incorporated into NRCS practice specifications for developing pollinator hedgerows of woody perrenials next to orchards and for cover crops. We are planting a more apple bee specific mix of wildflowers this fall with red maple trees and other native plants to evaluate under the new ICP project. Nesting blocks for Osmia and other bees will be incorporated into these new plantings as well. We have determined that plant diversity adjacent to the orchardsis what drive the bee diversity through MS student M. Kammerers work. Publications are in progress on this and she will defend her thesis in Oct of 2013. This data base of apple pollinators is now being moved into the next NIFA-CAPS grant, Integrated Crop Pollination, with Rufus Isaacs at Michigan state to serve as a baseline for measuring future changes in bee diversity and abundance.Foraging distance measures based on where in each orchard the bees were trapped or net collected are being analyzed to determine foraging ranges for each species. At present, it appears that 100 m from wooded edges is about the limit for most pollen bees other than bumble bees and for some small species such as Ceratina, the limit may be as low as 25 m. Under the ICP program (Longsdorf) this data will be developed into landscape level models to help better understand the value and range of bee habitat next to orchards or the cost of removing exisiting habitat. The foraging ranges of Osmia in orchard was determined to be only about 50 m when nests are placed within orchards by developing an innovative marking technique involving the use of egg white proteins and immunassys of the flowers to see where they were foraging. This was developed in tart cherry and published in PlosOne, with a second study in apple orchards completed and analyzed for publication this winter. Economic Importance - we are collecting our final season fruit data currently, but so far we have been able to show and economic loss by not using honey bees only in very large orchards that are too far away from nesting sites for pollen bees to forage. This is probably due to apple needing only 5-10% of available bloom to be pollinated to have an adequate crop, which wild bees and feral honey bees seem to be able to provide. Although there are reports of up to 80% of the feral honey bees having died due to mite and disease problems, we still have many honey bees in these large orchards that doe not stock honey bees A light crop load on the trees due to chemical thinning to increase fruit size seems to prevent partially pollinated fruit from aborting or developing abnormally and certain varieties such as Honey Crisp seem to be almost parthenocarpic. Objective 3: During the course of rearing and trap nesting several species of Osmia bees and a few other species we have identified many differeent cleptoparasites of pollen stores and parasites of the bees themselves. I some cases, such as with a Chaetodactylus pollen mite and Monodontomerus parasitic wasp, we have developed mitigating management techniques such as the use of certain paper straws in nest blocks or by substituting bamboo for Phragmites reeds and increased sanitation of nesting materials from one season to the next. Pesticides have been found to be the biggest limiting factor of pollen bees and we have conducted many lab bioassays and field trials to look at innate toxicity of certain pesticides to both the honey bee and Osmia and found the responses by each species to specific compounds to be very different in some cases. Synergism of neonicotinoid insecticides with fungicides was found to be minimal when using water and formulated product rather than the 1,000+ fold increases reported for technical product in acetone. Several neonicotinoid insecticides were evaluated from pre-bloom sprays to see if they moved into nectar and pollen and if there was carry-over of residues from one season to the next. Preliminary results indicate low levels of only 2-4 ppb in nectar, but 40-60 ppm in the pollen for some products and indicate which products should be used if necessary and which ones should be limited to post-bloom applications. Analysis of carry-over effects by neonics for mutiple seasons are still being evaluated. Objective 5&6: Impacts of pesticides, management practices for rearing Osmia bees as alternative pollinators, are all being incorporatedinto managment guidelines for fruit growers through extension publications and those by the XercesSociety on their website. Several field days withfruit growers and the public numbering from 100-400 people at a time or atfruit industryshows have been conducted each year as well asa half dozen or so county extension meetings with growers each winter. Twovideos have been developed on nativebee conservation and IPM programs to control stink bugs without killing beesand other beneficial insects.