On his community outreach work, Assistant Professor Brock Harpur of Purdue University asks his audience to name five bee species.
Yet, as Professor Harpur often tells his audience:
"There are more than 4,000 native bee species in the U.S., which are all quite different from the honeybee, which is native to Europe."
One might ask, “Who cares about a bee that isn’t a honeybee? They don’t help my plate.” This is incorrect. Native species, like the bumblebee, are also crucial to the pollination of plants, including certain commercially grown fruits and vegetables native to the Americas.
For example, native bumblebees are the best blueberry, tomato, potato, and pepper pollinators out there. In Maine alone, over 100 million pounds of wild blueberries are harvested annually creating a $27.7 million industry for the state according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. Annually, the U.S. produces 588.8 million cultivated blueberries valued at $720.2 million. This economically significant food could not be produced without pollination by native bumblebee populations.
These native and now commercialized foods require the flower to be vigorously shaken in order for pollination to occur which the bumblebee does best as depicted in a video by PBS:
Unfortunately, certain species of bumblebees have seen huge population declines, like the rusty patched bumblebee. Once the most abundant bee in eastern U.S., it is now extinct. This could have huge implications on local economies that rely on bumblebees for agriculture, like the wild blueberry industry in Maine.
(Photo: Deepti Bansal Gage/ George Washington University)
Researchers at York University believe the decline is largely due to disease spread occurring with managed bumblebees used in greenhouses for crop pollination where high concentrations of bees may facilitate the spread of disease.
Managed bumblebees also often forage outside and spread disease beyond the greenhouses. However, managed bumblebees are more susceptible to pathogens as compared to wild bees. This is likely because more diverse breeding occurs in the wild creating stronger immune systems compared to breeding in managed facilities. The population declines may be further exacerbated by other factors including drastic temperature changes, extreme climate events, competition with non-natives species, and habitat loss according to Amanda Liczner, Ph.D. Candidate at York University.
The research on bumblebee decline may show the need to adjust agricultural systems to allow for less concentrated pollination schemes, more genetic diversity in bumblebees, and increased legal protection of natural habitat if we want the species to survive and continue to help put food on our plates.
Interested in learning more about important bees? Check out this video to learn about a bee that gets punched by flowers to make your ice cream and this video to learn about the bejeweled, beautiful blue orchard bee.
Credits:
Photos: Deepti Bansal Gage; Videos: PBS