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Program Symposium

Emerging Scientists Tackling Emerging Topics: Entomologists Addressing Global Issues in Health, Food Insecurity, Climate Change, and Biodiversity On-Demand Presentations

The impacts of smoke and heat during the Oregon wildfires on honey bees

On-Demand
On-Demand
Recent wildfires and the resulting smoke in the west coast including Oregon have impacted thousands of managed honey bee colonies and potentially hundreds of feral honey bee colonies in the wild. The effects of smoke and fire on honey bees are not well understood. During the period of smoke, beekeepers noticed significantly reduced foraging in their colonies. The ash (particulate matter) resulting from wildfires/forest fires may impact olfaction, respiration and physiology of honey bees. Further, the colonies that were in close proximity to these fires may have encountered significantly higher temperatures. Past studies have shown that stressors like heat-shock can reduce stored sperm viability and result in queen failure in honey bee colonies. Also, the air pollutants can degrade floral scents on which insect pollinators rely when foraging for food. This degradation may negatively impact pollinators including bees and may in turn lead to poor pollination. The present study investigates both the impacts of smoke and the wildfire heat on workers and queens across impacted honey bee colonies.