queen bee fatalities

[Ai Wen]

Bee group,

Over the past two weeks, I noticed two bumblebee queens (based on the size and the timing) dying on my garden plants. When I saw the first one (on a chive flower late in the afternoon on a rainy cold day), I thought she was too cold and was settling in for the night. But the next morning she did not move much. She was still trying to feed on the flowers, but gradually lost the ability to unfold her tongue, and eventually just stopped moving and died. And just now I saw a B. impatiens queen on a Monarda flower (late afternoon, cool air temperature, so they shouldn't be taking their beauty nap). The symptoms are the same, that she was very sluggish, did not respond much when I picked her up, and tried to feed but after I put her back but was moving really slowly. I suspect she will die soon just like the first one (I took a video of this bee's behavior this time if you are interested).

This is the first year I have my flower/prairie garden in full bloom, and I am wondering if what's happening to these two bees is due to some plants that I planted last year. I bought the seedlings from the Prairie Moon nursery that shouldn't use chemicals, but I am unsure. Do the symptoms sound like neonicotinoid poison to you? Or some other types of systemic pesticide that might be in the plants? I don't spray anything in my garden, but I live in a small town and there are plenty of neighbors that treat their lawns. And this time in Iowa, the air is filled with pre-emergent herbicide (and lots of who-knows-what), but I have never seen so many dead queen bumblebees in my yard. I also came across a dead B. affinis queen on the sidewalk at work the other day, which further exacerbated my apocalypse doomsday feelings.  As a bee researcher, I am quite upset by these findings and would like to get an answer. 

As a bee researcher, I am quite upset by these findings and would like to get an answer. I don't mind tearing my garden apart to start over if it's due to the plants. Thanks. --Ai

--

Ai Wen
Assistant Professor
Biology Department

Rm 193, McCollum Science Hall  /  Cedar Falls, IA 50614

https://summerbug23.wordpress.com/

uni.edu  /  #1UNI

[Russel Barsh]

Ai --

One possibility is tracheal mites, which can result in lassitude, loss of flight ability, and mortality. Originally in European populations of Bombus terrestris, the mite Locustacarus bushneri has been introduced into wild native Bombus species through infected commercial bumblebee-raising. See e.g. Goka K, Okabe K, Yoneda M. Worldwide migration of parasitic mites as a result of bumblebee commercialization. Population Ecology. 2006 Oct;48(4):285-91. Agricultural regions where honeybees, and other "domestic" bees are widely used for crop-pollination services, are at greatest risk of introductions of both the honeybee and bumblebee tracheal mite species.

Consider invasive parasites, as well as exposure to biocides!

In the islands where I live, many people import honeybees in the belief that they are "helping the pollinators". Then they neglect their hives, facilitating the spread of pathogens and parasites, and resulting in collapse of their own bees as well as their neighbors' bees. It's a very serious concern of the artisanal honey producers I know -- and a serious concern of people like me that study wild bee species. I am just holding my breath in fear of the introduction of diseased bumblebees or mason bees by well-intentioned but uninformed gardeners and homeowners. A parallel situation.

Russel.

Russel Barsh

Director, KWIAHT

www.kwiaht.org

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "beemonitoring" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beemonitorin...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/CAK1CAE%3DDxSi0qsQHTORg7Q7eme8ftasMi%2B%2BovUwrD05-rS06uA%40mail.gmail.com.

--

Russel Barsh

Director, KWIAHT

PO Box 415, Lopez Island WA 98261

http://www.kwiaht.org

[Larson, Diane L]

My long-established garden is nearly devoid of bees this year.  On any given day in June in past years I would find hundreds of bees, yet this year I work hard to find a handful.  Oddly, we also have no ducklings on the lake by our house this year, either - maybe the very cold spring is a factor.  

Diane

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diane L. Larson, PhD

Research Wildlife Biologist

U.S. Geological Survey

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

1561 Lindig St.

St. Paul, MN 55108

voice: 651-649-5041 (not presently functioning; please use email)

dla...@usgs.gov

---

From: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Ai Wen <ai....@uni.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 8:17 PM
To: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Beemonitoring] queen bee fatalities

 

 

This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.

--

[Spencer, Sandy]

At my farm in WV I have about 12 acres of pasture which I leave unmowed till fall for pollinators.  It was full of flowers first week of June, but no bees.     The location of the farm however is in one of the most high elevations of WV, surrounded by forest and open fields in that area are mostly used for pasture not crops, so I doubt neonicitinoids are used much there.   It was chilly however. 

