Buzzing about pollinators

A honeybee sucks in nectar from a tree's blossom  in the Central Missouri Master Gardeners' River City Gardens at Bill Quigg Commons in Jefferson City.
A honeybee sucks in nectar from a tree's blossom in the Central Missouri Master Gardeners' River City Gardens at Bill Quigg Commons in Jefferson City.

Colony collapse disorder is a term that makes many Missouri beekeepers cringe.

First identified in 2006, some beekeepers reported unusually high losses of 30-90 percent of their hives, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website. About 50 percent of all affected colonies showed symptoms inconsistent with any known causes of honey bee death. In fact, the colonies' worker bee population simply was gone, with few dead bees found. Parasites and pests, pathogens, poor nutrition and exposure to pesticides can be prime culprits in the colonies developing the disorder, but these little hardworking bees do more than produce honey. They are pollinators and play a crucial role in the production of fruits, vegetables, honey and field crops, University of Missouri Extension horticulturist James Quinn said.

"After the colony collapse disorder among honeybee hives got a lot of press in the mid-2000s, people started to say, what else can pollinate our crops and plants, seeing how many of these insects and animals were in decline or threatened for various reasons," Quinn said. "For example, bumblebees were put on the threatened or endangered species, and there is a lot of concern about monarchs. Butterflies are not strong pollinators but have certain niches where they are very important."

The EPA reported the winter losses attributed to CCD has dropped from roughly 60 percent of total hives lost in 2008 to 31.1 percent in 2013, but there still is a decline in bee populations, as well as many other pollinators in our environment such as birds, butterflies, bats and insects. Quinn said this and the Missouri Beekeepers Association's request to work with MU Extension on a public program led to the development of a new curriculum that will teach individuals interested in nature, gardening, beekeeping and agronomy to create an environment where pollinators can thrive.

Together, the MU Extension Master Pollinator Steward classes were established, with its first series beginning May 18 at the Cedar City Room, 1101 3rd St. in Jefferson City.

Quinn said there is a lot of interest in honeybees, and with the pollinator issue becoming so important, they designed the curriculum to cover a variety topics during the six-session series. One of the first classes will discuss insects, which is already taught as part of the Master Gardener courses. In addition, plant-pollinator relationships, native pollinators, honeybee variants and their habitats, the three P's on honeybees (pests, products and pollination), and conserving, creating and managing pollinator habitat will be covered during the class sessions.

"There are people who document pollinator numbers and activity just like the Audubon Society does with birds. With the last course on conserving, creating and managing pollinator habitat, we'll look at the biggest threats for loss of habitat and how we can increase it," Quinn said.

Presenters include Quinn; Kristin Simpson, collection manager for MU's Enns Entomology Museum; Valerie Duever, beekeeping instructor and commercial beekeeper in Audrain County; and Amber Edwards, education coordinator for Prairie Fork Conservation Area. Quinn said he believes the participants will enjoy learning about this wealth of knowledge from top Mid-Missouri experts in their respective fields.

The classes will have some "classroom style" settings, but also will include a lot of hands-on activities. Close to the Cedar City Room is the Central Missouri Master Gardeners' River City Gardens at the Bill Quibbs Commons, which will provide for a lot of those interactive lessons.

"We might look along that habitat, which has some native material and brush, as well as the gardens which has a variety of flowers, trees and plants that can show the plant-pollinator relationships we want them to learn and know," Quinn said. "There is nothing like seeing a real flying thing to generate people's interest."

Classes are 9 a.m.-noon each Friday from May 18 through June 22. Classes will be held rain or shine.

Cost for the six classes is $90, and registration is preferred by May 14. To register, contact the MU Extension Center in Cole County at [email protected] or 573-634-2824.

Sponsors are MU Extension in Cole County, Central Missouri Master Gardeners, Jefferson City Parks and Recreation, and Boone Regional Beekeepers.

For more information about the MU Extension Master Pollinator Steward program, visit extension.missouri.edu/pollinator.