These eight hours of track work were mostly focused on neonicotinoids with also

introductory information about pollinators overall. In order to do this, my track has been
independent study, however I do hope to do service learning in the near future with my outsideof-school mentor, Nancy Greig. She has actually been tremendously helpful in my research by
leading me to resources and research topics that include but are not limited to the book I am
reading and the movie have seen, Attracting Native Pollinators and More than Honey
respectively.
Through the course of these first eight hours, I have broadened my focus from just the
effects of neonicotinoids and pesticides on pollinators to pollinators overall with a focus on the
problems they face today (so, back to my original topic).I know this may seem a bit broad, as I
become increasingly aware of as I research more, I do find it fascinating to learn about the
various types of pollinators. In fact, I have learned about other issues that pollinators have been
facing in recent years. Some of these include bee-specific issues such as Colony Collapse
Disorder and Nosema infections while others are a bit broader like habitat fragmentation and
loss. These are issues I can once again address due to the expansion of my topic.
That being said, much of my research shall focus more on bees rather than other
pollinators. This is because, as I have learned through my research, bees are the most important
group of pollinators. They are also far more diverse than the [European] honeybee (Apis
mellifera) many think of when referring to bees. Another reason is that much of the information
about bees concerning conservation efforts and the way they are affected by human activities
also applies to other pollinators to an equal to or lesser degree than bees. As such, some of this
information can be extrapolated to other pollinators although not without varying degrees of
applicability.
The book I am reading is a great resource in the way that it covers a wide expanse of
information concerning pollinators, despite the title implying that the focus would be attracting
pollinators which often consists of learning about what plants to put in ones garden. Due to the
volume of information contained in this book, it shall continue to be the focu of my track work
due to the relevance of the information.
The book begins with a brief overview about the benefits of pollinators to humans.
Namely, their economic importance and ecological importance are cited. Apparently, there are
types of trees and bushes that can continue to flower for a period of time after being once
pollinated by pollinators. This means that pollinators not only affect the productivity of plants
today but also their future productivity. One specific type of bee mentioned is of great
significance to crop production, that is squash bees, due to their specialization in pollinating
squashes, something other bees cannot do. Without these bees and other native bees, crop
production could be greatly reduced or even non-existent in some instances.
A. Lee-Mader, Eric, Matthew Sheperd, Mace Vaughn, Scott Hoffman Black, and
Gretchen LeBuhn. Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and
Butterflies: The Xerces Society Guide. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub., 2011. Print.

a. This book was published by a well-recognized, non-profit

organization for the protection of invertebrates, the Xerces Society.
b. This book was strongly recommended to me by my outside-ofschool mentor.
c. The intended audience for this book is anyone seeking to learn
more about and protect pollinating species (insects specifically). The book does
use some specific scientific details but not without explaining them to those
without background knowledge on pollinators and related plants. That being said,
familiarity with taxonomy would help in understanding descriptions of the
organisms described.
d. This book talks about the different kinds of pollinators as well as
talks briefly about the plants on which they rely on. The book starts off by
emphasizing the importance of pollinators, talking about how they are
tremendously important when it comes to food production. One specific example
used talks about the importance of pollinators to squash and blueberry production
in northern states. It also talks about ways in which we can promote the health of
pollinators, such as not using pesticides and creating pollinator-friendly gardens.
The book also talks about different species of native plants and plants they tend to
visit.
e.
i.
Chinas Sichuan Province requires hand-pollination
of apple crops due to excessive pesticide use
ii.
When pollinators are lost, bushes and trees may
continue to flower and look normal for decades
iii.
Native bees pollinate for more effectively than do
honey bees
iv. The majority of bees are generalists
v. The fact that most bee species are not social
suggests that solitary life is a preferred reproductive strategy
vi.
Bumble bees are often the first bees active in spring
and the last bees active in fall
vii.
Ability to buzz-pollinate
viii.
Larvae of most flower flies are valuable for pest
control as well as pollination
f. I read this book for about 4.5 hours, amounting to roughly 70
pages of reading. This section that I read, as mentioned above, mainly talks about
overviews about pollinators in order to be a more educated advocate for them.
The entire book is about 330 pages long which I plan to finish in the near future.
B. More Than Honey. Dir. Markus Imhoof. Kino Lorber, 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
a. This movie is a critically acclaimed documentary about bees and
the dangers they face.
b. My outside-of-school mentor recommended this movie to me.

