The Health of Maine’s Bumble Bee Community
Principal Investigator: Frank Drummond (Biology and Ecology, UMaine)
Partners: Scott Dobrin (Biology, UMPI); Ron Butler (Biology, UMFA); Joseph Staples (Environmental Sciences, USM); Christopher Lage (Biology, UMA)
Abstract: The goal of this project is to investigate the ‘health’ of Maine bumble bees in light of their critical importance to Maine commercial businesses. Since 2006, global concern has emerged about decline of bumble bees. This is due to the collapse of the honey bee, a pollinator that is a major component of both global and Maine agricultural production. Bee decline is a serious matter and requires a large team to investigate its multiple dimensions.