---

From: 'Larson, Diane L' via beemonitoring <beemon...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 9:26 AM
To: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com>; Ai Wen <ai....@uni.edu>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] [Beemonitoring] queen bee fatalities

 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/SA0PR09MB7130FD8D4E4565D4C1E6E0F2D1AB9%40SA0PR09MB7130.namprd09.prod.outlook.com.

[Dalliance, Erika]

Here in TN we saw early Andrena and Colletes activity, but the Anthophora is really lagging behind now. Doesn't really help with the bumblebee death but it's interesting to hear that other people are seeing less bees around across so many areas.

Cheers,

Erika Dalliance

PhD Candidate in Dr. Russo's Lab

University of Tennessee

They/Them

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/BLAPR09MB699363B19F655F33BE2709908AAB9%40BLAPR09MB6993.namprd09.prod.outlook.com.

[Elaine Evans]

Did you happen to keep the dead affinis queen? Can send to researchers working on genetics.

I have been seeing more Nosema/Variomorpha in bumble bee queens than in past years...maybe because of the cold wet spring we had here in the midwest.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/CAP-O%3D_cdhf%2BF9iC%3Dz3LFZ58HMGGdFn%2BeLn%2BOdoCpWpEpUSazxw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Russel Barsh]

Diane --

Here in the central Salish Sea, where we are experiencing an unusually cool, wet, windy spring, wild bee numbers and diversity at my study sites (and in my home garden) have been depressed, too. Bombus appear the least affected; and I'm seeing some of the Andrenids that tend to nest among their floral resources; but many taxa have not yet been seen visiting flowers, and pollination is poor (judging from fruit set, also from examining anthers on wildflowers). Our botanist observed that the wildflower blooming period was earlier and shorter than "normal" here, hence floral resources peaked during especially stormy weeks. A foretaste of increasing de-synchronization of pollen availability and flight conditions? Regardless, it has been a markedly bee-less May and June so far, in my corner of the world.

Russel.

Russel Barsh

Director, KWIAHT

www.kwiaht.org

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/SA0PR09MB7130FD8D4E4565D4C1E6E0F2D1AB9%40SA0PR09MB7130.namprd09.prod.outlook.com.

[Elliott Gordon]

It's not all bad news for pollinators. Early Bombus queen sightings were few in New Mexico (I saw 1 B huntii and 2 B pensylvanicus through the end of April and iNaturalist shows 15 for the whole state in the same time frame), but urban diversity and abundance is anecdotally steady compared to previous years. In my garden, the first round of Bombus pensylvanicus workers have been active in June and the high count is 5 at one time. So far in 2022, I've observed about 45 species of native bees in central New Mexico, up from 30 at this time last year. The caveat is that 90% of my state is in severe or exceptional drought conditions and the last precipitation at my house was a snowstorm in March, so weather conditions appear to be concentrating pollinators in irrigated gardens as opposed to wild spaces.

One example: Lithurgopsis apicalis is absurdly abundant this year. I can't go on a walk without seeing as many as a dozen bees on every blooming cactus and thistle patch in the neighborhood. The females are visiting Opuntia, Cylindropuntia, Grusonia, Agave, and Cirsium like usual, but the males are forced to be more creative. I'm seeing them on Nepeta (catmint/catnip), Helianthus, Chilopsis (desert willow), Penstemon, and Rosa (hybrid garden roses).

Elliott Gordon

Albuquerque, NM

[James Bess]

Hi All,

 

I’m in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior. Fairly “normal” spring here, May was dry.  Bumblebee queens have been fairly common here since early May, primarily Bombus impatiens which was apparently absent up here ~20 years ago.  The first queen bumblebee was in early May - B. ternarius checking out some marigolds we just planted and willows near house.  This was followed by a huge B. impatiens queen flying around yard.  Bombus vagans showed up the following week, it and B. impatiens are frequent on our lilacs, which are just past peak.  We saw a lot of B. impatiens queens in May, along with a few B. vagans in the mix.

 

A queen B. vagans was working periwinkles last week and I moved a queen B. borealis out of the shed last Friday, she was annoyed by the amount of cobwebs she had accumulated.  First Bombus worker appeared last week – B. impatiens, which is by far our most abundant bumblebee now, followed by B. ternarius and B. borealis.  Bombus rufocinctus is less common and B. terricola, which apparently used be the dominant bumblebee around here, is now rare and I have not seen it yet this year.  Only saw one queen late last year, on Tithonia in L’Anse (Baraga Co.).