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ritz A., H. Sahli, D. Biddinger, J. Schupp, E. Rajotte, N. K. Joshi (2012). Quantifying the efficacy of native bees for orchard pollination in Pennsylvania to offset the increased cost and decreased reliability of honeybees. Pennsylvania Fruit News, 92 (1) 60-66.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Biddinger D.J., C. Mullin, J. L. Robertson, E. Rajotte, M. Vaughn, J. Frazier, N. K. Joshi, M. Otieno and M. Frazier (2013). The impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on pollinators in tree fruit IPM programs. ProceedingsInternational Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy (Aug. 14-17, 2013). University Park, PA. p69.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Joshi N.K., D.J. Biddinger, E. Rajotte, M. Otieno, K. Ellis and A. Ritz (2013). Abundance and ecosystem services of some pollinator bees in apple orchards in Pennsylvania. Proceedings International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy (Aug. 14-17, 2013). University Park, PA. p119.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ritz A., D. J. Biddinger, D. Mortensen, M. Vaughn, J. Gillis, T. Leslie E, Rajotte, N. K. Joshi (2013). Developing floral provisioning plantings for enhancement of pollinators: A case study in Pennsylvania apple orchards. Proceedings International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy (Aug. 14-17, 2013). University Park, PA. p144.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kammerer M.A., D.J. Biddinger, D.A. Mortensen, E.G. Rajotte, N.K. Joshi, T.W. Leslie (2013). The role of local plant communities in supporting native bees in Pennsylvania apple orchards. Proceedings International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy (Aug. 14-17, 2013). University Park, PA. p121.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Vaughn, M., E. Mader, J. Guisse, J. Goldetz-Dollar, B. Borders, D. Biddinger, & J. Gillis. 2012. USDA-NRCS Conservation Cover (327) for Pollinators  Pennsylvania installation guide and job sheet. http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/agriculture/pollinator-habitat-installation-guides/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Vaughn, M., E. Mader, J. Guisse, J. Goldetz-Dollar, B. Borders, D. Biddinger, & J. Gillis. 2012. USDA-NRCS Hedgerow Plantings (422) for Pollinators  Pennsylvania installation guide and job sheet. http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/agriculture/pollinator-habitat-installation-guides/
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Joshi N.K., D.J. Biddinger, E. G. Rajotte, N. O. Halbrendt, C. Pulig, K. J. Naithani, M. Vaughan (2012) A protein-based marker method to quantify foraging patterns of Osmiacornifrons (Radoszkowski) in tree fruit ecosystem. 60th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Knoxville, TN (11-14 Nov. 2012). Abstracts available online at http://esa.confex.com/esa/2012/webprogram/Paper69311.html
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Biddinger D., N. K. Joshi., J. Robertson, E. Rajotte, C. Mullin, M. Vaughan, J. Frazier (2012). Are neonicotinioidinsectides which partially replaced organophosphate and carbamate insecticides in U.S. tree fruit safer to native pollinators and biological control?  24th International Congress of Entomology (19-25 Aug. -2012). Daegu, South Korea. pO405.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Biddinger D., N. K. Joshi, E. Rajotte, T. Leslie (2012). Towards biodiversity-based ecological IPM: case in US apple production  24th International Congress of Entomology  (19  25 Aug. 2012) Daegu, South Korea. p.S901
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Joshi N.K., D. J. Biddinger, E. G. Rajotte, N. O. Halbrendt, C. Pulig, K. J. Naithani (2012). Use of immunomarking to determine foraging patterns of Osmiacornifrons (Radoszkowski) in a cherry orchard.24th International Congress of Entomology (19-25 Aug. 2012) Daegu, South Korea. pO304.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zhu, W., D. R. Schmehl, C. A. Mullin and J. L. Frazier. 2013. Four common pesticides, their mixtures and a formulation solvent in the hive environment have high oral toxicity to honey bee larvae. PLoS ONE


Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Challenge of Protecting Crops, People and Pollinators Vanishing of the Bees Conference, Yakima, WA, October 2012, M. Frazier; Disappearing Bees: An Update on the Search for Prime Suspects PA House Agriculture Committee, York, PA, August 2012. M. Frazier; Update on Issues Related to Pesticides and Pollinator Protection Eastern Apiculture Society, Burlington, VT, August 2012. M. Frazier; Risky Business of Pesticides and Protecting Pollinators Empire State Beekeepers Association, NY, November 2011. M. Frazier et al.; Pesticides and CCD: the evolving story. Entomological Society of America, November 15, 2011 Reno, NV. J. Frazier; New insights into pesticides and their impacts on pollinator health. 29th National Pesticide Forum, April 8,2012, Denver, CO. J. Frazier et al.; The sub-lethal impacts of pesticides on honey bees: the importance for beekeepers. American Beekeeping Federation, January 12, 2012, LasVegas, NV.; M. Frazier, Disappearing Bees; An update on the Search for Prime Suspects. Penn State's Research Unplugged, March, 2012; M. Frazier, Considering Pollinators When Scheduling Mosquito Adulticiding Events; PA Vector Control Conference, November, 2011; Colony Collapse Disorder and Bee Health Affecting Pollination Services in the U. S.; The First International Africa-Wide Training Course And Workshop, Kenya October 2011, M. Frazier; Bee Declines II. Causes, Solutions, and Activating the Public. Modifying orchard practices to better accommodate pollinators. Biddinger et al. 59th Annual Entomological Society of America Meeting, Reno, NV, Nov. 13-16, 2011; Verifying Environmental Benefits and Enhancing Ecologically-Based IPM in Pennsylvania Fruit Orchards. Poster. Penn State University Ag Progress Days. Aug.13, 2012. Joshi & Biddinger; Implementing Fruit IPM & Pollinator Conservation Programs with USDA-NRCS. Penn State University Ag Progress Days. Aug.13, 2012. Biddinger; Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA),Feb. 4, 2012; D. Biddinger & J. Goldenetz-Dollar Incorporating Pollinator Habitat into Orchards and Farms; Biddinger & Rajotte international mission to Serbia through USDA-Foreign Agric. Service by invitation from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture to develop IPM guidlines reducing pesticide impacts on bees and beneficial insects in fruit orchards(5 days of presentations in March & 5 days in June, 2012 to government officials, fruit growers, state extension etc.); Biddinger et al. Inivited Speaker. Are neonicotinioid insectides which partially replaced organophosphate and carbamate insecticides in U.S. tree fruit safer to native pollinators and biological control - 24th International Congress of Entomology (19-25 Aug. 2012). Daegu, South Korea; Joshi et al. Use of immunomarking to determine foraging patterns of Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) in a cherry orchard. 24th International Congress of Entomology; Biddinger et al. Towards biodiversity-based ecological IPM: case in US apple production - 24th International Congress of Entomology, Biddinger et al. Pollinator diversity and orchard practices in Pennsylvania. Center for Pollinator Research Symposium- May 21, 2012, Penn State, University Park, PA PARTICIPANTS: Same as the previous report with the additions of: Ph.D. candidate, Amanda Ritz, to focus on plant-bee interactions of NRCS plantings and landscape effects of borders near commercial apple orchards, and optical pollen idenfication of Osmia pollen stores. Ph. D. student, C. Sheena Sidhu, who will be using molecular techniques to identify pollin in Osmia and bumble bee pollen provisions as well as the ELISA immunoassay technique to determine the foraging range of Bombus impatiens. M.S. student, M. Kammerer, who will work on multivariate analysis of bee diversity and abundance data from the commercial orchards to determine the effects of distance from edge habitat on apple pollination. TARGET AUDIENCES: Same as the previous report with the additions of: A broader appeal to the public with the Xerces/Penn State review of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees. A more international view of the pollinator issues in apples worldwide with the missions to Serbia to determine pesticide impacts and the use of solitary bees and with international symposiums in Korea. Plans for another video on youtube to address our research results of questions raised in the first video are underway for the spring of 2013. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The increased efficacy of the new vane traps has lead to a major increase numbers and diversity of bees to be identified, so we re-budgeted some funds for professional identification services to speed up processing of bee specimens in the data base.

