Pollinators play a significant role in Agriculture and our lives

This article will present recent research on a case of honeybees, monarch butterflies, and a way to mitigate monarch mortality.

Let’s paint a picture: imagine a field with beautiful green grass, rippling from the gentle wind. As you look over the field, there are flowers of vivid purple, astonishing white, soft pink, splashes of blue, and the occasional orange/yellow daisies reaching for the sun. Out of the corner of your eye, you see something fly by with a low buzz, and a honeybee lands at the flower by your foot.

Photo courtesy of Amber Dunnaway

Such a small organism, yet so vital to our survival. Most people are aware of the pollinator decline – bees, butterflies, etc… There are many factors contributing to the decline, and the most popularly known is the insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.

In a study from 2017 on High pesticide risk to honey bees despite low focal crop pollen during pollination of a mass blooming crop, the authors presented information that the chemicals found in pollen and wax in the colony is not just from the treated crops (McArt, et.al. 2017). In an excerpt from the article:

“Pesticides that were not sprayed during bloom were found in beebread at 28 or 30 sites, averaging 2.8 novel pesticides per site. Overall, 64% of the pesticides we detected in beebread were not sprayed at the respective sites during apple bloom.” (McArt, et.al. 2017)

What this means is that the crops that surround agricultural fields that are being treated can catch and hold these pesticides, which is transferred to the pollinator – in this case, honey bees. Their findings fill a crucial gap in honey bee research and knowledge. Before this article, it was thought that the crops being treated affect bees greater than other, “non-focal” crops.

The researchers state “though our results suggest the greatest pesticide risk to bees came from non-focal crop pollen sources, our data cannot determine the exact mechanism or mechanisms of exposure” (McArt, et.al. 2017). To interpret this statement, they are not entirely sure if it from drift, direct treatment, etc…

What can we do about honey bees?

In general, large agricultural production need to use pollinator friendly chemicals, and there needs to be more research into these chemicals to ensure availability, performance, and be economically attainable.

Bee keepers can plant pollinator-friendly plants, but they cannot dictate how far bees travel, where they harvest from, and control agricultural production around them. It begins with being a good steward of the environment, and then striving to become a sustainable community where we preserve what we have for future generations.

Refer back to your original painted picture: The flowers are swaying in the wind, and a beautiful monarch butterfly lands on a milkweed, emerging by itself.

Courtesy of blog.hmns.org

Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are becoming increasingly rare. These beautiful creatures go through four generations before they migrate from Eastern North America to overwinter in Mexico (Agrawal, Inamine 2018). However, environmental and human activities is the identified factor in declining the monarch population.

Environmental problems is extreme weather changes and diseases. An example of the extreme weather changes is stated in the research article Mechanisms behind the Monarch’s Decline: Migratory failure may contribute to the dwindling of this iconic butterfly’s population. The example stated was in the summer of 2017, the weather was extended later into the year, allowing the monarch to complete another life cycle. By completing this extra cycle, it delayed their migratory pilgrimage and changed the rate of success during their travel.

Human activities include pesticides, habitat loss, and reducing availability of milkweed (Agrawal, Inamine 2017). The application of pesticides can kill monarch caterpillars and larvae.  Habitat loss in the Eastern North America, Mexico, and their path of travel being interrupted. Milkweed decline is due to “agricultural intensification, particularly the widespread adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops in the Midwest” and is the “champion” of monarch decline (Agrawal, Inamine 2017).

Milkweed is crucial for monarch reproduction, but is not the source of food for the adult – only their offspring. The researchers stated “butterfly migrants cease to rely on milkweed at the end of the summer. Instead, they depend on floral nectar from a range of plants, water to to drink, and safe passage for their journey to Mexico” (Agrawal, Inamine 2017). This leads into something WE can do!

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b480

What We Can Do To Help Monarchs

In my undergraduate studies at Tennessee Tech University, I created a presentation on Butterfly Waystations. In the words of Jim Lovett of Kentucky University, “a butterfly waystation is a place that provides resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration” (Lovett).

The attractive aspect of creating a waystation is that the monarchs will stop at this garden, visit, and leave safely. Who wouldn’t want to look out their window and see pollinators of all sorts visiting beautiful flowers?

If one wishes to be recognized, there is a certification that can be achieved from creating a waystation. The requirements are to have a 135 sq.ft. area/bed, milkweeds, nectar plants, and be pesticide-free. Jim Lovett gives a recommended seed kit to start such a waystation:

Name	Scientific	Use
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias tuberosa	Milkweed
Common Milkweed	Asclepias syriaca	Milkweed
Swamp Milkweed	Asclepias incarnata	Milkweed
Indian Blanket	Gaillardia pulchella	Nectar
Purple Coneflower	Echinaceae purpurea	Nectar
Joe Pye Weed	Eupatorium purpureum	Nectar
Scarlet Sage	Salvia coccinea	Nectar
Tithonia Torch/ Mexican Sunflower	Tithonia	Nectar
Zinna/Dahlia Mix	Zinnia elegans	Nectar

These flowers are highly suggested, but it does not mean there aren’t other plants that cannot be used in this garden. The recommended plants are those that are native to your area or crucial in providing nectar to pollinators.

I have the references listed below if you are interested in looking at these sources or continuing research of your own. This article was to educate about new research for honeybees, give information about monarchs, and offer a way to help mitigate monarch mortality.

Resources:

Agrawal, A. A., & Inamine, H. (2018). Mechanisms behind the Monarch’s Decline: Migratory failure may contribute to the dwindling of this iconic butterfly’s population [Abstract]. Science Magazine,360(6395), 1294-1296. Retrieved October 24, 2018, from http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/agrawal/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/agrawal-and-inamine-2018-science.pdf

Allen, J. “Our Monarch Waystation.” Monarch Waystation | Our Habitat Garden, Janet Allen, www.ourhabitatgarden.org/creatures/monarchs-waystation.html.

“How to Create Your Own Monarch Butterfly Rest Stop.” Video, National Geographic, video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/140819-monarch-butterfly-way-station-vin.

jlovett@ku.edu, Jim Lovett -. “Monarch Waystations.” Monarch Watch : Monarch Waystation Program, Monarch Watch, monarchwatch.org/waystations/seed_kit.html.

McArt, S. H. et al. High pesticide risk to honey bees despite low focal crop pollen collection during pollination of a mass blooming crop. Sci. Rep. 7, 46554; doi: 10.1038/srep46554 (2017).