Pollination | A Pollinator Health Podcast

US beekeepers have been struggling to manage varroa mites for over 30 years. Our guest discusses why a solution to varroa has been so elusive and what it would take to finally turn the corner with varroa over the next decade.

In this episode we learn about an initiative in Texas that engages thousands of families in education around pollinators, headed by the National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC) and Prairie View A&M University. 

We have a very dim picture of the flowers bees collect pollen from. In this episode we hear about how lab techniques can be combined with field records of plant occurrences to show that bees may be using a lot more sources of pollen than we once thought.

The highest period of honey bee colony mortality is during the winter. But there are a number of tricks to ensure high colony survival. In this episode we visit a Canadian bee yard to learn about what they do.

Identifying bees is notoriously difficult and often is an obstacle to beginners interested in contributing to native bee surveys. In this episode we learn about a new initiative to identify bees with machine learning.

We have all heard about Asian Giant Hornet, but what are some of the other invasive pests that threaten pollinators? We hear about species of concern in Oregon as well as measures taken to prevent their introduction.   

Pollinator Partnership’s Bee Friendly Farming programs encourages and rewards growers for taking steps to improve pollinator health on farms. We hear about some new features of the program and how people can get involved. 

Native bees have secret and mysterious lives. Beyond their visits to flowers, they spend most of their lives beyond our experience. This week we hear from a sound artist whose work places us deep in the lives of our native bees.  

The OSU Pollinator Health Program and Oregon Bee Project have worked together to develop a first of a kind Extension certificate program, the Master Melittologist program. The program is designed for people passionate about native bees and who want to embark on the long term survey of these bees in the state.

Growers and applicators learn about pollinator health from a wide range of sources. In this episode we hear about an initiative by a coalition led by industry groups to reduce pesticide exposure to pollinators.

There is some great information being collected about Oregon bees by non-experts use phone apps like iNaturalist. In this episode we hear about how to produce a solid record and some of the top 10 bees people are finding.   

Do you ever wonder how good the area around you is for pollinators? This week we learn about a new tool that allows you to assess your landscape for flower resources, bee nesting habitat and aggregate pesticide use. 

How do you figure out what bees are in a state, both in the present and historically. You build a checklist! In this episode we learn about how checklists are made from a recent effort in Pennsylvania.

There are a growing number of people interested in native bees, but not many regional organizations you can belong to. Today we hear about an example of building such organizations in the Canadian province of British Columbia.  

The common European honey bee is not the only species of honey bee. The biodiversity of the species Apis is rich in SE Asia. In this episode we get to know each of the species in detail.

Bee gardens involve matching plants that bloom at different times, to bees that emerge at different times. And not all bee species go to all flowers. In this episode we hear about how all these factors come together in Portland gardens. 

Social wasps are in the news these days. They are often confused with bees. This week we take a deep dive into the world of our most fascinating social wasps, the paper wasps.

Shrubs and trees are key to any landscape designed for pollinators. This episode we tap OSU’s shrub and tree expert to list the top picks for spring, summer and winter and to learn how to care for them.

Creating pollinator habitat on farms is not as simple as it sounds. To be successful the habitat has to integrate into the cropping system and have low establishment and maintenance costs. In this episode we hear about efforts to strike this balance in Oregon vineyards.