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Bees & Beekeeping Perennials Native Plants

Would all the smoke and haze affect pollinators?

10 months ago

last modified: 10 months ago

Have been under air quality alerts off and on for a couple weeks, back up to hazardous the last few days with the smoke from the wildfires in Canada blowing down this way. Wondering if the poor air quality and smoke affects pollinators? Noticed what I'd peg as the "usual amount" buzzing around a few weeks ago, now virtually none. Have been seeing maybe 2-3 bumblees a day. A DAY! Haven't really noticed much of other flying insects, either. I have lots of goodies planted for them. Can't figure out any other reason for the decline, but I don't know enough about it to say the air quality is causing them not to fly or affecting them in some other way (hopefully not killing them off).

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lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan

10 months ago

I think you may be onto something, as I also have noticed a decline in my bee population in the past week. There are still a few, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

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Comments (7)

arbordave (SE MI)
10 months ago
I think it's certainly possible that poor air quality can have an effect on pollinators. Maybe some of the bee experts out there can chime in. But I don't think I've noticed any significant decline in pollinator activity here lately, at least when weather conditions have been otherwise favorable.
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked arbordave (SE MI)
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 months ago
Bees are certainly affected by smoke! That's what they use to soothe or calm the bees when working on hives. It makes them quite lethargic. Smoky air also disrupts their navigational ability as well.
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
10 months ago
"Bees are certainly affected by smoke! That's what they use to soothe or calm the bees when working on hives. It makes them quite lethargic. Smoky air also disrupts their navigational ability as well."

That is interesting to learn. So maybe there is something to what I suspect. The smoke is supposed to blow out over the next couple days, if I notice an increase in bee/pollinator activity then I'm going to peg the decline on the smoke/air quality.

I looked yesterday evening after I originally posted and did notice my cukes, squash, and peppers got pollinated, so someone's still out there doing the work -- which is good. But hardly a bumble or sweat bee to be found anywhere in the usual places I look for them.
arbordave (SE MI)
10 months ago
It's an interesting topic that needs more study. It certainly seems intuitive that bees and other pollinators would be affected at the high air quality index (AQI) readings we've had lately here in Michigan. But I think one key question (that we probably don't have a good answer for) is, at what AQI levels is there a measurable impact on pollinator activity and behavior? I would guess that various species of pollinators may be affected differently.
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked arbordave (SE MI)
kitasei2
10 months ago
Im also told that the fires are decimating the breeding grounds of migratory birds.
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked kitasei2
mxk3 z5b_MI
Original Author
10 months ago
Update: The smoke did indeed finally clear out over the course of the weekend. It's now the following Wednesday July 5th, and I've noticed an increase in in pollinators each day. They're out in full force this morning - not just the bumbles but the sweat bees and whatever assorted other buzzers are out there bee-bopping around on the flowers (I can't tell most of them apart, to be honest...).

So yea -- I think it was the smoke/high amount of particulate matter in the air.

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