 

Other bees – Andrena, Nomada, Osmia have been common and Osmia are making nest in our bee houses, along with a few Heriades.  Crataegus are in full bloom, Prunus spp. Mostly just passed except near Lake, apples just starting to bloom, along with Vaccinums/blueberries…

 

Cheers,

 

Jim Bess

Hancock, MI

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

From: Elliott Gordon
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 11:42 AM
To: beemon...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] [Beemonitoring] queen bee fatalities

 

It's not all bad news for pollinators. Early Bombus queen sightings were few in New Mexico (I saw 1 B huntii and 2 B pensylvanicus through the end of April and iNaturalist shows 15 for the whole state in the same time frame), but urban diversity and abundance is anecdotally steady compared to previous years. In my garden, the first round of Bombus pensylvanicus workers have been active in June and the high count is 5 at one time. So far in 2022, I've observed about 45 species of native bees in central New Mexico, up from 30 at this time last year. The caveat is that 90% of my state is in severe or exceptional drought conditions and the last precipitation at my house was a snowstorm in March, so weather conditions appear to be concentrating pollinators in irrigated gardens as opposed to wild spaces.

 

One example: Lithurgopsis apicalis is absurdly abundant this year. I can't go on a walk without seeing as many as a dozen bees on every blooming cactus and thistle patch in the neighborhood. The females are visiting Opuntia, Cylindropuntia, Grusonia, Agave, and Cirsium like usual, but the males are forced to be more creative. I'm seeing them on Nepeta (catmint/catnip), Helianthus, Chilopsis (desert willow), Penstemon, and Rosa (hybrid garden roses).

 

Elliott Gordon

Albuquerque, NM

 

On Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 7:36 AM 'Dalliance, Erika' via beemonitoring <beemon...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Here in TN we saw early Andrena and Colletes activity, but the Anthophora is really lagging behind now. Doesn't really help with the bumblebee death but it's interesting to hear that other people are seeing less bees around across so many areas.

 

Cheers,

Erika Dalliance

PhD Candidate in Dr. Russo's Lab

University of Tennessee

They/Them

 

 

On Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 9:33 AM 'Spencer, Sandy' via beemonitoring <beemon...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

At my farm in WV I have about 12 acres of pasture which I leave unmowed till fall for pollinators.  It was full of flowers first week of June, but no bees.     The location of the farm however is in one of the most high elevations of WV, surrounded by forest and open fields in that area are mostly used for pasture not crops, so I doubt neonicitinoids are used much there.   It was chilly however. 

From: 'Larson, Diane L' via beemonitoring <beemon...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 9:26 AM
To: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com>; Ai Wen <ai....@uni.edu>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] [Beemonitoring] queen bee fatalities

 

My long-established garden is nearly devoid of bees this year.  On any given day in June in past years I would find hundreds of bees, yet this year I work hard to find a handful.  Oddly, we also have no ducklings on the lake by our house this year, either - maybe the very cold spring is a factor.  

Diane

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diane L. Larson, PhD

Research Wildlife Biologist

U.S. Geological Survey

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

1561 Lindig St.

St. Paul, MN 55108

voice: 651-649-5041 (not presently functioning; please use email)

dla...@usgs.gov

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "beemonitoring" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beemonitorin...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/CADed-3eyHoSQys14fZUCiP_Pf1v4aun9aYdD6Uw8RExt8i7%3DwA%40mail.gmail.com.

 

Virus-free. www.avg.com

[Smith, Tamara A]

Hi All -  If you come across a dead B. affinis please notify the FWS office near you and cc me as soon as possible. We would like to learn as much as we can and encourage folks to send specimens to labs for further study (genetics, pathogens, pesticides, etc. depending on the circumstance). 

Thanks, 

Tam

______________________________________________

Tamara A. Smith | Fish and Wildlife Biologist

pronouns: she/they

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Minnesota/Wisconsin Ecological Services Field Office

4101 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425

office: 952-252-0092 x 219 | mobile: 612-600-1599

---

From: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of James Bess <jab...@charter.net>
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2022 12:51 PM
To: beemon...@googlegroups.com <beemon...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] [Beemonitoring] queen bee fatalities

 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/62a77925.1c69fb81.8d971.d0e7SMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com.

[ehilborn]

Can anyone recommend a laboratory where they accept wild bee specimens for evaluation of tracheal mites?

Thank you, 

Elizabeth Hilborn 

Sent from my Galaxy

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beemonitoring/62a77925.1c69fb81.8d971.d0e7SMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com.