Shaylee Wallace

Power Pollinators: of the

BATS, BEES & BUTTERFLIES IN THE NATURAL STATE

By Shaylee Wallace

Photo courtesy: Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism

Spring has finally arrived, and with it comes green grass, newborn livestock and budding plants. Another sign of spring’s arrival? The reemergence of pollinators. Pollinators include a wide array of animals. Bats and birds play a small role in pollination, while insects such as butterflies, moths, ants and beetles cover a wide range of plant pollination. But bees (of many varieties and species) are responsible for most pollination. According to the Arkansas Department of Heritage, the Natural State is home to an estimated 400-650 species of native bees. Throughout the country, bees have an estimated economic value of $3 billion per year. While they certainly have a large impact, it’s important to know that native bees don’t look or behave exactly like their immigrant cousin, the honeybee. They range from boldly striped bumble bees, to small metallic-green bees to long-horned bees with white hair and blues eyes. Some even have a more wasp-like appearance. Bottom line? Native bees vary in their physical appearance, which can often be why they’re overlooked or missed when we think of pollinators. In addition to their physical varieties, they also exhibit behavioral patterns vastly different from honeybees. Many native bees are solitary, carrying out their life cycles almost completely alone. Very few actually follow a social structure such as a colony with a queen and worker-bees. With this in mind, many Natural State bees also don’t live in a hive. They nest in soil, construct cavities or bore into plant stems or dead wood. In comparison, the honeybees we’re all more familiar with boast the classic striped appearance. They originate from a natural range in Europe and Africa and were introduced to the United States during colonization. Unlike most of our native bees, honeybees live in a hive, with a colony social structure. This social structure includes a queen, workers and drones. A single queen is responsible for laying eggs (fertilized and unfertilized) in the colony and producing the individualized pheromones that distinguish one colony from another. Drones are

Honeybees live in hives with colony social structures. Worker bees fly in and out of the colony to complete their daily tasks.

Honeybee hives have queens, which are easily identifiable by their size and appearance. A single queen is responsible for laying eggs (fertilized and unfertilized) in the colony and producing the individualized pheromones that distinguish one colony from another.

large male bees that fertilize eggs. Workers are small, undeveloped female bees, and they live up to their title. Workers feed the colony, care for the queen, build beeswax combs, ventilate the hive, collect pollen and nectar for honey, remove debris, clean and polish cells within the hive … their resumé is quite large.

As mentioned, another distinguishing difference for honeybees would be the hives or nests they live in. Honeybees live in a structured environment created from beeswax and shaped into hexagons, which allows for the best use of space within a hive or nest.

Aside from all the physical and social information of bees, it’s important to understand the role they play in agriculture as pollinators. More than 100 crops are pollinated by honeybees. While this includes many fruits and vegetables we eat, it also includes nuts, herbs, spices, forages for dairy and beef cattle and medicinal and ornamental plants. Additionally, 80 percent of native plants are pollinated by native bees. Native bees also play a key role in supplementing the work of honeybees for many crops. The U.S. Geological Survey also indicates that popular crops such as cotton, soybeans and peppers (which don’t require pollinators) have greater yields with the presence of bees. Over one-third of the food we eat relies on the pollination of bees. In comparison to the $3 million economic addition of native bees, honeybees add around $18 billion to the economy through increased crop yields alone, and the total value of honeybee products and services sold is around $700 million.

Beginning in 2006, researchers noted a significant decline in honeybees, while native bees have been in decline since early colonization, as previously mentioned. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) appeared in the winter of 2006-2007, and again at an even higher rate the next year. But there is still a large amount of mystery around CCD, a phenomenon where the majority of worker bees leave the queen, their food supply and nurse bees behind with immature bees. In addition, pests, diseases, deficiencies and climate variability have all played roles in the decline of bee populations. Another cause of decline? Encroaching urbanization resulting in habitat loss or habitat competition between honeybees and native bees. It has also been revealed that certain types of pesticides have an impact on bee populations.

In recent years, there has been a shift to focus on the health of pollinators. Today the U.S. has around 2.8 million honeybee hives. Reported cases of CCD have also declined in the past five years. And a 2021 survey found that native bees are on a small rise in conjunction with the use of native plants. With optimism surrounding our primary pollinator populations, it’s important to look at ways Arkansans can continue to support bee populations.

Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to grow native plants such as flowers, shrubs, grasses, trees etc.

Boards with single drilled holes are recommended for creating simple solitary bee habitats.

Michael and Conner Sparks of Honeycomb Ridge Farm in Searcy move their hives near different crops, such as blackberries, to improve yields in both produce and honey.

Byproducts from bees, such as beeswax, contribute to the $700 million made from the sale of honeybee products and services alone.

There are a few things farmers and ranchers can do to continue this upward trend and ensure the future of vital pollinators. Knowing the habitat of your farm or ranch is a great place to start. Identifying places on your property that can support pollinators and other beneficial insects and wildlife can go a long way, and improving a pollinator habitat can even be eligible for financial support from governmental programming.

