POLLINATORS

Soy

HONEYBEES AND FIELD CROPS: BETTER TOGETHER

OARDC-funded scientists have discovered honeybees can pick up dust from insecticide-coated corn seeds and carry the dust into their hives. Scientists also found that nearly half of the Ohio honey they tested had soybean pollen in it, even though soybeans, as a self-pollinated crop, don’t need bees for pollination. About one-third of food crops grown in the U.S. must be pollinated and have a value of more than $14 billion a year. In 2015, the corn and soybeans earned $1.9 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively.
 
 

Growing new homes for pollinators.

GROWING NEW HOMES FOR POLLINATORS

A new project, called A Monarch Right-of-Way: A Pollinator Demonstration Plot, involves growing four types of native wildflowers, including milkweed for monarch butterflies, under a FirstEnergy transmission line that crosses the OSU Mansfield campus. The goal: Give food and homes to pollinators, keep transmission lines free of tall vegetation, and further ensure safe, reliable electrical service for Ohioans. Project partners include experts from OARDC and OSU Extension, the national Pollinator Partnership, Ohio Prairie Nursery, Arnold’s Landscaping, Davey Tree, and the Utility Arborists Association.