During Pollinator Week, 91亚色 bee experts recommend solutions and strategies to help save wild bees across the country

TORONTO, June, 22, 2023 鈥� Canada鈥檚 wild pollinators are in decline and without a national pollinator plan, many species could be heading for extinction, like the endangered rusty-patched bumblebee or the , say researchers at 91亚色.

Although the focus is usually on managed honey bees, unlike wild pollinators, they are not native to Canada, not adapted to this country鈥檚 weather or plants and not at-risk of extinction, says the researchers. Wild pollinators are essential to Canada鈥檚 economy, food security and ecosystems, but about 30 species, including eight bee species, are listed under Canada鈥檚 Species at Risk Act. In the United States alone, non-managed wild pollinators are estimated to provide more than US$3 billion worth in crop pollination.

Because of the urgency, and the multiple and widespread nature of the threats to wild pollinators, Associate Professor of 91亚色鈥檚 Native Pollinator Research Lab in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change and Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Nalepa, tapped into the extensive knowledge of pollinator and conservation experts to develop solutions for wild pollinator conservation in Canada, along with a national pollinator framework with a clear set of actions.

鈥淪wift action is needed to protect wild pollinators, which will also benefit the agricultural sector, the environment and build climate change resiliency,鈥� says Colla.

The study, , levers, which involved a series of expert surveys, was published today in the journal FACETS and is accompanied by their pollinator framework 鈥� .

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen many other countries develop and implement pollinator protection policies, including our neighbours to the south, the US, which have incorporated pollinator protection into their farm bill and that has a lot of resources to go into creating habitat and other kinds of protections for at-risk bees,鈥� says Colla. Belgium, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Mexico, Ireland, Colombia, and Nigeria, and at least 24 other countries, have all adopted national strategies, plans or initiatives.

The researchers鈥� pollinator framework is a tool to create Canada-wide pollinator policy based on the best available science and expertise, while also highlighting important knowledge gaps, areas for future research. It is based on their study, which generated 83 expert recommended solutions to some of the main threats 鈥� habitat loss, pesticides, parasites, non-native species and disease. It also outlines which recommendations are most feasible and which could be implemented immediately.

鈥淭he federal government is needed to help standardize and coordinate some national efforts, to set targets and to monitor progress towards those targets and also to provide financial resources and other support to provinces,鈥� says Nalepa.

The goal is to preserve the diversity of Canada鈥檚 about 850 wild bee species and other pollinators, to mitigate issues arising from climate change, such as changing precipitation patterns, drought and shifts to their normal ranges, as well as to ensure resources are available for them to thrive, and crops and wildflowers are pollinated.

The use of pesticides is a big threat and there is a need for better risk assessments, a reduction on their reliance for agriculture, but the study鈥檚 experts also point to a lack of knowledge about how combinations of pesticides affect wild pollinators.

鈥淚n addition, experts wanted to see more financial supports and guidance for agricultural communities as they strive to reduce their pesticide use and also to help growers increase their market access to seeds that haven鈥檛 been treated with pesticides,鈥� says Nalepa.

To improve habitat, the framework suggests the creation of corridors to connect habitats and ensure pollinators can move easily between them to forage, overwinter and breed. This could be done by having native plants along roads, train tracks and hydro lines. Habitat could also be created or improved at large industrial sites 鈥� landfills, aggregate operations and brownfield areas.

The experts also suggest better tracking, management and disease screening for managed pollinators to help prevent the spread of disease to wild bees or vice versa.

鈥淎lthough there are some things in the framework that will benefit managed pollinators, really, it鈥檚 focussed on conserving wild pollinator species,鈥� says Colla. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e seen in the scientific literature is that in many cases even when you have honey bees in the system, native bees are doing a lot of the work, or they are more effective and more efficient at pollination.鈥�

In addition, there are some crops that require , where bumble bees create vibrations to dislodge trapped pollen. 鈥淥ur wild bees and our native plant species have over thousands and thousands of years, and we don鈥檛 quite know what will happen to these plants when or if bee species or a handful of them go extinct,鈥� she says.

