U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Annual Report on Science Accomplishments FY 2021





- Advancing Human Nutrition Research
- Advancing Sustainable Aquaculture Production
- Advancing Sustainable Livestock Production
- Combating AMR
- Combating Citrus Greening
- Controlling Insect Pests
- Developing New Crop Varieties
- Expanding Public Access to Agricultural Information
- Improving Pasture and Rangeland Management
- Improving Rural Economies
- Monitoring and Mitigating Plant Disease
- Optimizing Agricultural Management to Mitigate Climate
- Optimizing Water Use Management
- Protecting Animal Health Disease Detection
- Protecting Human and Animal Health
- Protecting Pollinator Health
- Reducing Labor and Advancing Precision Agriculture
- Safeguarding the Food Supply

**Protecting Pollinator Health** DOWNLOAD TWO-PAGER PDF  **ARS promotes sustainable crop production by protecting crops and pollinators from pests that threaten their health and consequently reduce crop yields.**Modern cropping systems may playa significant role in reduced populations of pollinators and other beneficial insects. ARS researchersacross the country are evaluating the ecology, distribution, conservation, and effectiveness of insectpredators, pollinators, and other beneficial insects. Researchers are quantifying the impact of agriculturalmanagement practices on insect populations and their activities and quantifying the services thatbeneficial insects provide to crop productivity, including pollination. The following accomplishments in2021 highlight several ARS advances in pollinator health and pest management research. **Flowers as hubs for the microbial symbionts of bees.**Native bees are important for cranberrypollination and the role of floral substrates as the ‘hub’ of microbial transmission among native bee faunahas been a focus of investigation by researchers. The survival of native bees depends on microbialsymbionts within the pollen provision. Microbes arecritical to the development of bee larvae, but thevarious mechanisms and key factors for this relationshiphave not been explored. ARS scientists in Madison,Wisconsin, showed that flowers serve as the pick-upand drop-off sites for beneficial bacteria and yeasts.Microbial communities pre-digest the pollen grainswithin the larva’s pollen provision. These symbiontmicrobes function much like those within the rumen ofa cow, providing access to amino acids and lipids thatwould otherwise be unavailable to young developingbees. ARS scientists showed that these microbialcommunities are not specific to certain bee species, butrather are shared widely throughout bee species. Themechanisms of transmission are mediated by flowers inthe landscape and ensure that critical microbial groupsare harbored long enough to be broadly distributedamong pollinator populations. This work is criticallyimportant for agriculture because pollinators areessential to fruit set and development. **New methods to protect managed solitary bees from parasites.**Solitary bees, including alfalfaleafcutting and bumble bees, are important pollinators. Alfalfa leafcutting bees are crucial to pollination forseed production, whereas bumble bees are used to pollinate greenhouse crops such as tomato. Alfalfaleafcutting bees need to be incubated prior to adult emergence, but parasitic wasps can destroy theentire population, and, bumble bee species are plagued by parasitic cuckoo bumble bees, which stealnest resources. ARS scientists in Logan, Utah, found that adding a dichlorvos insecticide strip at 3 daysinto incubation of alfalfa leafcutting bees killed several species of parasitic wasps. This treatment wasmuch earlier than previously recommended and did not harm alfalfa leafcutting bees. For bumble bees, afabricated excluder was designed to prevent cuckoo bumble bee invasion and was 100 percent effectiveat reducing bumble bee colony loss. Using these tools can help ensure effective delivery of alfalfaleafcutting bee and bumble bee pollination services. **Natural compounds combat against major viral diseases in honeybees.**There are currently noregistered treatments or medicines that are effective against honeybee viruses and other microbes. Natural products that range from extracts of secondary compounds in plants and other living organisms to organic molecules provide a rich source of candidates for bee disease treatment. ARS scientists in Beltsville,Maryland, developed efficient and inexpensive screening techniques for testing new natural medicines forbees. Researchers discovered and patented several natural product compounds that are effective hive-based treatments against major bee viruses. These efforts expand the available options for beekeepers tocontrol diseases, and help ensure better colony health, pollination services, and the production of honeyand other hive products. **Nutrients in seasonal pollens support the annual cycle of honeybee colonies.**Colony losses frommalnutrition could be reduced by providing pollen sources that meet the annual nutritional needs ofhoneybees. ARS researchers in Tucson, Arizona, identified the nutrients in spring and fall pollen and beeresponses to them. Pollens were collected in Arizona and Iowa where seasonal cycles of colony growthare similar in spring and summer but differ in the fall and winter. In Iowa, brood rearing is followed by coldtemperatures, leading to months of confinement in the hive. Spring pollens from Arizona and Iowa hadhigher levels of nutrients that support brood rearing, and bees consuming spring pollens developed largerbrood food glands for feeding the queen and rearing larvae. Fall pollen from Iowa had higher levels offatty acids and certain amino acids needed to support colonies during confinement. These findings areimportant for developing pollinator seed mixtures that provide pollen with required nutrients throughout theperiod when colonies are active, and in the formulation of pollen substitute diets that need to be specificfor the season when they are being fed to colonies. Keres, Preston. A Swallowtail butterfly visits Goldpetal Farms in Chaptico, Md., July 17, 2021. USDA Photo. https://flic.kr/p/2mc1ouQ


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov