EPL Bio Analytical Services

Excellence, Passion and Leadership in Agriculture

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Our Story
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Our Team
  • What We Do
    • Agricultural Chemistry
    • Nutritional Chemistry
    • Molecular Biology
    • Customized Analytical Support
    • Feed and Feed Ingredients
  • How We Do It
    • Technology Tour
    • Instrumentation
    • Quality Management Systems
    • Lab Services
    • Facility Monitoring & Backup
  • Who We Serve
    • Crop Protection Industry
    • Feed and Feed Ingredients
  • What’s New
    • Blog
    • News
    • Papers, Posters, Presentations
    • References
    • Organizations We Support
      • Industries We Support
      • Local and Regional Industries
      • Technical
  • Client Portal
  • Data Portal
  • Agricultural Chemistry
  • Nutritional Chemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Customized Analytical Support
  • Feed and Feed Ingredients
You are here: Home / Blog / What’s up these days with the Birds and the Bees? Pollinator Health Studies

What’s up these days with the Birds and the Bees? Pollinator Health Studies

February 26, 2015 by admin

What is a pollinator, why are pollinator important and why are we hearing so much about them now?Pollinator Study

Many plants need help from insects, such as bees, to reproduce and produce seeds and fruit that are part of our diet.  There are a variety of other pollinators, including mammals such as bats, birds, reptiles (lizards) and other insects like butterflies.

Most of us have heard, in recent years, about something called colony collapse disorder.  In this disorder, worker bees essentially disappear from a colony leaving behind the queen, the food sources and immature bees with a few nurse bees.  Historically, there are reports of this phenomenon periodically as far back as the late 1800s, however, in 2006-2007 unusually high losses were being reported with very few dead bees observed near the hives.

Do we know what causes this disorder?

There are several potential reasons that include:

  • Pathogens
  • Other pests such as mites
  • Poor nutrition due to loss or change in habitat
  • Lack of genetic diversity
  • Transport and overwork
  • Pesticide usage

What is being done about this problem?

A variety of organizations including non-profit, private and governmental agencies have been involved in working to find causes and solutions for pollinator health issues.  In 2014, a US presidential memorandum set the stage for creation of a federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.  The US EPA published documents to provide guidance for risk analysis for pesticides and performance of pollinator health studies.

What part does EPL play in pollinator health studies?

Pollinator studies create new challenges for those involved in assurance that new crop protection products are safe.  EPL is a contract analytical laboratory that has been working with others to develop the best analytical capabilities for pollinator health studies.   In January 2015, EPL was invited to participate in a pollinator health workshop sponsored jointly by representatives from Syngenta and Bayer. EPL representatives included Sara Sharp, Study Director and Team Lead for AgChem and Fred Claussen, Vice President of EPL.  EPL analyzes pollen, nectar and flowers to monitor and quantify the concentration of pesticides and other agrochemicals.  The workshop was held in association with the annual meeting of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants.   Fred presented information related to the variety of matrices involved in these studies.  He also talked about some of the analytical challenges and improvements that may be possible in the future such as implementation of high throughput technologies.  If you have questions or need analytical support for pollinator health studies, please contact Fred or Sara.

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet

Filed Under: Blog

Blog

30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE AG INDUSTRY

June 29, 2017

What in the World is Guar? by Matt Patricio

April 6, 2017

Rapid and Sensitive Analysis of Soil, Water Feed and Food for Glyphosate and Glufosinate Residues

December 15, 2016

EPL BAS in the news again!

October 11, 2016

We are proud to be part of the Decatur Illinois community – home to the Midwest Inland Port. Watch this video to catch a glimpse of our lab in action!

July 21, 2016

See More Blog Posts

News

EPL Provides Support for Golden Rice Project

May 14, 2020

EPL BAS Wins Global Agrow Award for Best Supporting Role

November 22, 2017

EPL Bio Analytical Services Selects SCIEX QTRAP 6500+ LC-MS System with SelexION Differential Mobility Separation Technology Device

July 12, 2017

Dow and EPL BAS Sign License Agreement for New Technology

August 3, 2016

EPL BAS Named Finalist for Annual Agrow Award

July 18, 2016

See More News Posts

Areas of Expertise

  • Agricultural Chemistry
  • Nutritional Chemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Customized Analytical Support
  • Feed and Feed Ingredients

What Our Customers Say

"Many thanks for your diligent and knowledgeable work done to complete the analytical report for this study in a timely manner. Please extend my sincere thanks to the rest of the team at EPL that have contributed to this project. I have also enjoyed the opportunity working with you once more and look forward to […]

Read More

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Services

  • Agricultural Chemistry
  • Nutritional Chemistry
  • Feed and Feed Ingredients
  • Contaminants
  • Molecular Biology
  • Customized Analytical Support
  • Method Development and Validation

Contact Us

EPL Bio Analytical Services
9095 West Harristown Blvd
Niantic, IL 62551-9752

Google Maps Street View

Toll Free: 1-866-963-2143

© EPL Bio Analytical Services • 9095 West Harristown Blvd, Niantic, IL 62551 • 1-866-963-2143
7ads6x98y