The take home message, says Nalepa, is that 鈥渢he , and even though experts stress the need for sustained efforts and systemic changes, there are also actions that we can take that are immediately implementable with just minor tweaks to the programing and legislation that we already have.鈥�

Even without a coordinated, national plan, there are things people can do now, such as minimizing garden clean-up because pollinators often live under leaves, thatched grass and in hollow plant stems, and participating in community science programs like .

Another by Colla and a different team looked at how managed honey bee hives in Toronto negatively impacted some wild bee species.

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TORONTO, May 12, 2023 鈥� With pollinators, like bees, pollinating 87 of 115 leading food crops around the globe, protecting them from further decline is important for humans and ecosystems alike. On World Bee Day, May 20, people鈥檚 bee-haviour can go a long way towards providing food and creating and preserving bee habitats. 

91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (BEEc) and its bee researchers can help better understand bees, the risks to their health and what people can do to help.  

"Bees are one of the most important groups of pollinators in the world, yet most people are unaware that we have at least 350 species in the GTA alone,鈥� says BEEc Co-ordinator Victoria MacPhail, who received her PhD at 91亚色 and can talk about bees and how to grow a pollinator garden. 

Although most people think of honeybees when they think of bees, there are more than 850 wild bees in Canada and 20,000 worldwide who do much of the pollinating. 

To help celebrate bees, BEEc and the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) are hosting a , sponsored in part by World Wildlife Fund Canada, to help revitalize 91亚色鈥檚 Native Plant Garden on Tuesday, May 16, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Media are invited to the event. 

鈥淭he EUC Native Plant Garden is an oasis for bees on our campus, providing food, shelter, and nesting sites throughout the year,鈥� says MacPhail. 鈥淎t BEEc, we have a wealth of free resources and are happy to chat with people about what they can do to help pollinators 鈥� from planting native flowers to advocating for increased protections.鈥� 

The community can learn more about the highly diverse bee species indigenous to Toronto and Southern Ontario at large, as well as the local flora that they depend on for sustenance. As a part of this hands-on learning experience, guests will be able to contribute to the University鈥檚 floral biodiversity by helping to remove invasive species that are less conducive to the health of local pollinators and planting new native species in the EUC native garden. 

Examples of bee species that visit the garden range from tiny, smooth, black solitary bees that are only a few millimeters long and can be mistaken for flies or ants, to large, fuzzy bumblebees that can be up to a couple centimeters in size, and whose queens are easily seen this time of year. 

鈥淭oronto's official bee, the green metallic sweat bee, Agapostemon virescens, has already been seen nesting in the garden, and we are confident that the upcoming garden party will help to improve the habitat for it and many other wildlife species,鈥� says MacPhail. 

In other bee news, a to help endow a fund for EUC graduate students studying bees will take place May 17 in Markham, followed by a on May 18 with a particular focus on bee diversity and why, and how, 91亚色 has one of the world's best collections of bee specimens on the planet. 

Have some buzzworthy questions? Just ask the experts listed below. 

, an expert in wild bee genomics, behaviour and conservation and an associate professor in the Faculty of Science, can talk about: 

鈥� Loss of plant-pollinator networks and how some plants will now bloom too soon or too late for bees that rely on them 

鈥� Are the gut microbiomes of city bees missing key beneficial bacteria? 

鈥� Biodiversity conservation and why it鈥檚 important 

鈥� How maternal care of bee offspring has expanded the social life of bees 

鈥� Population and behavioural genomics 

鈥� Climate change, land use change and the effects on bees 

Amro Zayed, an associate professor and expert in honeybee biology and genomics in the Faculty of Science, can talk about the following: 

鈥� How bee genes can determine how bees behave, including how good they are at keeping their hive clean and how well they can survive cold winters 

鈥� Did western honeybees originate in Asia and why is that important to know? 

鈥� How the urban environment can help or hinder bees 鈥� think concrete versus green spaces, trees and gardens 

鈥� What鈥檚 stressing bumblebees? How scientists are using a conservation genomic approach and next generation sequencing to look inside for pathogens and pesticides 

鈥� Why are African hybrid honeybees (known as killer honeybees) highly defensive and aggressive? 

