Neonicotinoid effects on pollinators in cucumbers

Michigan is the leading state for pickling cucumbers, producing around one third of the nation’s crop. Cucumbers seeds are treated with a neonicotinoid insecticide and are direct sown between late May and late July. During the plants’ 6-8 week lifespan, pollen needs to be transferred from male to female flowers. Pickling cucumbers are almost completely dependent on honey bees for pollination. In the current project, we are studying how honey bees use cucumber flowers as resources and the level of exposure to neonicotinoids from flowers. This project is headed up by postdoc, Eli Bloom and is funded by a USDA-SCRI grant. Watch our new video on pickling cucumber pollination here.

Department of Entomology

http://www.ent.msu.edu
288 Farm Lane
243 Natural Science Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824
Phone 517-355-4633
Fax 517-432-7061

MSU AgBioResearch

109 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, Michigan 48824
517-355-0123
http://agbioresearch.msu.edu/

Dr. Zsofia Szendrei

szendrei@msu.edu
517-974-8610
Vegetable Entomology Lab
Department of Entomology
Michigan State University
1129 Farm Lane, Room 348
Food Safety and Toxicology Bldg.
East Lansing MI 48824