Agroecosystems representative of the florida panhandle, mississippi delta, and much of the southeast consist of mass flowering pollinator-independent crops such as cotton, peanut, and soybean

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Florida Division of Sponsored Research $299,319 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) on May 1, 2026.

The project identifies bee diversity within pollinator-independent cropping systems (cotton, peanut, and soybean) in the Southeast, evaluates foraging preferences of bee species visiting crop flowers, assesses nutritional profiles of floral resources, and models potential pollination services these bees may provide. The research also examines landscape factors influencing bee diversity, abundance, and fitness metrics to inform integrated pollinator and pest management strategies and support development of sustainable crop production systems.

Performance occurs in Gainesville, Florida, with a completion date of April 30, 2028. The award is structured as a seed project generating primary data for larger competitive projects investigating bee health and interactions with heavily managed agroecosystems, addressing three program objectives relative to factors influencing pollinators' abundance, diversity, and health under the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program track.

These mass-flowering crops produce a tremendous number of floral resources, potentially making them incredible BEE resources. However, IT is unclear if these crops are used for pollen and nectar resources by bees and if the pollen and nectar of modern row crops can provide nutritional requirements to sustain BEE communities in these agroecosystems. The overall goal of this seed project is to identify the diversity of bees within pollinator-independent cropping systems consisting of cotton, peanut, and soybean. Evaluate foraging preferences of BEE species visiting crop flowers. Assess nutritional profiles of floral resources. Assess landscape factors that influence BEE diversity and abundance, as well as fitness metrics, and model potential pollination services these bees may provide to the systems. This project will generate primary data for larger competitive projects investigating BEE health and interactions with heavily managed agroecosystems to create integrated pollinator and pest management strategies to develop more sustainable win-BEE conservation-win crop production systems. This will be achieved with three objectives relative to the program priorities of factors influencing pollinators' abundance, diversity, and health.