Breeding, Bees, and the 4 Ps

"After suffering severe winter losses beginning in 2007, the honey bee population is making a comeback. Still, losses are high, which means beekeepers have to spend a lot of time and money replacing their bees.

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are responding, by using genetics to selectively breed honey bees to fight the primary perpetrators of the problem – what they call the “four Ps.” According to scientists with the ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research (HBBGPR) lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the main issues that honey bees contend with are parasites, pathogens, poor nutrition and pesticides.

Honey bees are important to ecosystems and the agriculture system. Honey bees are America’s primary commercial pollinator and more than 100 U.S.-grown crops rely on honey bees and other pollinators. In addition to their important role in maintaining food security, bees provide income to the entire food production industry from beekeepers and farmers to local retailers and international exporters.

The 5-year project at HBBGPR addresses the four Ps through breeding programs that refine selected genetic traits already present in honey bee populations.

“We are breeding honey bees that are more efficient at processing nutrients in their food and are more resistant to pests, pathogens and pesticides,” said Lanie Bilodeau, research leader at HBBGPR. “Developing healthier and more productive honey bee colonies will help ease the effects of disease and climate change, and improve the food supply at local, national and global scales.”

The project is already reaping positive results, including a comprehensive catalog of genetic variation of commercial and research honey bee populations in the country, and nutritional supplements for colony-wide pathogen treatment..."
Honey Bees 

Tools and Strategies for Pollinator Protection

"There are many ways to minimize the exposure of bees and other pollinators to pesticides. This page describes some pollinator protection strategies used at the local, state, and federal level to preserve pollinators and their habitats. These strategies include Best Management Practices (BMPs), Managed Pollinator Protection Plans (MP3s), and mitigation measures to reduce pesticide exposure. Utilizing these practices can help protect pollinators and the plants who depend on them. 

EPA evaluates pesticides (e.g., insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, disinfectants, and biological products) for their risk to human health and the environment, including pollinator species. To assess risk to bees, EPA generally requires a suite of tests which follow methods outlined in EPA’s Pollinator Risk Assessment Guidance documents Pollinator Risk Assessment Guidance documents. EPA’s risk assessments for pollinators inform regulatory decisions on the proper use, storage, and disposal instructions on pesticide labels. These labels dictate how and when specific pesticides can be used and how risks can be mitigated.

Learn more about how EPA assesses risks to pollinators..."
Pollinators 

EPA Releases the First of Four Preliminary Risk Assessments for Insecticides Potentially Harmful to Bees

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a preliminary pollinator risk assessment for the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, which shows a threat to some pollinators. EPA’s assessment, prepared in collaboration with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, indicates that imidacloprid potentially poses risk to hives when the pesticide comes in contact with certain crops that attract pollinators.

“Delivering on the President’s National Pollinator Strategy means EPA is committed not only to protecting bees and reversing bee loss, but for the first time assessing the health of the colony for the neonicotinoid pesticides,” said Jim Jones Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Using science as our guide, this preliminary assessment reflects our collaboration with the State of California and Canada to assess the results of the most recent testing required by EPA.”..." 
Bees

Bee Health: Background and Issues for Congress

"Bees, both commercially managed honey bees and wild bees, play an important role in global food production. In the United States alone, the value of insect pollination to U.S. agricultural production is estimated at $16 billion annually, of which about three-fourths is attributable to honey bees..."
Bee Health

Bee Health: The Role of Pesticides

"Bees, both commercially managed honey bees and wild bees, play an important role in global food production. In the United States, the value of honey bees only as commercial pollinators in U.S. food production is estimated at about $15 billion to $20 billion annually. The estimated value of other types of insect pollinators, including wild bees, to U.S. food production is not available. Given their importance to food production, many have expressed concern about whether a “pollinator crisis” has been occurring in recent decades..."
Bee Health: the Role of Pesticides

Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
"Starting in late 2006, commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States began reporting sharp declines in their honey bee colonies. Because of the severity and unusual circumstances of these colony declines, scientists named this phenomenon colony collapse disorder (CCD). Reports indicate that beekeepers in most states have been affected. Overall, the number of managed honey bee colonies dropped an estimated 35.8% and 31.8% in the winters of 2007/2008 and 2006/2007, respectively. Preliminary loss estimates for the 2008/2009 winter are reported at 28.6%. To date, the precise reasons for colony losses are not yet known.

Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinators of agricultural crops worldwide. Scientists at universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) frequently assert that bee pollination is involved in about one-third of the U.S. diet, and contributes to the production of a wide range of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, forage crops, some field crops, and other specialty crops. The monetary value of honey bees as commercial pollinators in the United States is estimated at about $15-$20 billion annually..."

Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
"Starting in late 2006, commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States
began reporting sharp declines in their honey bee colonies. Because of the severity and unusual
circumstances of these colony declines, scientists named this phenomenon colony collapse
disorder (CCD). Reports indicate that beekeepers in most states have been affected. Overall, the
number of managed honey bee colonies dropped an estimated 35.8% and 31.8% in the winters
of 2007/2008 and 2006/2007, respectively. Preliminary loss estimates for the 2008/2009
winter are reported at 28.6%. To date, the precise reasons for colony losses are not yet known..."