N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Enhancing Farm Landscapes for Native Bees Michigan Natural Landscapes and Improved Crop Pollination
Provide Rufus Isaacs - Biodiversity & - Pest suppression Julianna Tuell - Pollination
Department of Entomology Michigan State University
Michigan Small Farms Conference Grayling, MI Prairie Oak savanna January 27, 2007
Pollination Michigan Agricultural Landscapes • The transfer of pollen from the stamen to the stigma and subsequent fertilization of the ovary. Provide Self pollination - Biodiversity - Pest suppression - Pollination
Annual crops Orchards Cross pollination
Most fruits and vegetables are dependent on bees for pollination
87 of the leading global foods are pollinated by insects
35% of human food is insect pollinated Over 20,000 species of bees in the world
This includes…. apple, sweet cherry, tart cherry, pear, peach, blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, melon, squash, sunflower, tomato, clover, cucumber, etc.
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 1 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Honey Bee Digger (Andrena) Bees
• emerge in early spring
• require pre-bloom floral resources (willow, wild cherry, elderberry, etc.)
•soil nesting
• Main commercial pollinator
• In US, annual value of honey bee pollination = $14.6 billion
Bumble bees Sweat Bees (Halictids)
2nd most important, • emerge in mid-spring globally • require post-bloom floral resources
•soil nesting
Why even consider Bumble Bees native bees?
• collect pollen by buzz-pollination
• Some native bees are efficient crop pollinators. • queens emerge in early spring • workers emerge later in the spring • Native bees are adapted to local spring weather. • require flowers through the season • Some native bees emerge in synchrony with specific crops to pollinate them exclusively. • nest in insulated cavities in the ground • Long term sustainability of pollination. • colonies can be purchased to increase • May be considered ‘pollination insurance’. bumblebee numbers during bloom
• Most of them are free!
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 2 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Mason (Osmia) Bees Native Bees on Blueberry Flowers
% bees No. of carrying % pollen • emerge in early spring bees Vaccinium load from • require early season flowers Family Species or Group sampled pollen Vaccinium Andrenidae Andrena carolina 54 85% 95% • use mud to divide nests built in stem and beetle-galleries Andrenidae Andrena carlini 28 61% 47% • some are managed commercially Andrenidae other Andrena spp. 22 9% 39%
(apple and cherry production) Halictidae Halictine spp. 13 69% 56% • ongoing NW Michigan tests of Colletidae Colletes spp. 6 83% 67% Osmia cornifrons in Balaton cherry
www.kv.geo.uu.se/pollen/V/Vaccinium-type.html Andrena carolina Bees with pollen in Blueberry pollen a pan trap
How you manage your farm will affect Other Native Bees the ability of native bees to prosper
• Carpenter bees In a survey of 15 Michigan blueberry farms, the following management factors affected native bee abundance:
Increased by: unmown ditches around fields meadows near fields
Photo: Jeff Evans Decreased by: • Cellophane bee more frequent insecticide application
N intense field perimeter management Ô
Tuell & Isaacs, unpublished data
What Native Bees are Present What Do Native Bees Need? During Blueberry Bloom?
N Ô • Food resources – Nectar and pollen resources before and after crop bloom cellophane mason bees bees 1% bumble bees •Nesting resources 1% and carpenter bees – Patches of semi-bare ground 8% – Undisturbed vegetation/thatch – Nesting boxes or straws sweat bees – Access to mud or plant material 45% • Habitat free of bee-toxic pesticides andreniddigger beesbees 45%
Pan trapping 2x during bloom at 15 farms in 2004, 2005, 2006
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 3 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Why are extra food resources needed? Exotic Plants Exotic plants
• Crop bloom period may be short, depending on the number of crops/cultivars on a particular farm. Benefits – Reliable seed or plant sources • Many native bee life cycles extend beyond crop bloom. – Large agronomic database = Spring fruit bloom – Prolific/sustained floral display Mason bees – Previous success in other locales Digger bees Sweat bees Disadvantages Bumble bee queens – Do not enhance native biodiversity Bumble bee workers – Potentially invasive
April May June July Aug Sept
Pre-bloom food resources Native Plants Native plants
• Woody plants found in adjacent Benefits habitat: – Enhance native biodiversity –field edges –ditches – Re-creation of imperiled habitats – treelines. – Less likely to be invasive – Adapted to local climate – Provide habitat permanency
Bloom Timing of Native Plants Attractive to Beneficial Insects Post-bloom food resources natural enemies and bees
Natural Bloom Period Native plant enemies Bees May Jun JulAug Sep Oct wild strawberry •Herbaceous plants in golden Alexanders – buffer strips Canada anemone penstemon –ditches angelica cow parsnip – other adjacent habitat. sand coreopsis shrubby cinquefoil Indian hemp late figwort swamp milkweed Culver's root yellow coneflower nodding wild onion meadowsweet yellow giant hyssop KEY horsemint good Missouri ironweed better cup plant best pale Indian plantain boneset blue lobelia pale-leaved sunflower Riddell's goldenrod New England aster smooth aster East Lansing, MI. 2004-5
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 4 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) Penstemon (Penstemon hirsutus)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: Chalcid wasps Chalcid wasps, minute pirate bug
• Bees: • Bees: sweat bees, small carpenter bees small and large carpenter bees, bumble bees • Bloom: mid-late May • Bloom: late May - mid June
Sunlight Sunlight sun Range shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Golden alexanders (Zizia aurea) Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: Chalcid wasps, dance flies Chalcid wasps, dance flies, minute pirate bug • Bees: • Bees: yellow-faced bees, Andrenid bees, sweat bees sweat bees, cuckoo bees • Bloom: late May - mid June • Bloom: early June
Sunlight Sunlight sun Range shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis) Common cowparsnip (Heracleum maximum)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, dance flies, Chalcid wasps, minute pirate bug Chalcid wasps • Bees: • Bees: sweat bees yellow-faced bees, sweat bees
• Bloom: throughout June • Bloom: mid June
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 5 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) Late figwort (Scrophularia marilandica)
• Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, predatory thrips • Natural enemies: dance flies • Bees: • Bees: sweat bees yellow-faced bees, sweat bees, bumble bees • Bloom: June - August • Bloom: late July – early August
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, Chalcid wasps, • Natural enemies: spiders, dance flies Chalcid wasps, dance flies
• Bees: • Bees: yellow-faced bees, sweat bees yellow-faced bees, sweat bees, large carpenter bees; also highly attractive • Bloom: July - September to honey bees • Bloom: mid July – mid August Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) Culver’s-Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: dance flies, Chalcid wasps, crab minute pirate bug spiders, lady beetles • Bees: • Bees: yellow-faced bees, sweat bees sweat bees, small carpenter bees, bumble bees; also highly attractive to • Bloom: late June - July honey bees • Bloom: late July – early August Sunlight Sunlight sun Range shade sunRange shade Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 6 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) Yellow giant hyssop (Agastache nepetoides)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, predatory plant Chalcid wasps, minute pirate bug, spiders, dance flies, Chalcid bug, spiders wasps • Bees: • Bees: sweat bees, digger bees, yellow-faced bees, sweat bees, cuckoo bees, small and large bumble bees carpenter bees, bumble bees • Bloom: throughout August • Bloom: late July - mid August
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sun Range shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum) Horsemint (Monarda punctata)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, crab spiders soldier beetle, predatory plant bug
• Bees: • Bees: sweat bees, bumble bees; also highly large carpenter bees, digger bees, attractive to honey bees bumble bees • Bloom: throughout August • Bloom: throughout August
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) Ironweed (Vernonia missurica)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, Chalcid wasps Chalcid wasps
•Bees: • Bees: yellow-faced bees, Andrenid bees, sweat bees, leafcutter bees, cuckoo sweat bees, bumble bees bees, small carpenter bees, bumble bees •Bloom: throughout August • Bloom: throughout August
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 7 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) Blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: Chalcid wasps, minute pirate bug, minute pirate bug, Chalcid wasps, soldier beetle, predatory plant bug soldier beetle, lady beetles, predatory plant bug • Bees: sweat bees, leafcutter bees, small • Bees: carpenter bees, digger bees, yellow-faced bees, sweat bees, bumble bees small carpenter bees, bumble bees • Bloom: throughout August • Bloom: August – early September
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Pale Indian plantain (Cacalia atriplicifolia) Pale-leaved sunflower(Helianthus strumosus)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, Chalcid wasps, Chalcid wasps, soldier beetle, soldier beetle minute pirate bug, crab spiders • Bees: • Bees: sweat bees, digger bees, bumble bees Andrenid bees, sweat bees, digger bees, bumble bees • Bloom: throughout August • Bloom: August – early September
Sunlight Sunlight sunRange shade sunRange shade Moisture Moisture dry Range wet dry Range wet
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) Riddell’s goldenrod (Solidago riddellii)
• Natural enemies: • Natural enemies: minute pirate bug, Chalcid wasps, minute pirate bug, predatory plant paper wasps, lady beetles bug, Chalcid wasps, soldier beetle, spiders • Bees: yellow-faced bees, Andrenid bees, • Bees: sweat bees, small and large carpenter sweat bees, small carpenter bees, digger bees, bumble bees; also bees, digger bees, bumble bees highly attractive to honey bees • Bloom: August – early • Bloom: throughout September September
Sunlight Sunlight Range sun shade sunRange shade
Moisture Moisture NOTE: Showy goldenrod (S. speciosa) was dry Range wet dry Range wet also tested, and had a similar number of bees and fewer natural enemies.
