Anne L. Averill’s research while affiliated with University of Massachusetts Amherst and other places

In lowbush blueberry fields, we conducted residue analysis comparing flowers, trapped pollen (honey bee and Osmia spp.), and collected bees (honey bee workers, bumble bee queens, and non-Bombus spp. wild native bees). The study was conducted from 2012 to 2014. The number of pesticide residues, total concentrations, and risk to honey bees (Risk Quotient) on flowers were not significantly different from those determined for trapped honey bee pollen (except in one study year when residues detected in flower samples were significantly lower than residue numbers detected in trapped pollen). The compositions of residues were similar on flowers and trapped pollen. The number of residues detected in honey bee pollen was significantly greater than the number detected in Osmia spp. pollen, while the total concentration of residue was not different between the two types of pollen. The risk to honey bees was higher in trapped honey bee pollen than in trapped Osmia spp. pollen. The analysis of honey bee workers, native bumble bee queens, and native solitary bees showed that although more pesticide residues were detected on honey bee workers, there were no differences among the bee taxa in total residue concentrations or risk (as estimated in terms of risk to honey bees).

A pesticide exposure baseline for honey bees was compiled for two New England cropping systems, the native North American plant species consisting of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton). More unique pesticide compounds were applied in blueberry than cranberry, but the numbers of pesticides discovered in trapped honey bee pollen were similar between the two crop systems. Not all pesticides found in pollen were the result of the applications reported by growers of either crop. When comparing residues, number of pesticides detected, total concentration, and risk quotient varied between the two crops. Also, blueberry was dominated by fungicides and miticides (varroacides) and cranberry was dominated by insecticides and herbicides. When comparing reported grower applications that were matched with detection in residues, the proportion of pesticide numbers, concentrations, and risk quotients varied by crop system and pesticide class. In most cases, pesticide residue concentrations were of low risk (low risk quotient) to honey bees in these crops. Estimation of decay rates of some of the most common pesticide residues under field conditions could aid growers in selection of less persistent compounds, together with safe application dates, prior to bringing in honey bees for pollination.

Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open, and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e., berry mass, number of fruits, and fruit density [kg/ha], among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), North America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001–2005 (21 studies), 2006–2010 (40), 2011–2015 (88), and 2016–2020 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non‐commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY‐NC‐SA).

Numerous studies have reported a diversity of stressors that may explain continental-scale declines in populations of native pollinators, particularly those in the genus Bombus. However, there has been little focus on the identification of the local-scale dynamics that may structure currently impoverished Bombus communities. For example, the historically diverse coastal-zone communities of New England (USA) now comprise only a few species and are primarily dominated by a single species, B. impatiens. To better understand the local-scale factors that might be influencing this change in community structure, we examined differences in the presence of parasites in different species of Bombus collected in coastal-zone communities. Our results indicate that Bombus species that are in decline in this region were more likely to harbor parasites than are B. impatiens populations, which were more likely to be parasite-free and to harbor fewer intense infections or co-infections. The contrasting parasite burden between co-occurring winners and losers in this community may impact the endgame of asymmetric contests among species competing for dwindling resources. We suggest that under changing climate and landscape conditions, increasing domination of communities by healthy, synanthropic Bombus species (such as B. impatiens) may be another factor hastening the further erosion of bumble bee diversity.

The cover image is based on the Short Communication Fine‐Tuning the Composition of the Cranberry Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Aggregation Pheromone by Cesar Rodriguez‐Saona, ANNE AVERILL, Martha Sylvia et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12752. Photo Credit: Dean Polk (Rutgers University)

