The USDA program helping protect pollinators from invasive pests. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Bee pollination alone is responsible for more than 15-billion in added crop value, particularly for specialty crops such as almonds and other nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. Unfortunately, the honey bees are also vulnerable to invasive pests like parasitic mites, viruses, and predatory insects.
The USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine Program, also known as PPQ, with the help of funding from the Plant Protection Act, PPQ has launched a major survey to help better understand the factors threatening bees, and how to take effective action to protect them and the crops they pollinate.
Survey samples will be collected from 39 States and 2 United States territories. Results will document which diseases, parasites, or pests of honey bees are present and/or likely absent in the United States. The results should also help explain long-term trends, factors that drive bee health, and ways to safeguard honey bee populations.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.