Impacts
Xerces & PSU have initiated production of a set of detailed guidelines on orchard management to protect and increase populations of wild bees and support nests of managed solitary bees for orchard production. Outline of the content is being reviewed and writing should be complete by summer of 2013. These would be joint Penn State University & Xerces publications & technical notes for USDA-NRCS. We are evaluating NRCS pollinator plantings on 150 acres with 20 fruit growers that were applied with our technical and equiment help in the fall of 2010 for long-term plant establishment and utility to pollinators. Our participation in NRCS state technical meeting has modified pollinator habitat specifications to focus on flowering plants we have shown to be superior for specific bees in our region, but other plants that were effective only in other regions were eliminated. The seeding rate and cost shares have doubled from 4 to 8 lb/A and the cost share from $400 to $800/A because of our recommendations. Because of a lack of overlap in bee species that pollinate tree fruit early season and those found in the NRCS plantings, we have developing lists and specifications for NRCS that include pollinator hedgerows of flowering trees and bushes that will better serve as alternative food sources for fruit tree pollinating bees. The ELISA method for marking bees with egg white proteins has been validated both with Osmia and Bumble Bees on both apple and cherry and has shown the optimal foraging range for Osmia is only about 50 m and that nests need to be placed at a higher density than previously thought. Apple fruit evaluations for fruit size and seed set for 2012 are still in progress, but intial results do not indicate a clear correlation of fruit size and seed count as originally thought. This may be due to heavy chemical thinning of apple fruit soon after pollination by growers. We have also found that even with poor pollination weather in apple for the last two seasons, only a short window of good weather is necessary for commercial pollination of apple. We have developed a much better method of evaluating bee diversity and abundance than the conventional Solo brand plastic bowls. In comparison with those bowls, the new blue and yellow vane traps are at least 10X more effective on bees species we have monitored before and are collecting new bee species that were only collected by hand netting in the past. This more efficient trap will greatly improve our ability to monitor changes in bee populations. Evaluations of bee viruses in wild bees and economic analysis of the fruit yield data will begin this winter. We have shown that the use of Osmia has more than doubled the yield of tart cherries in trials developing the protein marking method. We have also found that feral honey bees are much more abundant than earlier reports of almost total loss due to mites. The 6 orchards where we are conducting trials because they have not used honey bees for at least 5 years, have high numbers of what appear to be feral honey bees which are still contributing a significant amount of pollination.

Publications

  • Biddinger, D., N. Joshi, E. Rajotte, N. Halbrendt, C. Pulig, K. Naithani, and M. Vaughan. 2012. An Immunomarking Method to Determine the Foraging Patterns of Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski) and Resulting Fruit Set in a Cherry Orchard. Apidologie (In Review).
  • Biddinger, D., J. Robertson, C. Mullin, J. Frazier, S. Ashcraft, E. Rajotte, N. Joshi, and M. Vaughn. 2012. Comparative Toxicities and Synergism of Apple Orchard Pesticides to Apis mellifera (L.) and Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski). PloS One (In Review).
  • Biddinger D., E. Rajotte, and N. K. Joshi. 2011. Wild bees as alternative pollinators in Pennsylvania apple orchards. Proceedings, the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO and the Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo- 2011. Michigan. http://www.glexpo.com/summaries/2011summaries/webCropPollination.pdf.
  • Biddinger D. J. and N. K. Joshi. 2012. Yellow jackets and hornets in Pennsylvania tree fruit orchards. Fruit Times. October 17/2012. http://extension.psu.edu/fruit-times/news/2012/yellow-jackets-and-hor nets-in-pennsylvania-tree-fruit-orchards.
  • Mortensen, D. A., J. F. Egan, B. D. Maxwell, M. R. Ryan, and R. G. Smith. 2012. Navigating a Critical Juncture for Sustainable Weed Management. BioScience 62: 75-84.
  • Egan, J. F. and D. A. Mortensen. 2012. A comparison of land sharing and land sparing strategies for conserving plant species richness in agricultural landscapes. Ecological Applications 22: 459-471.
  • Russo, L., N. DeBarros, S. Yang, K. Shea, and D. A. Mortensen. 2012. Supporting pollinators with floral resources. Ecological Applications (In Review).
  • Ciarlo, T. J., C. A. Mullin, J. L. Frazier, and D. R. Schmehl. 2012. Learning impairment in honey bees caused by agricultural spray adjuvants. PLoS One 7(7): e40848.
  • Johnson, R. M., M. D. Ellis, C. A. Mullin, and M. Frazier. 2012. Pesticides and honey bee toxicity in the United States. In Honey Bee Colony Health - Challenges and Sustainable Solutions (D. Sammataro, and J. A. Yoder, Eds.). CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. pp. 145-160.
  • Ritz, A., D. Biddinger, E. Rajotte, H. Sahli, and N. Joshi. 2012. Quantifying the efficacy of native bees for orchard pollination in Pennsylvania to offset the increased cost and decreased reliability of honey bees. Penn Fruit News 92(1): 6-16.
  • Hopwood, J., M. Vaughn, M. Shepherd, D. Biddinger, E. Mader, S. Black, and C. Mazzacano. 2012. Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees A Review of Research into the Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Bees with Recommendations for Action. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Portland, OR. 44p. http://www.xerces.org/neonicotinoids-and-bees/.
