Pollinators

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) conducts a monthly National Honey Report, which collects prices paid of extracted and unprocessed honey, price by honey type, primary nectar source visited, and estimates the export and import of honey with major trading partners. 

Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) safeguards honey bees against the entry, establishment, and spread of economically and environmentally significant pests, and facilitates the safe trade of agricultural product.  Information on the National Honey Bee Pests and Diseases Survey, Exotic Bee and Bee Mite ID guides, outreach videos on the parasitic Varroa mite and introductions to beekeeping can be found at this site.

• Identification Technology Program

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Bee Research Laboratories are located across the country.  These labs look at a wide range of issues that impact bee health.  The primary labs include:

• Beltsville, Maryland Bee Lab focuses on a wide range of bee pests and diseases, and offers a free Bee Disease Diagnosis Service of pests and diseases for beekeepers across the United States.
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana Bee Lab focuses on honey bee breeding, genetics, and physiology research.
• Logan, Utah Bee Lab studies the biology, management, and systematics of pollinating insects.  
• Tucson, Arizona Bee Lab focuses on improved nutrition and Varroa control.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which implements long-term rental contracts with growers to voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production, and to plant species that will improve environmental health and quality, such as for pollinator and wildlife habitat.

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts statistically based surveys of beekeepers, including the Bee and Honey Inquiry Survey and the Colony Loss Survey. 

National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provides grants to universities, including Land-Grant institutions, to address high priority pollinator research.  They also work to provide funding to U.S. Land-Grant institutions and counties through the Cooperative Extension System to conduct information and technology transfer to stakeholders on pollinator health.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers more than three dozen conservation practices that can benefit pollinators. Although many of these practices target improving grazing lands or reducing soil erosion, small modifications to the practices can yield benefits to pollinator species. The shared link provides an overview of NRCS conservation work for pollinators and pollinator conservation and habitat enhancement resources.

Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP) analyses policy questions that address questions related to the interface of crop pest management and pollinator health and works closely with the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistic Service on data collections to better understand pollinator Best Management Practices. The link provides an exhaustive summary of crops that are attractive and/or pollinated by both honey bees and other bees in the United States.

Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP) program which provides financial assistance to eligible producers of honey bees due to disease and certain adverse weather events or loss conditions. ELAP assistance is provided for losses not covered by other disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is highly engaged in the protection of pollinators via sound management of and research to support managed lands.  This link provides information on topics such as pollination, plant pollination strategies, types of pollinators, pollinator friendly practices, and gardening for pollinators.

Department of Defense Pollinator Page

Department of Energy Pollinator Protection Initiative

Department of Transportation Pollinator Page

National Park Service Pollinator Page

U.S. Bureau of Land Management Pollinator Page

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollinator Page

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pollinator Page

U.S. Geological Survey, Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab

E-Extension Bee Health Community