By Maddy Kangas
Agriculture comprises nearly half of terrestrial global landscapes posing a number of challenges to native pollinators. However, the Conservation Reserve Program’s CP42 Pollinator Habitat program aims to mitigate these challenges by providing pollen and nectar resources for pollinators where they may be lacking.
With funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the North Central IPM Center, Madeline Kangas, a University of Illinois graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, is starting a project to evaluate the capacity of CP42 Pollinator Habitat in Illinois’s agricultural landscapes to support different bee species. Her research study also aims to characterize the presence of agricultural pest species that may be utilizing the habitat alongside pollinators.
She is looking for CP42 sites that have been established for at least 2 full years by May of 2018 and are at least one acre in size. Participation in this study means that your CP42 site would be surveyed every 2-4 weeks from May through August in both 2018 and 2019. At the conclusion of the survey, each landowner will receive a comprehensive inventory of the plant, bee, and possible pest species on their site, and she hopes the knowledge gained will contribute to a greater understanding of which insects are using the space and how pollinator plantings can be improved in the future.
If you are interested in participating or would like additional information about this study, please contact Madeline Kangas by phone at (217) 722-4856 or email at mkangas2@illinois.edu. A request for more information does not obligate you to participate in any study.