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 8 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Integrating Native Flowering New England aster (Aster novae-angliae) Plants into Farm Landscapes
• Natural enemies: Chalcid wasps, dance flies •Ditches
• Bees: •Field margins Andrenid bees, sweat bees, small carpenter bees, bumble bees •Meadows • Bloom: late May - mid June • Row middles?
Sunlight sunRange shade
Moisture dry Range wet
Smooth aster (Aster laevis) What Do Native Bees Need?
• Natural enemies: •Food resources minute pirate bug, spiders, Chalcid – Nectar and pollen resources before and after blueberry wasps bloom • Bees: sweat bees, bumble bees • Nesting resources – Patches of semi-bare ground • Bloom: mid September – – Undisturbed vegetation/thatch early October – Nesting boxes or straws – Access to mud or plant material
Sunlight • Habitat free of bee-toxic pesticides sunRange shade
Moisture dry Range wet
Undisturbed semi-bare ground for Native grasses soil-nesting bees
Grow in native prairie habitat, where they
1. Provide structural support for wildflowers
2. Fill in gaps that wildflowers can’t in early establishment, decreasing weed pressure
3. Have root systems of different depths that complement wildflowers
Little bluestem Canada wild rye (Andropogon scoparius) (Elymus canadensis) Heidi Natura, Conservation Research Institute
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 9 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Undisturbed vegetation/thatch for bumble bees Bees and Pesticides
• Habitat free of bee-toxic pesticides – Provide a clean water source.
– Avoid spraying (or use bee-safe compounds) during bloom.
– Use insecticides that are less toxic to bees.
– Spray pesticides when bees are not active (after dark).
– Be aware of pesticide drift into adjacent habitat where flowers are in bloom.
Nesting boxes or straws Bees and Pesticides and access to mud for mason bees Native bee abundance during bloom in 2004 in relation to insecticide use during the previous growing season 140 Increasing toxicity score of insecticide 120 program correlates with decreasing native bee abundance during bloom 100
80
60
40
number of native bees of native number 20
0 0 20406080
toxicityinsecticide score of toxicityinsecticide score program (lbs A.I./acre/LD50 for bees)
What Do Native Bees Need? Summary
•Food resources • Native bees are present in all agricultural landscapes. – Nectar and pollen resources before and after blueberry bloom • Their abundance is dependent on habitat suitability. •Nesting resources – Patches of semi-bare ground • Providing additional food and nesting resources, and – Undisturbed vegetation/thatch reducing use of bee-toxic insecticides can help increase – Nesting boxes or straws native bee abundance during crop bloom. – Access to mud or plant material
• Habitat free of bee-toxic pesticides • Native Michigan plants can provide a resource bridge through the growing season when crops are not in bloom.
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 10 N. Michigan Small Farms Conference 2007
Further Resources
• MSU’s Enhancing Beneficial Insects Website – www.ipm.msu.edu/plants/home.htm
• Pollinator Conservation Handbook – Shepherd et al., The Xerces Society
• How to Manage the Blue Orchard Bee – Bosch & Kemp, Sustainable Agriculture Network Series, Book # 5
• Crop Pollination by Bees –Delaplane& Mayer, CABI publishing
Acknowledgments
• Research assistance • Grower Cooperators John Wise Larry Bodtke Randy Bowerman Jack Langdon Bob Carini Matthew Tuell Joe DeGranchamp Casey McLean Beverly DeJonge Jessie Siemen Karlis Galens Anna Fiedler R.J. Rant Dave Stansby Nate Walton Terry Tiles Doug Wassink • Collaborators Jan Woods Anna Fiedler and Doug Landis
Funding
Questions?
Photo: David Cappaert
R. Isaacs, Dept. Entomology, MSU 11