Pollinators
2022 Annual Strategic Pollinator Priorities Report is now available!
- USDA Pollinator Offices and Initiatives
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.
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.
USDA Climate Hubs develop and deliver science-based information and technologies to natural resource and agricultural managers, enabling climate-informed decision making, reducing agricultural risk, and building resilience to climate change. Some examples of how the Climate Hubs support pollinators and their stakeholders include collaborative research and outreach on soil health practices that support pollinator forage and habitat, research on how climate may impact the pollination of pollinator-dependent crops, and adaptation guides to support beekeepers’ resilience to hurricanes.
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. Further, it 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 eligible adverse weather events and loss conditions events. 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.
National Agricultural Library (NAL) is a source for a variety of agricultural resources devoted to pollinators and honey bees.
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 Apiculture Pilot Insurance Program (API) to provide a safety net for beekeepers’ primary income sources – honey, pollen collection, wax, and breeding stock. Additionally, RMA manages the Apiculture Rainfall Index (RI), which insurance programs utilize as an indexing system to assess plant growth and vigor, which correlates to honey production.
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.
- External Federal Pollinator Partners
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
Pollinator Fact Sheets, News and Blogs
2022 Annual Strategic Pollinator Priorities Report
A report on federally-led efforts to address factors impacting pollinator health.
Beekeeper Resources Fact Sheet
Programs and Resources that support Beekeepers
The Buzz About Pollinators
Protecting and supporting pollinators is key to maintaining U.S. agriculture.
What's All the Buzz About?
See the impact of USDA's efforts focusing on pollinator health, crop production, and conservation.
Native Plants for Pollinators
Use this resource to learn about pollinator-attractive plants.
Meeting Honey Demand in the U.S.
This USDA dashboard helps visualize pollinator data and provides a clearer picture of trends.
More Pollinator Stories
Pollinator Facts
An overview of why pollinators are so important to our agricultural industry and our lives.
Farmers are Helping to Protect Working Wings
Fruits and veggies provide us the well-balanced diet for healthy lifestyles.
Honey Bee Highlights
Overview of major statistics on honey bees collected by NASS, USDA’s statistical service.
Pollinators at a Crossroads
Bees and other pollinators, including birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, wasps, beetles, and small mammals, play a critical role in our food production system.
Horned-Face Bees Sublet in a Honey Bee Colony
Shedding new light on strategies used to ensure survival of two very different pollinators.
Helping Honey Bees Make It Through Winter With Early Cold Storage
Putting honey bees into early indoor cold storage in October rather than November increases their chances of surviving the winter.
The Value of Birds and Bees
Pollinators benefit America’s working forests, farms, and ranches.
Protecting Pollinators from a New Threat – First-Ever U.S. Sightings of Asian Giant Hornet
Asian giant hornets are extremely large and equipped with relatively massive mandibles (teeth).
Scientists Probe Pollinator Survival
Shedding new light on strategies used to ensure survival of two very different pollinators.
Highlights
Access USDA resources on enhancing agricultural pollinator health and conservation.
- How Farmers Can Help Pollinators
- Online Identification Tools
- Bee Disease Diagnosis Service
- Attractiveness of Agricultural Crops
- Honey Bee Surveys
- Cold Storage Overwintering Tool
- Establishing Pollinator Habitats
- Honey Bees on the Move
More Highlights
Gallery
Laboratory Technician Michele Hamilton with interns Joshua Kawasaki and Pendo Abbo.
Apiary on the USDA Headquarters roof in Washington, D.C.
Apiary on the USDA Headquarters roof in Washington, D.C.
Bees pollinate our blackberries and a multitude of other crops.
Hummingbird pollination is crucial in production for fruits and vegetables.
A bumblebee gathers pollen from an echinacea plant.
Sweet cherries are a pollinated crop.
A queen Italian honey bee in the USDA Apiary in Washington, D.C.
Entomologist James Strange evaluates a queen bumble bee.
NRCS worked with Kavita and Justin Bay to combat future declines in honey bee populations.
Almonds are the number one pollinated crop.
ARS technician Lucy Snyder selecting bee larvae from honeycombs.
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