Forget murder hornets. Arkansas bee populations face plenty of life-threatening perils that arealready here, shrinking their numbers and causing colonies to collapse.
But all is not lost, because Neelendra Joshi is on a mission to save Arkansas’ bees.
Joshi, assistant professor of entomology for the University of Arkansas, uses the research tools of his discipline to understand the greatest threats to the state’s hundreds of bee species and learn how to protect them.
“There are an estimated 25,000 species of bees that provide pollination services to the world,” Joshi said. “Our research has identified more than 100 species in Arkansas, and we estimate that there may be as many as 300 to 400 native bee species in the state.”
Using various sampling techniques, Joshi has determined that different species of bees are distributed to different areas of the state, mainly, he says, based on local resources like habitat and food sources.
“There are bee species in northwest Arkansas not commonly found in other areas of the state,” he said.
Bee populations, both managed and wild, are in decline everywhere, Joshi said. Extensive research is underway nationwide to fully understand the causes, but the known threats are many.
Interactions among many stressors have created colossal maladies hitting bees at one time, Joshi said, and in many cases, the combinations have caused added impacts. Also, he said, the factors causing distress in wild bee populations tend to be different from those harming domesticated honeybees.
Managed bee populations often suffer from restricted diets when they are moved from location to location to pollinate specific monoculture crops, where they forage on only one kind of flowering plant. Joshi said these bees are not getting the balanced nutrition necessary to maintain good health.
“The biggest threats to wild bee populations are loss of nesting habitat and loss of native flora that are primary food sources,” Joshi said.
Bees lose habitat to human development like urban expansion, road building, logging, land clearing and tilling for agriculture, forest fires, and other natural or human made reduction in wild land and forests.
Urban spread and monoculture agriculture contribute to loss of wildflower food sources for wild bees, Joshi said. “Bees require nectar and pollen from a diverse floral resources to meet their nutritional needs,” he said. “Popular garden plants and the ‘sameness’ of monoculture farming systems do not provide dietary balance.”
Joshi and his lab have conducted studies to measure the effects of common pesticides and biological alternatives on bee species. The studies included determining what levels of exposure are fatal, and those from which bees of different species can recover.
While it’s easy to point the finger at agriculture for pesticide use, Joshi said homeowners and gardeners use precisely the same pesticide chemicals, and often with less restraint.
Global climate change also is likely contributing to bee decline, though scientists are still collecting data. And while Joshi said he had not seen evidence of it in Arkansas, there is much concern that rising temperatures may cause flowering cycles and the beginning of seasonal bee activity to get out of synch. “Solitary wild bees could emerge early and not find any food,” he said.
Managed bees and wild bee populations have to compete for ever-shrinking resources, compounding the problem.
Beekeepers who maintain managed populations for breeding, honey or pollination services are already looking to researchers for the answers they need to restore health and stability for their hives.
But Joshi said everyone can make changes to help wild bee populations recover.
Homeowners and gardeners should also be careful about pesticide use, Joshi said. Farmers use the least amount necessary to protect their crops for economic reasons. Homeowners use pesticides for comfort — to keep insects out of their homes — and gardeners use them for aesthetic purposes, to keep their gardens pretty.
Joshi recommends using pesticides that are less toxic to bees or natural alternatives if possible, and to time their use for when bees are not active or present.
Maintaining non-compacted, well-drained soils offers suitable nesting substrates for ground-nesting bees, Joshi said. He suggested drilling holes in scrap pieces of wood and hanging them in trees at least 5-6 feet off the ground for tunnel-dwellers.
To provide food sources, Joshi recommended planting a variety of native wildflowers.
“Many exotic garden plants will not be suitable,” Joshi said. “It’s best to use a mix of colors and plant heights, as well as a sequence of plants that bloom at different times of the year while bees are active,” usually from April through about mid-October, he said.
“Different species have different preferences,” Joshi said. “We need to learn what those are.”
Bug doc on a mission to save Arkansas bees