The cranberry weevil Anthonomus musculus Say is a key pest of highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton) in the northeastern United States. Previous studies have reported A. musculus adult attraction to traps baited with the aggregation pheromone of the pepper weevil Anthonomus eugenii Cano, likely because these two weevils share similar pheromone blends that differ only in two components. The A. musculus aggregation pheromone contains (Z)‐2‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) ethanol (Z grandlure II), (Z)‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure III), (E)‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure IV) and (E)‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2,6‐octadien‐1‐ol (geraniol); whereas A. eugenii produces a pheromone blend that includes (E)‐2‐(3,3‐dimethylcyclohexylidene) ethanol (E grandlure II) and (E)‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2,6‐octadienoic acid (geranic acid) in addition to the four A. musculus pheromone components. Here, we hypothesized that differences in pheromone composition between these two species influence A. musculus adult attraction to its aggregation pheromone. To test this, we studied the response of A. musculus to its pheromone blend with and without E grandlure II and geranic acid, a commercial A. eugenii pheromone lure and a no‐lure control in highbush blueberry and cranberry fields in New Jersey and Massachusetts, respectively. Regardless of crop type, A. musculus adults were more attracted to their four‐component pheromone blend and the blend plus geranic acid than the commercial A. eugenii pheromone and the no‐lure controls. The A. musculus pheromone blend plus E grandlure II and the A. eugenii pheromone blend also captured more A. musculus adults than the no‐lure control but not compared to the commercial A. eugenii pheromone. Further analysis showed that A. musculus adults are significantly (~27%) less attracted to their pheromone blend if it contains E grandlure II, although the addition of geranic acid did not affect their response. These findings may help guide future efforts towards the development of behaviour‐based tools to monitor and manage A. musculus.

Supplementary materials with questions used for three producer surveys, two representative crop enterprise budgets, and questions used for two consumer willingness-to-pay surveys for Maine, USA, wild blueberry and Massachusetts, USA, cranberry. The following are available online at www.mdpi.com/xxx/s1, Table S1: Producer survey questions for Maine, USA, wild blueberry, Table S2: Producer survey questions for Massachusetts, USA, cranberry, Table S3: Supplemental producer survey questions for Massachusetts, USA, cranberry, Table S4: Representative enterprise budget for 40.4686 hectare Maine, USA, wild blueberry farm selling berries for frozen processing, Table S5: Representative enterprise budget or 40.4686 hectare Massachusetts, USA, cranberry farm selling berries for processing, Table S6: Consumer willingness to pay survey for USA blueberry showing example scenario options A, B, C, and D, Table S7: Consumer willingness to pay survey for USA cranberry.

We studied diversity and abundance of bees foraging on Vaccinium macrocarpon (American Cranberry) flowers in southeastern Massachusetts during 8 bloom periods between 2007 and 2016. We documented 6 families, 20 genera, and 72 species of bees. Only Bombus (bumble bee) species were abundant in any of the collection years. Ways in which the upland areas surrounding cultivated cranberry beds and American Cranberry itself may be inhospitable for many small-bodied bee populations with limited flight ranges are reviewed. Bombus dominated (>90%) the collection. Comparison with observations in the first half of the 20th century, together with collections made during a less-intensive survey 25 years ago, suggest that 2 Bombus species are increasing in abundance, but that at least half of the Bombus species previously observed in this region have become rare or locally extinct.

Pollinator conservation efforts and growing interest in wild bee pollination have increased markedly in the last decade, making it increasingly important to have clear and practical estimates of the value of pollinators to agriculture. We used agricultural statistics, socio-economic producer surveys, and agronomic field research data to estimate traditional pollination value metrics and create novel approaches to the valuation of the ecosystem services provided by wild pollinators. Using two regionally important United States (USA) crops—Maine wild blueberry and Massachusetts cranberry—as models, we present the perceived values of wild bee pollinators from the perspectives of both consumers and producers. The net income attributable to wild bees was similar for wild blueberry ($613/ha) and cranberry ($689/ha). Marginal profit from incrementally adding more hives per ha was greater from stocking a third/fourth hive for cranberry ($6206/ha) than stocking a ninth/10th hive for wild blueberry ($556/ha), given the greater initial responsiveness of yield, revenue, and profit using rented honey bee hives in cranberry compared with wild blueberry. Both crops’ producers were willing to annually invest only $140–188/ha in wild pollination enhancements on their farms, justifying government financial support. Consumers are willing to pay ≈6.7 times more to support wild bees than producers, which indicates a potential source for market-based subsidies for invertebrate conservation.