  • Park, M., B. Danforth, J. Losey, D. Biddinger, M. Vaughn, J. Dollar, E. Rajotte, and A. Agnello. 2012. Wild Pollinators of Eastern Apple Orchards and How to Conserve Them. Cornell University, Penn State University, and The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. http://www.northeastipm.org/park2012. 19 p.
  • Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide 2012-2013 edition. Edited by J. Halbrandt. Co-author of entomology section with L. Hull and G. Krawczyk, co-author of pollinator section with M. Frazier, author of biological control section. Penn State Cooperative Extension. AGRS-045. 325 p. http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/.


Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: PSU Pest Control Field Day (9/15/10)- presentation to 70 industry R&D reps on pesticide impacts on bees. PSU/NRCS/Xerces Pollinator Planting Pollinator Planting No-Till Drill Demo/Training (9/28/10) to 20 fruit growers with NRCS CSP pollinator plantings on 150 acres. Cumberland-Shennandoah Fruit Workers Conference (11/18-19/10)- Biddinger-orchard survey of pollnators and pesticide impacts presentation to 80 university/ARS scientists and crop consultants. PA Dept of Agric IPM Advisory Panel (12/3/10)- Biddinger presentation on alternative fruit pollinators and the impacts of toxic pesticides for stink bug control. PSU/Xerce/PA NRCS Meeting on Pollinator Issues (3/9/11) - Discussion of pollinator conservation issues and research in specialty crops at NRCS headquarters in Harrisburg. Biddinger meeting (6/22/11)with PA and MD NRCS at Coctoctin Mtn Orchards to discuss pollinator/IPM programs in PA and adoption in MD. PA NRCS State Technical Meetings (6/15 & 9/19, 2011)- Biddinger/Rajotte representation of IPM/Pollinator interests in conservation programs in agriculture. Millersville, PA Native Plants in the Landscape Conference (6/2/11) - Xerces Society presentation to 350 people that included description of preliminary results from PA Apple studies looking at native bees, habitat and apple pollination. Xerces Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course, Beltsville, MD (6/ 21-22/11) - Two day short courses. One for MD NRCS staff and partners(approx 60 participants) and one for Federal agency staff (approx 45 participants). Ongoing research conducted by Penn State in PA Apples as an example of the role of habitat and wild bees in crop pollination, and the need for reduced risk pesticide practices that minimize non-target impacts to pollinators and other beneficial insects. PSU/Xerces Field day with NRCS and PA Dept of Ag (6/23/11) - tour with the PA NRCS State Conservationist, the Eastern Region Conservationist, the Secretary of the PA Dept of AG and the PSU Dean of Research and Field Stations to look at pollinator habitat projects on the ground at PSU Biglerville Field station. Xerces Pollinator Conservation Short Course at the USDA-NRCS Cape May Plant Materials Center (9/30/11). This was a New Jersey/PA sponsored event which attracted about 70 growers and conservation professionals. Xerces - IPM Twilight Meeting sponsored by New Jersey NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Organization)(9/14/11). Attended by about 15 growers and focused on pollinator conservation within the IPM framework. (e.g., importance of following labels, recognizing that bee-safe does not necessary mean all native bees-safe). Xerces - Rutgers Snyder Research Farm Twilight Meeting (9/13/2011). Attended by about 60 growers. Explained options for putting pollinator habitat in and around orchards using PSU trials as examples. Xerces-Land and Wildlife Expo in Nashville, TN (8/11-14/11). Discussion of Xerces/NRCS/PSU pollinator research/demonstration collaboration. Products: Native Pollinators Video by Biddinger & Rajotte-Penn State, and M. Vaughn-Xerces Society. http://extension.psu.edu/ipm/resources/native-pollinators. PARTICIPANTS: D. Biddinger - co-PD - experimental design, plot setup, evaluation and analysis of 720 trees in 6 apple orchards whose owners were not renting honey bees, but relied on solitary bees for pollination. Biodivesity and abundance assessments of all bees in these orchards and 7 USDA-NRCS pollinator strips using pan traps and net collections. Outreach and extension to growers, the public (school & 4H tours)through special field trips, field day presentations, fruit grower publications, and development of a video. Training of MS student and post-doc, summer student workers, H. Rice, Jin Li, and N. Ellis that took summer bees and fruit samples. E. Rajotte - co-PD - Same as above. Less on field work and more on outreach and extension, to the public and USDA-NRCS on pollinator strips. Lead on developing the bee video. D. Mortensen - PI - Evaluation of landscape and plant diversity surrounding the orchards being evaluated and in the NRCS pollinator strips. Supervision of a MS student, M. Kamerer which worked most of the summer at the field station. J. Schupp - PI - Horticultural evaluation of apple orchards including bloom counts, multiple summer counts of fruit, and harvest evaluations looking at seed count, and fruit size as a measure of pollination effectiveness to quantify the economic gain or loss of using only wild bees. Supervision of