Understanding the impacts of the consumption of wildfire smoke contaminated pollen on honey bee health

Commodities

• Animals: bees

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health
• Crop Production: beekeeping, pollinator habitat, pollinator health
• Education and Training: decision support system, extension

Wildfires are an increasing threat to agriculture, especially by reducing the profitability of producers and ranchers who depend on honey bee colonies to pollinate specialty crops and produce grass seed (Liu et al., 2022; Van Espen et al., 2023). Wildfire activity in the western U.S. has increased, burning large areas across farming and livestock regions. Oregon is not the exception, as the state has experienced multiple large-scale fire events in recent years (Department of Environmental Quality, 2023). The smoke generated by fires significantly worsens air quality in agricultural regions, threatening food security by damaging crops cycles and disrupting plant-pollinator interactions. Repeated severe fire events negatively affect pollinators in directly lethal ways—mortality within burn areas—and via sublethal routes such as disrupting their communication, mobility, or diets (Carbone et al., 2019; Melathopoulos, 2020). Honey bees are important pollinators of multiple agricultural crops, including almonds, blueberries, carrots, and cherries. When colonies are kept in areas where frequent or severe wildfires occur, the resulting poor air quality becomes a detriment to honey bee health on both an individual and colony level (Khalifa et al., 2021; Zapata-Hernández et al., 2024). While previous research has examined the effects of air pollution on honey bee communication and behavior, there is a lack of information on the impacts of smoke pollution on floral pollen and subsequent effects on honey bee health when consuming smoke-contaminated pollen. This project evaluates the impact of consuming smoke-contaminated pollen on honey bee health by conducting a laboratory cage study and a field study with honey bee colonies from a collaborating beekeeper. Therefore, this project directly supports USDA Research and Development policy priority N°1. Enhancing the profitability of farmers and ranchers by creating and sharing valuable information to protect and improve honey bee colony health in wildfire-prone agricultural areas. 

• Research Objectives

RO1. Evaluate the impact of smoke contaminated pollen consumption on honey bee diet preference by addressing pollen and syrup ingestion and qualitative measurement of smoke particulates presence in adult bees in (a) a laboratory cage study and (b) a field study.

RO2. Determine the effect of consumption of smoke-contaminated pollen on honey bee health, by tracking mortality, measuring the presence of particulate matter (PM2.5) in adult and larval honey bee tissue, and quantifying total head protein, vitellogenin and reactive oxygen species in adult bees in (a) a laboratory cage study and (b) a field study.

• Educational Objectives

EO1. Disseminate project findings to stakeholders (beekeepers and farmers) in (a) English and (b) Spanish regarding the indirect impacts of wildfires in Oregon through air quality reduction by smoke on honey bee diet consumption and honey bee health to support decision-making via field days, presentations, and educational factsheets.