c. The intended audience is anyone interested in learning more about

the plight of bees. The language used is easy-to-understand and is similar to
something one would find on regular television (that is to say, intended for all
audiences).
d. More Than Honey outlines many aspects of bees and beekeeping
including the process of beekeeping, problems in the beekeeping industry, and the
life cycle of bees. Overall, it helped me get a better understanding overall of bees
and beekeeping. The movie is great in that it provides enough details to be
informational while also not being so technical that a general watcher wouldnt be
able to understand. Some of the issues I was surprised to see in the movie were
the advent of bacteria and mites that can be devastating to hives. The movie is
roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes in length (95 minutes exactly).
C. Center For Food Safety. New CFS Report Examines Devastating Impact of
Pesticides on Bees and Pollinators. Center for Food Safety, Center for Food Safety, 5
Sept. 2013, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/2498/new-cfs-reportexamines-devastating-impact-of-pesticides-on-bees-and-pollinators.
a. The center for food safety is a non-profit organization simply
seeking to improve and protect the health of both humans and the environment.
b. I found this source while looking or sources about neonicotinoids
and pesticides.
c. The intended audience for this article are those concerned about
pesticide use and its effects on bees. There is enough detail to provide more than
just a simple overview of the topic for general readers but also does not use much
of the jargon of higher-level institutional works.
d. This article outlines many of the issues with neonicotinoid use in
agriculture. To go into specifics, it talks about the great value of bee pollination to
agriculture, something which is threatened by neonicotinoids. Not only does the
article talk about the more than 120 countries that use neonicotinoids, but it also
emphasizes that neonicotinoids are not needed for agriculture. The end of the
article talks about the lawsuit against the EPA that the Center for Food Safety has
filed as a means of forcing a ban on neonicotinoids.
e.
i.
In the United States, pollination contributes $20-30
billion in crop production annually to the agricultural economy.
ii.
currently authorized in more than 120 countries for
over 1,000 different uses.
iii.
only 1.6-2.0% of the active chemical actually enters
the crop itself
iv.
can exist in the environment for up to 19 years.
v. no evidence that the suspensions caused economic
hardship for farmers.

f. This article is rather short and took me about 5 minutes to read. It

was, however, important in outlining the problems with neonicotinoids today
D. Gurian-Sherman, Doug. Hidden Costs of Toxic Seed
Coatings .Centerforfoodsafety.org, Center for Food Safety, June 2015,
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/neonic-factsheet_75083.pdf.
a. The center for food safety is a non-profit organization simply
seeking to improve and protect the health of both humans and the environment.
b. I found this source through the reference of a previous source (the
one above).
c. The intended audience for this article is those wishing to learn
more about the impact of pesticide use in agriculture on bees and the
environment. It focuses on the impact of neonicotinoids and their widespread use.
The technical terms used are explained in the article. However, the report may be
difficult to find for some considering that it must be accessed through a different,
summary page (at least that is how I accessed it).
d. Neonicotinoids are widely used in agriculture and, unfortunately,
have been shown to have a wide impact on the environment mainly due to their
persistence in biological systems. They are mainly used as seed coatings for corn
and soybean seeds. This practice is highly inefficient, with several studies
suggesting that this method does not provide much protection and as much as
98% of the chemical remains unabsorbed by the plant. The excess chemicals then
often spread throughout the environment, often in the form of runoff. The seed
coating practice has also led to the misleading report by the USDA that pesticide
use has decreased in recent years, when, in fact, it has greatly increased.
e.
i.
USDA incorrectly determined that only 12% of corn
acres were treated with applied insecticides in 2010, when in fact, as noted
above, about 80 to 100 percent were actually treated.
ii.
Between 79 and 100 percent of corn seed and 34
44 percent of soybean seed is coated with neonics (and other pesticides)
iii.
over 100 million acres of cropland, about 57% of
the total for these cropsand area the size of Californiaare directly
exposed to neonic insecticides from corn, soybeans and cotton alone
iv.
total acreage of corn treated with insecticides is
now 3 times higher than it was prior to neonic seed coatings.
v. very soluble, and hence mobile, in water that runs
off of farm fields into streams
vi.
neonic concentrations in the environment are often
high enough to harm bees (pollinators)
f. This report is a couple of pages in length and took me about 15
minutes to read. Besides that, this article was very helpful in elaborating about the