technician, E. Winzler, that set GPS coordinates and maps of all trees in all sites. J.and M. Frazier, C. Mullin - analysis of pollen and honey for pesticide detections in HB and solitary bees, and in charge of tech, S. Ashcraft, who conducted pesticide bioassays on both HB and Osmia. J. Robertson - analysis of bee bioassay data to determine variable pesticide toxicity between HB and solitary bees and synergism of insecticdes with fungicides. N. Joshi - Post-doc overseeing field trial data collection, analysis and publications. T. Leslie - Long Island State University - principal component analysis of bee biodiveristy and abundance data and setting baselines for determining bee declines. M. Vaughn - Xerces Society - overseeing outreach and extension presentations, publications and the bee video. N. Halbrendt - technician developing and running ELISA tests for protein marking of bees to determine foraging ranges of Osmia and Bombus, rNA virus and fireblight detection in field collected bees. J. Harper - economic analysis of fruit data and cost of HB vs Osmia managed colonies. New collaboration with M. Park Ph.D student with B. Danforth at Cornell Dept. of Entomology in developing a pictorial guide to apple pollinators of the Northeast through their funding from the NE IPM Center. New collaboration with J. Robertson, an expert on pesticide bioassay analysis who has written two books by CRC Press and the specialized computer programs POLO and POLO2, who is helping with the pesticide bioassay comparisons between bee species and analysis of synergism with fungicides mixtures. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include fruit growers, peer scientists, government officials, policy makers, industry and the general public. Pollinator preservation in the face of honey bee declines requires the cooperation of all levels of society. Most audiences recognize the problem and are willing to act, but they are unsure of the proper course. As we gain knowledge of the role of wild bee species in fruit pollination, we will be able to inform these audiences about their responsibilities to improve wild pollinator effectiveness. The project's advisory panel will have members from all of these audience groups. As research results are brought to the panel, education, publicity and policy recommendations will be constructed and forward through proper channels. Since the plight of pollinators has become a concern of the general public, the project has concentrated efforts to keep the public informed. Press releases, web sites and other means of mass communication are constantly updated. An informational video was placed on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watchv=IYKVI8ayzsw) for this purpose. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Change in Knowledge - Development of an ELISA method for marking bees (Osmia and Bombus) with egg white proteins is a revolutionary way to determine the foraging ranges of solitary bees and hence a better understanding of the reliability of wild bees to pollinate apple crops and where to place managed nests of HB, Osmia, and Bombus. Bioassays with Osmia and HB determined that the HB is not a good surrogate to measure the toxicity of specific insecticides to solitary bees, that formulated insecticides dissolved in water as applied in the field are much safer to bees than the current EPA method of using technical products in acetone, and that combinations of certain fungicides with insecticides can make them up to 1,800 fold more toxic than alone and the combinations should not be used during bloom. In the current USDA-NRCS pollinator strip plantings, the bee species present have little overlap with the bee communities found in apples during bloom and need to be modified to include more early season blooming species as supplemental food prior to apple bloom. We have identified over 50 species of bees associated with apple bloom in PA and NY. Initial evaluations of apple fruit size and seed set do not correlated well as thought initially and another measure of pollination effectiveness is being researched. Other accepted conceptions of the dominance of king bloom and the fidelity of some solitary bee species to only fruit crops is now called into question and will be further evaluated next season, before changes in orchard management practices are recommended. Presentations of preliminary data from this project have already caused some fruit growers to question the wisdom of completely relying on either HB or wild bees and the benefits of supplementing pollination needs with both. our participation in USDA-NRCS state technical meetings and the presentation of of field data on pollinator plot establishment, bee species diversity, and grower difficulties in maintaing the plots, has changed the current recommendations from NRCS in PA to: 1)a higher rate of seed at planting, 2) only planting in the fall to give seed time to cold stratify during the winter, 3) better site preparation with multiple applications of glyphosate followed by multiple mowings the first season to provide better stand establishment, 4) and a shift in the seed mix to include some annuals and to tailor the seed mix to the crop depending on the effective pollinators of that crop.

