SPRING FRUIT CROP POLLINATORS AND NORTHEASTERN FORESTS: HIGH-VALUE BEES IN OVERLOOKED HABITATS

Spring-blooming fruit crops are often pollination-limited, likely due to short bloom periods combined with inclement spring weather which limits pollinator activity. Early-flying native bees such as Andrena and Bombus, which are adapted to highly variable weather, are important pollinators of spring fruit crops. Most spring bee species use deciduous forest habitat, which provides the best bee forage at this time of year. However, current pollinator management practices exclude spring-flying bee species because they focus exclusively on summer-blooming plants and open habitats. The goal of this project is to determine how northeastern forests can be managed to support spring fruit crop pollinators and other bee species that use forests. Much of the forest area of the northeast is managed for timber production. Thus we will measure (1) how different timber harvest practices and (2) forestry regeneration stages affect bees, and (3) use these data in a simulation model to predict how bee populations can coexist with forestry at larger scales of space and time. To (4) determine which forest plant species are key pollen resources for bees, we will identify pollen in bees' scopal loads, and publish guidelines for growers who wish to manage forest remnants near orchards for fruit crop pollinators. Lastly, to facilitate future monitoring we will (5) develop molecular species identification techniques for the key crop-pollinating genus Andrena. Our work will support sustainable pollination for the $862 million spring fruit crop industry, and will allow for the inclusion of bees in forestry best management practices. Specifically, we will answer the following research questions:1. How do different timber harvest practices affect bees? (field data)2. What bee species are supported during forestry regeneration stages? (field data)3. How does forestry impact bees at larger scales of space and time? (simulation model)4. Which forest plant species are the most important pollen resources for bees? (field data)5. Develop molecular species identification tools for the genus Andrena (genomics; a goal not a question)