Providing non-competitive habitats for bees is another way to help. Native bees don’t often live in colonies. Instead they thrive in simple habitats such as scrap wood, nests in soil or soft plant stems.

Once a growing season is over in fall, cut flower stalks can be a great way to provide open stems to native bees. The longer the stems remain in place, the better for native bees. The Department of Arkansas Heritage says eggs laid in the spring will develop over the summer and emerge as adult bees the following growing season, so leaving cut stems or simple wood nests for two growing seasons is ideal for bee populations.

Leaving sections of leaves and soil undisturbed can also be a great help to pollinators such as bumble bees that overwinter by burrowing an inch or two down. Experts also caution against bee houses for native bees. Due to the construction, many bee houses cannot be disassembled, making them difficult to clean and creating an environment for diseases and mites. Instead, dry wood, small brush piles or even boards will single drilled holes are recommend for creating native bee habitats. In comparison, apiary practices and hives are recommended for honeybees, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages producers and individuals outside of agriculture to consider beekeeping.

Farmers and ranchers are also encouraged to grow native Arkansas plants. Native plants can include flowers, shrubs, grasses, trees etc. Arkansas Heritage has a great resource on the top 15 native Arkansas plants for pollinators (https://www.arkansasheritage. com/blog/dah/2021/09/29/a-top-15-list-of-nativearkansas-plants-for-pollinators).

Aside from housing and native plants, there are a few other recommended practices agriculturalists can use to support bees. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recommends minimalizing tillage when possible to protect pollinators that nest, burrow and live underground. Allowing crops to bolt can also be helpful to bees. When crops are given the chance to flower before tillage or removal, this adds another food source for bees. Additionally, planting hedgerows or windbreaks with flowering plants or shrubs can increase pollinator activity near crops, allowing for greater yields while providing a great food source for bees. NRCS also reminds farmers and ranchers to use increased care with insecticides and pesticides, especially during the warmer months when bees and pollinators are more active. Spraying on still, dry evenings after dark when bees are not active can reduce the risk of exposure for bees.

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Local honey, like that produced by James and Linda Rhein of Mountain Home, is part of the $18 billion added to the economy each year.

As temperatures continue to warm up, and more pollinators emerge, it is important for farmers and ranchers to continue their efforts in supporting bee populations. For more information or resources about native bees and honeybees in the Natural State visit: • https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/special-programs/beekeeping/pollinators.aspx • https://www.arkansasheritage.com/blog/dah/2021/09/30/arkansas-native-bees-their-dazzlingdiversity-and-how-you-can-help-keep-them-buzzing • https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2020/06/24/pollinators-crossroads • https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/farmers/

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Photo courtesy: Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism

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ASK THE EXPERT

A Q&A with Jon Zawislak, Assistant Professor, Apiculture & Urban Entomology

University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research & Extension

Q1. What is the best way to support bees and or pollinators on a farm or ranch? Habitat loss is the greatest issue facing pollinators worldwide. There are so few wild areas left, and most of the landscape is not managed with wildlife in mind. The best thing you can do to support these important creatures is to plant more flowers, and to conserve and improve flowering habitat. This is true for honeybees, native bees, butterflies and many more pollinators.

Q2. Can bees be relocated? What does that process look like? Honeybees can be relocated. Managed bees live in hives, and they all go back inside at night. A beekeeper can simply close the entrance and move the whole hive to a new location. Colonies living in trees or other structures can also be relocated, but it takes some skill. Each honeycomb can be carefully cut out and placed into wooden frames, and moved into a standard beehive, and the bees can be moved with them.

Q3. Can a farmer or rancher lease bees for pollination? Many farmers routinely rent beehives for pollination. They can work with a beekeeper to arrange for the bees to be delivered just before a crop begins to flower, and then removed once the flowering is finished. The bees can be moved to other areas where different crops may be in need of pollinators.

Q4. What are the benefits of pollination in agriculture? What crops benefit the most from leased pollination services? Large acreage commodity crops don’t necessarily need pollinators. Cereal grains (corn, wheat, rice, etc.) are wind-pollinated crops. And soybeans and other legumes can be self-pollinating. But most smallacreage, high-value crops, like strawberries, melons, and tree fruits, greatly benefit from pollinator visits.

Good pollination improves the quantity and the quality of many fruits, nuts, and oilseed crops. Many vegetables and herbs also require pollination to produce seeds to grow more of those plants next year. About 80% of the world’s almonds are grown in California, which requires nearly 2 million beehives for pollination each spring. That area can’t support that many bees the rest of the year, so they are trucked in from all over the country (including Arkansas) to help with that job, then moved to other areas to pollinate and to make honey.

And lastly, question recommended by friends: Do bees actually have knees? If so, how many? Insect legs have a femur and a tibia section, just like us. So you could say they have a knee on each of their six legs. Or maybe they have six elbows?

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