Publications

  • Biddinger, D., E. Rajotte, N. Joshi, and A. Ritz. 2011. Wild bees as alternative pollinators. Fruit Times. September 2011. http://extension.psu.edu/fruit-times/news/2011/wild-bees-as-alternati ve-pollinators.
  • Biddinger, D. 2011. Biological control of pest mites in apple. Fruit Times. June 2011. http://extension.psu.edu/fruit-times/news/2011/biological-control-of- pest-mites-in-apple-1.
  • Jones, J. P., S. A. Steffan, L. A. Hull, and D. J. Biddinger. 2010. Effects of the loss of organophosphate pesticides in the U.S.: opportunities and needs to improve IPM programs. Outlooks on Pest Management 2010:161-6.
  • Frazier, J. L., M. T. Frazier, C. A. Mullin, and S. Ashcraft. 2011. Pesticides and their involvement in Colony Collapse Disorder. Amer. Bee J. August:779-784.
  • Biddinger, D. J., C. Mullin, J. Frazier, M. Frazier, S. Ashcraft, and E. Rajotte. 2011. Assessing the pesticide susceptibility of native bees in Pennsylvania orchards. Penn Fruit News 91(1):49-55.
  • Hull, L. A., G. Krawczyk, and D. J. Biddinger. 2011. Maintaining the integrity of IPM in Pennsylvania while battling the brown marmorated stink bug. Pennsylvania Fruit News 91(4):9-10.
  • Biddinger, D. J. 2011. Investigating alternative pollinators. Penn State Ag Science Magazine, Winter/Spring 2011. p. 5. http://agsci.psu.edu/magazine/articles/2011/winter-spring/investigati ng-alternative-pollinatorssearchterm=Biddinger.
  • Biddinger, D. J. 2011. A Is for Apple, B Is for Bee, C Is for Complex. Good Fruit Grower Magazine. March 2011 (In Press).
  • Biddinger, D. J., H. Ngugi, J. Frazier, M. Frazier, T. Leslie, and L. R. Donovall. 2010. Development of the mason bee, Osmia cornifrons, as an alternative pollinator to honey bees and as a targeted delivery system for biological control agents in the management of fire blight. Penn Fruit News 90(2):35-44.
  • Pennsylvania Tree Fruit Production Guide 2010-2011 edition. Edited by G. Krawczyk. Co-author of entomology section with L. Hull and G. Krawczyk, co-author of pollinator section with M. Frazier, author of biological control section. Penn State Cooperative Extension. AGRS-45. 333 p. http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/.
  • Biddinger, D. and E. Rajotte. 2010. Strategies to Improve Native Pollinator Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Pennsylvania Orchards. Invited Speaker. International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health, and Policy. Penn State University. July 24-28, 2010. (Abstract). http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators/public-outreach/2010-conference/abstr act/view.
  • Biddinger, D. and T. Leslie. 2009. Reduced Risk Pesticides: Challenges and Opportunities in Achieving Healthy Ecosystem Goods and Services. Invited Speaker. Are We Moving Toward Ecologically Base IPM in Apple Orchards 6th International IPM Symposium in Portland, OR. March 2009. http://www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposium09/Final_Presentation_Abstracts .pdf.
  • vanEngelsdorp, D., N. Speybroeck, J. D. Evans, B. K. Nguyen, C. Mullin, M. Frazier, J. Frazier, D. Cox-Foster, Y. Chen, D. R. Tarpy, E. Haubruge, J. S. Pettis, and C. Saegerman. 2010. Weighing risk factors associated with bee Colony Collapse Disorder by Classification and Regression Tree Analysis. J. Econ. Entomol. 103(5):1517-1523.
  • Ciarlo, T., J. L. Frazier, and C. Mullin. 2010. Inert ingredients in pesticides may impair foraging behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica). In: Entomology 2010, 58th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, San Diego, CA. (D0230).
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