Honey bee, what’s in your pollen? Residuals and pollen diversity in relation to colony health

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

3:18 PM – 3:30 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 221/222

Presenting Author(s)

Chelsea K. Abegg (she/her/hers)

Soils & Plant Technician
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Mount Holly, New Jersey

Co-Author(s)

DP

Dean Polk

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Bridgeton, New Jersey
Cesar R. Rodriguez-Saona

Extension Specialist in Entomology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Chatsworth, New Jersey

New Jersey blueberry honey bee pollination leaves commercial beekeepers with $1 million in annual losses due to queen-loss and setbacks in brood production. I tracked colony health parameters on 18 hives for three consecutive years along with recording pesticide records paired with pollen diversity and residual analyses in two different pollination settings (small blueberry farms and large blueberry farms). Correlations between colony health, pesticide records, pollen diversity, and pesticide exposure will be discussed. These results highlight the importance of honey bee nutrition and the need for pesticide-use-communication between growers, beekeepers, and their neighbors.