Environmental Threats to Pollinator Health and Fitness, Volume 64 in the Advances in Insect Physiology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of topics, including The threat of higher temperatures to pollinating insects, The challenge of balancing fungicide use and pollinator health, Insecticide effects on pollinating insects, Effects of invasive pathogens and parasites on pollinating insects, Heavy metal pollutants: the hidden pervasive threat to honey bees and other pollinators, Honey bee nutritional ecology: from physiology to landscapes, and more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Advances in Insect Physiology series Updated release includes the latest information on the Environmental Threats to Pollinator Health and Fitness

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. In the United States, commercial migratory beekeepers along the East Coast of the United States began reporting sharp declines in 2006 in their honey bee colonies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that overwinter colony losses from 2006 to 2011 averaged more than 32% annually. This issue remained legislatively active in the 110th Congress and resulted in increased funding for pollinator research, among other types of farm program support, as part of the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246). Congressional interest in the health of honey bees and other pollinators has continued in the 112th Congress (e.g., H.R. 2381, H.R. 6083, and S. 3240) and may extend into the 113th Congress. This report: Describes changes in managed and wild bee populations, given readily available data and information. It focuses on managed and wild bees only, and excludes other types of pollinators, including other insects, birds, and bats. Data on managed honey bees are limited, and do not provide a comprehensive view of changes in bee populations. Data for wild bee populations are even more limited; Provides a listing of the range of possible factors thought to be negatively affecting managed and wild bee populations. In addition to pesticides, other identified factors include bee pests and diseases, diet and nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and other environmental stressors, and beekeeping management issues, as well as the possibility that bees are being negatively affected by cumulative, multiple exposures and/or the interactive effects of each of these factors; Briefly summarizes readily available scientific research and analysis regarding the potential role of pesticides among the factors affecting the health and wellbeing of bees, as well as the statutory authority and related regulatory activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related to pesticide use. A 2007 report by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Status of Pollinators in North America, provides a more detailed scientific context for this report and may be consulted for more in depth understanding about bee health. That study concluded that many factors contribute to pollinator declines in North America, and CRS accedes to that conclusion. Accordingly, the focus of this report on bee exposure to pesticides is not intended to imply that pesticides are any more important in influencing the health and wellness of bees than any of the other identified factors influencing bee health. Pesticides are only one of the many influences on bee health. Because neonicotinoid pesticides have been the focus of concerns in Europe and in the United States, this report briefly describes recent scientific research related to possible effects of exposure to these pesticides on bees. The report concludes with a summary of recent regulatory activity regarding neonicotinoids at EPA, the federal agency charged with assessing risks and regulating U.S. sale and use of pesticides.

Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.

A unique and personal insight into the ecology and evolution of pollinators, their relationships with flowers, and their conservation in a rapidly changing world. The pollination of flowers by insects, birds and other animals is a fundamentally important ecological function that supports both the natural world and human society. Without pollinators to facilitate the sexual reproduction of plants, the world would be a biologically poorer place in which to live, there would be an impact on food security, and human health would suffer. Written by one of the world’s leading pollination ecologists, this book provides an introduction to what pollinators are, how their interactions with flowers have evolved, and the fundamental ecology of these relationships. It explores the pollination of wild and agricultural plants in a variety of habitats and contexts, including urban, rural and agricultural environments. The author also provides practical advice on how individuals and organisations can study, and support, pollinators. As well as covering the natural history of pollinators and flowers, the author discusses their cultural importance, and the ways in which pollinator conservation has been portrayed from a political perspective. The book draws on field work experiences in South America, Africa, Australia, the Canary Islands and the UK. For over 30 years the author has spent his career researching how plants and pollinators evolve relationships, how these interactions function ecologically, their importance for society, and how we can conserve them in a rapidly changing world. This book offers a unique and personal insight into the science of pollinators and pollination, aimed at anyone who is interested in understanding these fascinating and crucial ecological interactions.

Pollinators play a vital role in ecosystem health and are essential to ensuring food security. With declines in both managed and wild pollinator populations in recent years, scientists and regulators have sought answers to this problem and have explored implementing steps to protect pollinator populations now and for the future. Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators focuses on the role pesticides play in impacting bee populations and looks to develop a risk assessment process, along with the data to inform that process, to better assess the potential risks that can accompany the use of pesticide products. Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators opens with two chapters that provide a biological background of both Apis and non-Apis species of pollinators. Chapters then present an overview of the general regulatory risk assessment process and decision-making processes. The book then discusses the core elements of a risk assessment, including exposure estimation, laboratory testing, and field testing. The book concludes with chapters on statistical and modeling tools, and proposed additional research that may be useful in developing the ability to assess the impacts of pesticide use on pollinator populations. Summarizing the current state of the science surrounding risk assessment for Apis and non-Apis species, Pesticide Risk Assessment for Pollinators is a timely work that will be of great use to the environmental science and agricultural research communities. Assesses pesticide risk to native and managed pollinators Summarizes the state of the science in toxicity testing and risk assessment Provides valuable biological overviews of both Apis and non-Apis pollinators Develops a plausible overall risk assessment framework for regulatory decision making Looks towards a globally harmonized approach for pollinator toxicity and risk assessment

Honey bees and other managed and wild, native bees provide valuable pollination services to agriculture worth billions of dollars to farmers. Declines in some populations have been documented, with an average of about 29% of honey bee colonies dying out each winter since 2006. A June 2014 presidential memorandum on pollinators established the White House Pollinator Health Task Force, comprising more than a dozen federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This report examines (1) selected USDA agencies' bee-related monitoring, research and outreach, as well as conservation efforts; and (2) EPA's efforts to protect bees through its regulation of pesticides. Table and figure. This is a print on demand report.

There is consensus that loss of biodiversity is a defining feature of the Anthropocene, with potentially severe consequences for human food security and well-being. Of particular concern are global declines in insect pollinators, such as bees, flies, beetles and butterflies, as their roles in sustaining ecosystem functions and ensuring food production are indispensable. A wide array of abiotic and biotic stressors likely govern the observed insect declines and losses of wild and managed insect pollinators, respectively. For instance, habitat destruction and fragmentation can not only lead to smaller and isolated populations that are vulnerable to environmental stochasticity or inbreeding depression, but also lead to poor nutrition as floral abundance and diversity are reduced. Further key stressors are pests and pathogens, climate change, intensified agriculture and environmental pollution (e.g., pesticides). These environmental stressors may interact with one another and generate complex effects that amplify the direct consequences of a single given stressor. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge concerning how even the most important environmental stressors may interact to affect insect pollinators. The goal of this effort is to develop a platform that brings together the latest information on how abiotic and biotic stressors interact to impact insect pollinator health. Only by bringing together different lines of evidence will we be able to better predict how these environmental stressors will affect insect pollinators. An improved understanding will also facilitate the development of more effective and sustainable management strategies that will enable stakeholders to implement adequate and sustainable measures to safeguard insect pollinators. This Research Topic welcomes both Original Research and Reviews, as well as Commentary or Opinion articles that address the topic of environmental stressor interactions, and their impact on insect pollinator health. Submissions should be based on, but not limited to: - How combined environmental stressors affect insect pollinators using molecular, physiological, behavioral, ecological or evolutionary approaches - Experimental or survey work conducted under laboratory, semi-field, or field conditions - Unravelling the mechanisms underlying combined stressor interactions - What can be done to limit the impact of combined environmental exposure in the field