Page 42 - RealDirtENG2020

Common question: pollinators, bee health, and neonicotinoids
Career Pro le
Entomologist
Dr. Jess Vickruck
Originally from the Niagara Region of Ontario, known for its abundance of orchards and vineyards, Dr. Jess Vickruck is no stranger to the important role that pollinators play in growing food.
“In the spring, I love to visit an orchard in bloom and listen to the hum of the trees that are alive with all of the different species of insects.”
She was interested in insects from a young age but it became a serious passion midway through university when she took her rst entomology class. She went on to complete Masters and PhD degrees, and research wild bee species in Ontario and Alberta. Today, she is a research entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada in New Brunswick, where she lives with her husband and two young sons.
Her research looks at how farmers can manage their land in ways that promote biodiversity while reaping the pollination bene ts of high wild bee populations. “We have only scratched the surface of what we know about bees,” she explained, “there are over 800 different species in Canada and we still know very little about the vast majority of them.”
Honey bees, bumblebees, and many wild pollinators play a critical role in the production of fruits, vegetables, and other crops. They pollinate blossoms on plants, turning them into apples or pumpkins, for example.
Although data shows that the number of farmed beehives is on the rise in Canada89, there is concern about higher than normal bee deaths in some parts of the country, as well as in Europe and the United States.
Many factors can impact bee colony health and cause bee death, such as long winters, cold temperatures, inadequate nutrition, or pests and diseases, such as a parasitic mite called Varroa destructor, which has been devastating to Canadian honey bee colonies90.
A lot of attention has been focused on neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides used on corn, soybeans, and canola (often as a seed coating), as well as in pet ea collars and home garden products. Their use has now been limited in some Canadian provinces and countries around the world, and Health Canada is expected to release a nal decision
on a proposed ban by fall 202091. But even before the usage restrictions, farmers
were already taking action to adapt their planting practices to protect bees and other pollinators—such as adding dust de ectors on their planters to minimize seed coating dust, and using new techniques to ensure that the pesticide coating stays on the seeds.
As wild spaces are lost to residential development, it’s also great to see so many people including wild owers and pollinator gardens at their homes. Farmers are using pieces of their land that cannot grow crops in order to create pollinator sanctuary spaces as well.
QUICK
FACT
A honey bee travels the equivalent of 80,000 km for one pound of honey, at an average ight speed of
24 km per hour92!
DID YOU KNOW?
There are more than 800 different species of wild bees in Canada. They are often small (less than two centimeters) and can be blue, green, purple, black, black, yellow and red!
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The Real Dirt on Farming