Scientists, Beekeepers Work Together to Preserve Bee Habitat in North Dakota

In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture

North Dakota has been the top honey-producing state in the nation for years, but that ranking doesn’t reflect the challenges of bee habitat loss. 

“In 2000, there were about 230,000 registered hives in North Dakota every summer,” says Zac Browning, a fifth-generation beekeeper and North Dakota Beekeepers Association board member. “Those bees produced an average of 110 pounds of honey per colony.” 

However, in the summer of 2024, there were about 850,000 hives registered in the state, and the average honey production per colony was between 60 and 70 pounds. 

“We’re not No. 1 because we’re producing more per hive,” Browning says. “It’s because we have more hives. More bees are scavenging for less available food.” 

See more: Fresh From North Dakota Webisode Series Showcases Recipes Using Local Specialty Crops

Unfortunately, bee habitat loss has resulted in less food as land use has changed in North Dakota over the past few decades.

“When we first came to North Dakota from Idaho in 2000, the landscape was predominantly small grains, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land, and lots of pasture and wetland habitat for bees,” Browning recalls. “Shortly thereafter, we began to see a rise in soybeans and then a drastic increase in corn production. With that came the loss of literally millions of acres of pasture, CRP and other habitat ideal for bees.”

Prairie Ecosystems Support Pollinator Habitat

Prairie ecosystems provide a varied diet critical to pollinator health. 

“Flowers are everything to bees,” says Dr. Clint Otto, a research ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown. 

A mono-variety diet, where pollinators have only one or two kinds of flowers to choose from, is detrimental to their health, particularly when those flowers aren’t blooming. Think of humans — if you ate only one food every day, you’d be weaker and less resistant to disease. Bees react to fewer nutrients the same way.

Otto’s research focuses on maximizing bee habitat. What flowers do bees prefer? What flowering species readily grow in a specific area? Otto and his team research questions like these to determine what flowers give the biggest bang for the buck, he says. 

According to Browning, sweet clover is one. His apiary holds Otto’s experimental beehives. 

“Clint’s research showed sweet clover provided more food value and more visitation opportunity for native pollinators and managed pollinators alike than any other plant studied on that landscape,” Browning says.

Alfalfa, milkweed and coneflower are also preferred. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and others can help individuals maximize pollinator habitat. 

“We have lists of scientifically vetted plant species to include in seed mixes,” Otto says. “If the bees don’t like the flowers you plant, you’re not giving the pollinators any benefit.” 

See more: National Agricultural Genotyping Center Tests Work to Save the Honey Bees and Crops

Build (Bee Habitats) and They Will Come

Landowners, conservationists, scientists and other stakeholders have joined forces to maximize pollinator habitat in several ways, including creating pollinator habitats in yards, unused fields and more. 

“We’re trying to make habitat opportunities the best they can be,” says Browning, co-founder of the nonprofit Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund. “If we engineer great seed mixtures to plant in areas around agriculture, we can provide opportunities for pollinators. We can do a lot with scraps of land if we do it right.” 

On just a few acres, an apiary with access to ideal forage is more likely to resist pests and disease while also pollinating and producing honey. 

“That’s how we determine success, and we’re seeing it happen,” Browning says. 

Everyone who eats food requires pollinators in their lives. After all, one of every three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators. 

“It’s vital to our agricultural system, our food supply and our human health,” Otto says. “We can all make a difference. Whether you have a little apartment balcony or own thousands of acres of farmland, you can plant flowers. The bees will benefit from it, and so will you.” 

See more: Dakota Zoo Bee Exhibit Showcases the Importance of Pollinators

Facts About Pollinators

Pollinators are important to anyone who eats food. Check out these facts to learn more about pollinators in North Dakota. 

• 35% of the world’s food crop depends on pollinators. 
• A bee will collect from flowers within a 4-mile radius.
• Bees must visit about 2 million flowers to create 1 pound of honey.
• 1 out of every 3 bites of food exists because of pollinators. 
• An average of 60,000 bees live in a single hive.
• Native and nonnative honey bees, wasps, beetles, flies, moths and butterflies are North Dakota’s prominent pollinators. 
• 1,400 moth species call North Dakota home.
• 150 species of butterflies live in North Dakota. 
• Noninsect pollinators include birds and bats. 

Sources: North Dakota Department of Agriculture, North Dakota Game and Fish, U.S. Department of Agriculture