issues with neonicotinoids. It also sheds light on regulatory issues that will be
useful as future research points.
E. Subsidies, GMOs, Obesity. Rural Migration News, July 2004,
https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=902.
a. Although a bit dated, the information from this article published
by UC Davis Migration Dialogue is still important for historical context.
b. I found this article while doing a search about the connection
between GMOs and obesity while trying to extend research into GMOs.
c. The intended audience for this article are those who actively
follow the Migration Dialogue of UC Davis which appears to be a not-widelypublicized reporting entity. Despite this, the language is relatively easy to
understand although background knowledge on the mentioned issues would
enhance understanding, mostly for contextual reasons.
d. This article highlights several interconnected issues, albeit without
much discussion of their interconnectedness. It begins with research about the
great amount of government subsidies given out by not only the US but also other
developed nations. It continues on to highlight the issues this has caused in the
global market, mostly in terms of fair trade. GMOs are mentioned but in the
context of legal actions but a GMO producer, Monsanto, and farmers who used
these seeds without paying legal licensing fees. The article goes on to talk about
the obesity rate in the US and how Food Stamps are supposed to be a form of
nutritional supplement.
e.
i.
farmers in rich countries received $257 billion in
subsidies and payments in 2003, making subsidies equivalent to a third of
farm sales.
ii.
US government subsidies of $12.5 billion between
1999 and 2002 were an unlawful interference with free trade
iii.
World Trade Organization in April and June 2004
concluded that US government subsidies of $12.5 billion between 1999
and 2002 were an unlawful interference with free trade
iv. government paid about $15 billion a year to 1.3
million individuals, partnerships and other business entities to support the
production of corn, rice, cotton, wheat, soybeans and other commodities.
f. This article took me about 10 minutes to read and is a little more
than a page in length. Although the information does not particularly connect to
pollinators or is explicitly connected, the implications of the interrelatedness of
subsidies, GMOs, obesity, and Food Stamps. Essentially, the implication is that
subsidies fuel increased GMO usage which are then more likely to be consumed
by the poor who are also more likely to be obese.
F. Pollinator Partnership. Bee Issues. Pollinator Partnership, Pollinator
Partnership, 2015, http://pollinator.org/beeissues.htm.

a. This page was published by the Pollinator Partnership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting bees and other pollinators, and covers a
wide range of problems faced by bees.
b. My out-of-school mentor recommended I search up the Pollinator
Partnership for information about pollinators, leading to this website.
c. The intended audience of this article is those wishing to get an
extensive overview of the issues bees face. The information is well explained by
the page, improving readability.
d. The article talks about many aspects of honey bee life, specifically
threats to honey bees and their life cycle. Varroa mites were introduced from asian
honey bees to western honey bees which has been devastating to honey bee
populations through their ability to spread disease and destroy entire
colonies.Nosema ceranae, a type of fungus, various bee viruses, and American
foulbrood, a bacterial disease, are also cited as threats to bee colonies.
Agricultural practices, pesticide use and monoculture specifically, are also
mentioned as they can lead to lethal effects on bees and malnutrition of bees
respectively. The page continues on to talk about the life cycle of various bees
which generally starts off as a larval stage in a cell of some kind, either in a hive
or some other enclosed area. Over the course of several weeks, the bee develops
and breaks out of the cell to either aid its hive or forage for its own.
e.
i.
parasite that has spread from its original host, the
Asian honeybee Apis cerana, to nearly all Western honey bees (Apis
mellifera) worldwide
ii.
at high infestation rates, the mites overwhelm and
kill the host colony.
iii.
more than 20 honey bee viruses have been
identified
iv. American foulbrood is an infection that kills young
bees (brood) inside the wax cells in which they develop.
v. dead brood becomes a source of infection spread by
workers nursing young brood
vi.
Pesticides are widely used and are divided into
insecticides/acaricides, used to control insects and mites or ticks,
fungicides used to control plant diseases; rodenticides, used to control
rodents; and herbicides used to prevent weeds from competing with crops,
grasses or ornamental plants.
vii.
unhealthy queens can die or be killed by workers,
causing a break in brood rearing that again limits colony growth and
productivity.
f. This page is rather long with several pages on information, taking
me about 30 minutes to read. Unfortunately, there were a couple of sections I

ended up reading in full that turned out to not be particularly related to my

research (namely the section about the editors response to community questions.