鈥� Bee health diagnostic tools, what they do and what鈥檚 being developed 

 
Sheila Colla (via Zoom) of the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, co-author of the recent book, and , can discuss the following: 

鈥� What to plant on balconies, in yards and community gardens across Ontario (See ) 

鈥� How bee diversity is important for climate resiliency 

鈥� Connection between native plants and native pollinators 

鈥� Importance of citizen science 鈥� how people can help scientists keep track of bees and their habitats 

鈥� What happened to the Rusty-patched bumblebee and why it鈥檚 a tale of what could happen to other bees 

鈥� Other bees on the endangered list 

鈥� Beyond honeybees and bumble bees. What are sweat bees, carpenter bees and mining bees, and what role do they play? 

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TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2021 鈥� This year鈥檚 BeeCon will explore the effects of human-driven landscape disturbance on wild bee communities, the development of diagnostic tools for neonicotinoid exposure, altruistic and selfish aggression in honey bees and more.

BeeCon is a free, annual, now virtual, bee conference from Oct. 15 to 16 that brings local, national and international bee biologists together to discuss bees, their behaviour, taxonomy, genomics, ecology, and conservation, hosted by the Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution and Conservation at 91亚色.

The two-day event will feature a keynote at 11am on Oct. 15 by Associate Professor of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas, Austin, discussing plant-pollinator interactions and ecosystem services in the face of global change.

Below is a selection of some of the many symposium talks, each 15 minutes in length:

Oct. 15:

9:30 a.m. 鈥� Can green roofs compensate for the loss of (Hymenopteran) biodiversity in cities? 鈥�

Jeffrey Jacobs of Hasselt University, Belgium

12 p.m. 鈥� Assessing the impacts of urban beehives on wild bees using individual, population-level, and community level metrics 鈥� Hadil Elsayed of 91亚色

2:45 p.m. - Effects of Social Status on Aggression in a Facultatively Social Bee Species (Xylocopa virginica) 鈥� James Mesich of Brock University

3:45 p.m. 鈥� Social environment and sibling cooperation in a small carpenter bee 鈥�

Jesse Huisken of 91亚色

Oct. 16:

9 a.m. 鈥� Holocene population expansion of a tropical bee coincides with early human colonisation of Fiji rather than climate change 鈥� James Dorey of Yale University

9:30 a.m. 鈥� The risks of crop exposure to honey bee colonies 鈥� Sarah French of 91亚色

9:45 a.m. 鈥� The blueberries & the bees: assessing honey bee health stressors using proteomics 鈥� Rhonda Thygesen of the University of British Columbia

10:15 a.m. 鈥� Corpse management in bumblebee colonies 鈥� Victoria Blanchard of Royal Holloway, University of London

11:15 a.m. 鈥� Assessment of habitat use & ecology of native bee communities in tallgrass prairie and oak savanna in Southern Ontario 鈥� Janean Sharkey of the University of Guelph

Click here for the schedule of speakers.

To register for Oct. 15, click and to register for Oct. 16, click .

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91亚色听is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317, sandramc@yorku.ca

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TORONTO, July 6, 2021 鈥� What鈥檚 stressing out bumblebees? To find out, 91亚色 scientists used next-generation sequencing to look deep inside bumblebees for evidence of pesticide exposure, including neonicotinoids, as well as pathogens, and found both.

Using a conservation genomic approach 鈥� an emerging field of study that could radically change the way bee health is assessed 鈥� the researchers studied Bombus terricola or the yellow-banded bumblebee, a native to North America, in agricultural and non-agricultural areas. This new technique allows scientists to probe for invisible stressors affecting bees.

Yellow-banded bumblebee. Photo by Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change grad student Victoria MacPhail

Like many pollinators, the yellow-banded bumblebee has experienced major declines in the last couple decades, which threatens food security and the stability of natural ecosystems.

鈥淣ext-generation sequencing is a totally new way to think about why bees are declining, which could revolutionize conservation biology. We鈥檙e looking directly at bee tissues to try and get clues to the stressors that are affecting this bee. I think this is a gamechanger for sure. With a single study, we are able to implicate a couple of really obvious things we鈥檝e talked about for years 鈥� pathogens and pesticides 鈥� in the case of Bombus terricola,鈥� says Faculty of Science Professor , director of the Centre for Bee Ecology Evolution and Conservation (BEEc) at 91亚色 and corresponding author of the study.

In addition to sequencing the RNA of 30 yellow-banded worker bees, the researchers also used the sequence data to directly search for pathogens infecting the bumblebees. The team found five pathogens in the abdomens of worker bees, three of which are common in managed honey bee and bumblebee colonies. This supports the theory that spill over of pathogens from commercial operations can affect the health of wild bees.

What surprised the researchers, including former 91亚色 biology grad student Nadia Tsvetkov and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, is how well the technology worked.

Yellow-banded bumblebee. Photo by Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change grad student Victoria MacPhail

鈥淏umblebee diseases are a key threat and this technology can help us detect new diseases and stressors quickly so we don't lose species the way we did the rusty-patched bumblebee, where the problem was only detected when it was too late to do anything about it in Canada,鈥� says Colla. 鈥淭he rusty-patched bumblebee hasn鈥檛 been spotted in Canada since 2009.鈥�

Bumblebees are particularly important pollinators, even better than honey bees for some plants, because their ability to 鈥渂uzz鈥� pollinate (vibrate the plants to release pollen) and tolerate cooler temperatures, which makes them critical pollinators for certain plants and regions.

Expanding the scope of conservation genomic studies will help to better understand how multiple stressors influence the health of other bumblebee populations.

鈥淲e think this is the way forward in terms of managing and conserving bumblebees,鈥� says Zayed.

The paper, , was published recently in the journal .

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91亚色听is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.听

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317,听sandramc@yorku.ca

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91亚色 research shows species is critically endangered

TORONTO, April 18, 2019 鈥� The 鈥� a species once more commonly seen buzzing around Southern Ontario 鈥� is critically endangered, according to a new study led by 91亚色.

The finding, published in , found the native North American species, Bombus pensylvanicus, is facing imminent extinction from Canada, considered the highest and most at-risk classification before extinction. Many bumblebee species are rapidly declining across North America, but are important pollinators needed to grow Canada鈥檚 crops including apples, tomatoes, blueberries and legumes, as well as countless types of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.

The researchers assessed the extinction risk of the American Bumblebee, ranking the risk much higher than a federal advisory committee鈥檚 most recent assessment which classifies the species鈥� extinction risk at special concern.

鈥淭his species is at risk of extinction and it's currently not protected in any way despite the drastic decline,鈥� said Assistant Professor , an expert in bees and endangered species in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.

鈥淣ow that we have assessed the extent of the decline and located where the remaining populations are, we can look more closely at threats and habitat requirements to design an effective conservation management plan so that this species does not disappear from Canada forever,鈥� said Colla, who co-authored and helped design the study.

Colla has been studying bumblebees in Southern Ontario since the mid-2000s. This study relies on the annual data that she and her fellow researchers have collected.

The study鈥檚 research team 鈥� led by Victoria MacPhail, Colla鈥檚 doctoral student, and including a scientist from the University of Vermont 鈥� used data from three sources. They analyzed Southern Ontario data from the citizen science program, , a collaboration of volunteers who submit bumblebee photos through a website or phone app for experts to identify. The researchers used the Bumble Bees of North America database to obtain records of bumblebee species in Ontario and Quebec dating back to the late-1800s. They also used their own field survey work which allowed them to evaluate the status of the species within its Canadian range, using the globally-recognized International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment criteria.

The researchers found that the American Bumblebee鈥檚 area of occurrence has decreased by about 70 percent and its relative abundance fell by 89 percent from 2007-2016 compared to 1907-2006.

