Introduction of the parasitic bee mite, Varroa jacobsoni, has resulted in enormous changes for beekeepers, agriculturists and urban gardeners in the United States. Because the mite is recently introduced to the honey bee, Apis mellifera, Varroa's relationship with its bee host is immature. This means that almost without exception, infested honey bee colonies die unless the mite population is reduced by beekeeper intervention.

Although a serious problem, the beekeeping industry has learned to control the Varroa mite population and live with this permanent parasitic infestation. Honey bee colonies not under the care of beekeepers, however, have been systematically eliminated. In the wake of this, agriculturalists and urban gardeners have had to confront a serious reduction in feral or unmanaged honey bee pollinators. These insects have often been a mainstay in many agricultural situations, but their presence was taken for granted and not always recognized. This is no longer the case. The cry of "where are the bees?" can be found across the nation in many agricultural situations.

The changes wrought by the Varroa bee mite, therefore, have brought the concept of managed bee pollination into sharp focus for agriculturalists and the beekeepers alike. Commercial honey bee pollination is becoming a growth sector and agriculturalists are beginning to see it as a necessary agricultural input, just as important as fertilizer, irrigation and chemical pest control.

Unfortunately, the beekeeping industry is shrinking due to a number of economic and environmental reasons. In addition, most beekeepers are honey producers; shifting from producing a product to marketing a pollination service is no easy task.

Honey bees are not the best pollinators of all crops. They are often inefficient on plants that require sonication to release pollen or those grown in protected situations (inside greenhouses and under shaded canopies). Semi-social and solitary bees are more efficient in many of these situations, but their biology is not well known and their populations cannot be managed as effectively as those of the honey bee. Therefore, current recommendations still call for saturating fields with honey bees.

Although the U.S. pollination scene has recently been beset by the changes mentioned above, that in Europe has dealt with them for a longer time. Not only has Varroa been in the region longer, but millennia of human impact has also severely reduced the wild population of other pollinating insects. And although many beekeepers traditionally plied their craft in Europe, they were not interested in nor equipped to take on commercial pollination. This state of affairs led to commercial rearing of other pollinators, particularly bumblebees. Bumblebee companies first penetrated the European market by selling to growers that did not use honey bees in their pollinating activities (tomatoes in greenhouses). Successes there, however, have stimulated them to diversify into other areas already served by commercial honey bee pollinators. This has caused honey bee keepers to become more focused and professional in their pollinating activities. The most significant of these developments is formation of several GRAPPs (Groupement des Apiculteurs Pollinisateurs Professionnels) in France.

Over the last several years, I have studied and analyzed the commercial apicultural pollination situation in the U.S. This is well documented in issues of my newsletter, APIS: Apicultural Information and Issues, published by the Florida Cooperative Extension Service. I wrote that commercial pollination was a growth industry as early as November 1993, then published and analyzed the remarks of a commercial honey bee pollinator about this specialize enterprise in March 1995. In July 1995, I called on beekeepers to re- examine their role as potential pollination consultants, and in October 1995, described the French GRAPPs.

I propose to visit Europe on a faculty development grant (sabbatical) to study in detail the commercial pollination scene and how it is affecting the beekeeping industry. My focus will be on southern France and nearby Spain, which have climates somewhat similar to Florida. I propose to visit and talk with growers, beekeepers and others culturing both honey bees and alternative insects for pollination.

To the best of my knowledge, no one in cooperative extension has examined in any detail the changes dictated by Varroa bee mites within the context of commercial pollination by Apis bees. Beyond this, there is little understanding of the present activity in raising and exporting non-Apis bees, sometimes called pollen bees, for commercial pollination purposes. Much of the latter is being driven by perceived successes in Europe. The practical result of the study I propose, therefore, would be to help extension apiculture in Florida and the rest of the U.S. understand these phenomena and how they are affecting the European beekeeping industry. This information would also be important to growers who rely on pollination, other departments in IFAS (Environmental Horticulture, Agronomy), as well as their clientele groups.

I am invited by the Association for the Development of Provincial Apiculture, Aix en Provence. The organization is a center of extension apiculture in southern France, conducting educational programs for and assisting the beekeeping industry in many ways. This area is also a gateway to Spain which is the one of the world leaders in protected, covered agriculture. IFAS colleagues have provided me contacts through the First International Symposium on Fresh Solanaceae which took place early this year in that country.

The best time to carry out this study is February through July, 1997. This would be when the pollination season is most active and my current teaching responsibilities are covered by other colleagues. Enclosed please find an invitation from French Extension Specialist, Pascal Jourdan, director of ADAPI (Association pour le Developpment de l'Apiculture Provencale). He has offered to host me at his station in Aix en Provence. Also enclosed is a letter of support and offer of assistance from Dr. Bernard Vaissiere director of a pollination research laboratory and Mr. Jean Vilain, current president of the GRAPP Mediterranee.

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