The Pennsylvania State University

The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Entomology PESTICIDE USE, HABITAT MANIPULATION AND MANAGEMENT CHANGES AS FACTORS IN POLLINATOR SUSTAINABILITY IN PENNSYLVANIA APPLE ORCHARDS A Thesis in Entomology by Sarah Elizabeth Shugrue Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science August 2016 ii The thesis of Sarah Shugrue was reviewed and approved* by the following: David J. Biddinger Associate Professor of Entomology Thesis Co-Advisor Edwin G. Rajotte Professor of Entomology Thesis Co-Advisor Richard T. Roush Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences Gary W. Felton Professor of Entomology Head of the Department of Entomology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Pollinator declines, and their impact on crop production, have become a major concern in recent years. A variety of factors have been implicated in the wild and managed bee declines including pathogens, parasites, pesticides, and habitat loss. This thesis focuses specifically on the assessment of pesticide exposure to pollinators, differences in pollinator community composition associated with orchards and floral enhancement plantings, and the interaction between pest management practices and pollinator health. Pesticide residue levels in apple pollen and nectar were measured to determine the oral exposure of bees to pesticides, and dose mortality curves depicting the oral toxicity of commonly used pesticides to honey bees were created. Furthermore, the bee communities in commercial apple orchards were compared to the bee communities in government-funded pollinator habitats. Pesticide residue levels in the pollen and nectar were significantly lower than the application rate, and laboratory assays indicate that these levels did not pose a threat to honey bees. Additionally, the bee communities in the orchards were different from the bee communities in the managed pollinator habitat, but the pollinator habitats did not support more tree fruit pollinating or rare bee species than the orchards did. The results from these experiments should be influential in instructing new policy regarding pollinator health, specifically pesticide toxicity testing on pollinators, and the use of managed bee habitats as a conservation tool. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... viiii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Pollination Services and Their Decline ............................................................................ 1 The Role of Pesticides in Bee Decline ............................................................................. 3 The Role of Habitat in Bee Decline ................................................................................. 4 Integrated Pest and Pollinator Managment ...................................................................... 5 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 2 POLLINATOR EXPOSURE TO SYSTEMIC INSECTICIDES FROM PRE- BLOOM AND LATE FALL APPLICATIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA APPLE ORCHARDS .................................................................................................................... 11 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 11 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................... 14 Experimental Design ................................................................................................... 14 Prebloom Applications ............................................................................................... 15 Fall Applications ......................................................................................................... 16 Pollen and Nectar Sampling ....................................................................................... 17 Pesticide Residue Extraction ...................................................................................... 18 Pesticide Residue Analysis ......................................................................................... 19 Statistical Analysis ...................................................................................................... 19 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 20 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 22 Integrated Pest and Pollinator Managment ................................................................. 23 Pollinator Toxicity ...................................................................................................... 24 Future Directions ........................................................................................................ 26 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 3 ACUTE ORAL TOXICITY OF SEVERAL FORMULATED NEONICOTINOIDS AND RELATED INSECTICIDES USED IN APPLE ORCHARD PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS TO THE HONEY BEE (APIS MELLIFERA (L.)) ... 31 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 31 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................... 34 Insects and Treatment ................................................................................................. 34 Data Collection and Analysis ..................................................................................... 36 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 36 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 38 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 41 v Chapter 4 THE USE OF POLLINATOR HABITAT AUGMENTATION IN PENNSYLVANIA APPLE ORCHARDS ....................................................................... 44 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 44 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................... 47 Study Sites .................................................................................................................. 47 Sampling ..................................................................................................................... 51 Statistical Analysis ...................................................................................................... 52 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 54 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 63 Bee Community Differences ...................................................................................... 64 Tree Fruit Pollination Benefits ................................................................................... 65 Rare Species Conservation ......................................................................................... 66 Policy Implications and Suggestions .......................................................................... 67 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 69 Chapter 2 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 74 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................ 77 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1. The names and chemical structures of the six neonicotinoid insecticides registered for use on apples. ............................................................................................. 12 Figure 3-1. Dose mortality data for (a) Assail and (b) Sivanto using mortality 48 hours post-feeding ...................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 4-1. A proposed hierarchy of the effects of pollinator habitat in crop production (modified from Wratten et al. 2012). ............................................................................... 46 Figure 4-2. Pollinator planting species mix with bloom times *Grasses, no designated bloom time. ...................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 4-3. Mean Shannon Diversity Index for orchard sites (blue) versus pollinator strip sites (orange) (a) for the full set of data (b) for the known tree fruit pollinator species and (c) for specimens collected during tree

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