The “Faithfulness” Of Honey Bees as Pollinators Of Red Clover Sarah Maxfield-Taylor Oregon State University Summer REU Program For Pollination Biology

Are honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) “faithful” pollinators of red clover? Red clover crop production Pollen sampling Pollen identification Future research topics Presentation Outline

Oregon Clover Seed Production 32,000 Acres Of Clover (2,000 Acres of red clover) Forage crop grown for livestock Rotation crop

Pollination as a limiting factor Bumble bees are not a commercial option in Oregon. What is the cost of using honey bees to pollinate red clover?..... $ 55/hive rental fee Minimum of 1 hive/2 acres (2/acre avg.) Mixed pollination results Are the services they provide worth the cost?

Methods Pollen Collection Red clover field sites in the Willamette Valley Samples were taken with a Sundance pollen trap Pollen analysis Samples separated out by color Scanning Electron Microscope analysis Reference plant collection

Results Change in pollen color throughout season Plant families identified

HAMILTON KENNEL SIMPSON Early Bloom Bloom Peak Late Bloom Bloom End Honey bee pollen loads collected from all three sites

Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare Canada Thistle Cirsium arvense False Dandelion Hypochoeris radicata Prickly Lettuce Lactuca sernola Common Mallow Malva neglecta Stinking Mayweed Anthemis cotula Queen Anne’s Lace Daucus carota Morning Glory Convulvulus arvensis Teasel Dipsacus fullonum

Field Mustard Brassica campestris Wind Flower Epilobium ciliatum Sharp point fluvellin Kickxia elatine Saint Johns Wart Hypericum perforatum Sweat Pea Lathyrus latifolia Tansy Ragwort Senecio jacobaea Red Clover Trifolium pratense Arrowleaf Clover Trifolium vesiulosum savi

False Dandelion Hypochoeris radicata A single pollen load collected from the Hamilton site Red Clover Trifolium pratense ?

A second pollen load collected from the Hamilton site False Dandelion Hypochoeris radicata ? Unknown Asteraceae Saint Johns Wart Hypericum perforatum Red Clover Trifolium pratense Arrowleaf Clover Trifolium vesiulosum

A third pollen load collected from the Hamilton site Dandelion ? Red Clover Trifolium pratense False Dandelion Hypochoeris radicata

A single pollen load collected from the Kennel site Red Clover Trifolium pratense

Conclusion Foraging behavior changes throughout the season Honey bees are visiting red clover Honey bees are visiting non-crop species Additional pollen identification needed

Future Reseach Continuation of pollen analysis Acetolyosis Reference collection

Acknowledgements My fellow REU student researchers Sujaya Rao, Andy Moldenke, Sandy DeBano, Bill Steven, Jeff Miller, and all those involved with O.S.U.’s Pollination Biology REU Terresa Sawyer at O.S.U’s S.E.M. laboratory Lynn Royce-Mite Bee Farms Chiho Kimoto, Kimberly Skyrm, Julie Kirby, and Toni Taylor The NSF HHMI Thank you all