Location: Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystems Research
Project Number: 6066-30500-004-017-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 21, 2026
End Date: May 19, 2028
Objective:
1.Assess how physiological pathways are impacted from specific nutrient (metabolomic) profiles of pollen types by conducting a differential gene expression analysis across the varying pollen diets
2.Determine how the bee microbiome is impacted by nutrient availability from varying pollen diets
Approach:
For the sustained success of the Rapid Agriculture Crisis Response (RACR-Bee) launched by ARS to address widespread bee losses in 2025, building long term resilience in honey bee health is of critical importance. To increase profitability for American beekeepers and to improve farm and orchard productivities for American fruit, nut and oil seed growers, improving honey bee health and reduce ongoing colony losses is necessary, to ensure high agricultural productivity and reduced uncertainty for farmers and beekeepers.
This agreement will support research projects that will help understand the role of different nutrition on honey bee health. The results from this study will help U.S. beekeepers adapt colony nutrition to the migratory management practices of their hives. The findings will have positive cascading effects for the American beekeeping industry and will enable strategies that strengthen the pollination services beekeepers can provide, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food for all Americans.
Through this Agreement, following a systems approach involving fundamental and applied components, the cooperator will assist ARS in conducting research to measure precision nutrition impact of different pollen types on honey bee health, specifically in shaping the honey bee microbiome for desired physiological outcomes. In addition, for a broader perspective of colony nutrition, the cooperator will obtain samples from ARS Stoneville researchers, shipped on dry ice, collected from colonies and beekeeper apiaries participating in the long-term monitoring efforts from locations spread throughout the United States. The impact of this study will be regional and national including samples collected from several commercial beekeepers spread across the US.
The results of the various research components will be made available through publications in refereed journals, trade magazines, or extension articles. The findings will be shared with beekeepers and growers via presentations at professional and stakeholder meetings. Information from the research findings will be integrated and formulated into improved colony management strategies.