鈥淭his bumblebee species now has a reduced overall range,鈥� explained MacPhail. 鈥淚t used to stretch from Windsor to Toronto, and all the way to Ottawa and into the Quebec area, but it is now only found in some core areas and has experienced a 37 percent decrease in overall range.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 now a rare sighting in Toronto,鈥� said MacPhail. 鈥淚n terms of relative abundance, compared to other bees, you鈥檇 have to catch 1,000 bumblebees to find four of this species, and that compares to finding 37 bees in the past. You could walk out the door and win the lottery and find it, or you could be searching for years and not find any.鈥�

This study echoes Colla鈥檚 previous findings with the critically endangered Rusty-patched Bumblebee, once found in Southern Ontario. The species has not been seen in Canada for about ten years and drastically declined towards extinction without receiving protection or conservation management.

鈥淭he American bumblebee is still found in areas throughout its Canadian range and immediate action may save it from the same fate as the Rusty-patched Bumblebee,鈥� said Colla.

91亚色 champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91亚色 Media Relations, 647-654-9452,听vthomps@yorku.ca

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TORONTO, ON, Aug. 13, 2018 鈥� By sequencing the genome of the yellow-banded bumblebee, 91亚色 researchers have found that inbreeding and disease are likely culprits in their rapid decline in North America.

This is believed to be the first time the genome of an at-risk bumblebee has been sequenced and it allows researchers to take a deeper look into the potential reason for their diminishing numbers. What they found surprised them.

鈥淭he yellow-banded bumblebee has been declining throughout much of its range in North America, but we don鈥檛 know why,鈥� says 91亚色 U Associate Professor , Research Chair in Genomics in the Faculty of Science. 鈥淲e sequenced their genome so we can search for any clues of why the bumblebee is declining.鈥�

Those clues show that bumblebees are inbreeding, and their immune genes are under selection, which points to disease as a likely cause of the stress.

The , Bombus terricola, is listed as vulnerable to extinction globally on the recently updated Red List of Threatened Species. It is part of a subgenus of bumblebees that includes the rusty-patched bumblebee, which is almost extinct now in Canada. The last sighting of one was in 2009.

鈥淭his particular bumblebee is down to about 10 per cent of its former numbers. It used to be one of our most common bumblebees in Southern Ontario. When we created the genome, we looked for signs of inbreeding and unfortunately that鈥檚 what we found. Bumblebees in Southern Ontario and mid-northern Quebec are becoming more inbred,鈥� says 91亚色 U biology researcher Clement Kent, who led the research.

鈥淎s bees become more inbred, they encounter difficulties maintaining their populations, but as their populations gets smaller, they have difficulties avoiding inbreeding. So that is one risk factor that could accelerate their decline. And finding as much inbreeding as we did, is a sure sign that this population is declining rapidly.鈥�

With inbred bees, males can become infertile and when they mate with the queen, they often won鈥檛 produce any offspring at all or if the male genes are too closely related to the queen, they may produce sterile males instead of worker bees. 鈥淭hat means she may only have half as many workers to build the colony then needed,鈥� says Kent.

But the other piece of the puzzle is disease. 鈥淚f it is disease knocking down these bees, we should see signs of strong selection on genes that are involved with the immune system of bees, and that in fact is what we found,鈥� says Kent.

Out of the 46 bumblebee species in North America, one in four are at risk of extinction and that includes the yellow-banded, the western and the rusty-patched bumblebees.

鈥淲hat this research does is give us a tool that can show us that pathogen spillover or disease outbreak could explain why these populations declined in Southern Ontario and Quebec. It鈥檚 useful because the rusty-patched bumblebee is thought to have declined by a disease outbreak, but I鈥檝e only found two in Canada since 2005. Something like this gives us another way of testing why these bees are declining when it鈥檚 really hard to locate them, let alone sample them in the wild,鈥� says 91亚色 U Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES).

鈥淚t鈥檚 like detective work to find out why native bumblebees are declining. For this research to find things at the genetic level that we鈥檝e been looking at at the landscape level, is surprising, and adds support as another line of evidence.鈥�

Researchers believe the disease is originating from managed bumblebees used in greenhouses for crops such as tomatoes and sweet peppers. Managed bumblebees have more disease than wild bees. These managed bee forage outside the greenhouses for nectar and could be spreading disease through the flowers they visit.

The research is published in the journal . It was funded by Wildlife Preservation Canada, along with a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada discovery grant.

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91亚色听champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 听

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

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