On Jan. 8, the University AgCenter received a grant totaling more than $167,000 to research the effects of pesticides on honey bees.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bestowed this grant to the University as a result of its Integrated Pest Management practices, which includes developing methods to lower the effects of pesticides on bees while keeping mosquito control efforts effective. The University was one of only three schools in the country to receive this funding, according to a news release.
The EPA is extremely engaged in the protection of bees due to the bees’ work in pollinating plants and crops, according to a news release. According to the team’s research proposal, the research funded by the grant is intended to create better management practices for bees and mosquitoes, increase communication between beekeepers and mosquito control districts and increase beekeeper registration throughout the state.
Todd Walker, director of the East Baton Rouge Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control Office, said there were concerns that insecticides used to get rid of mosquitoes were also harming honey production.
“There’s a need to find out if mosquito control operations affect bee colonies in the state” Walker said. “If we do affect [honey production], how can we reduce that effect?”
Bees are a vital part of agriculture. Without pollination, plants cannot create new seeds, thus no new plants or crops.
Jim Ottea, entomology professor, estimated that 30 percent of all fruits and vegetables humans eat is pollinated by honey bees.
Use of insecticides to ward off disease-carrying mosquitoes can also have ill effects on pollinators and honey producers.
Kristen Healy, entomology professor and principal investigator of the project, said she and her team aim to minimize this potential bee crisis.
“We are going to be putting some field based and semi-field research behind the methodology and use that to develop best management practices for both mosquito control and beekeepers” Healy said.
The University’s team focuses on areas where bees could come into contact with insecticides targeted on controlling the mosquito population. Using lab and field research, the team hopes to find a balance between the ever-fluctuating populations of the two insects.
With this grant, the team will try to discover ways to decrease the impact on honeybees while keeping mosquitoes from becoming a public nuisance.
“We want to protect bees as much as possible,” Ottea said.