PIERRE, S.D., (KELO.com) – There are more than 400 species of native bees in South Dakota. Though we don’t have exact numbers on bee distribution or abundance, we know bees are critical to our state’s economy.
For more than 10 years, South Dakota’s bee numbers have been on the decline. In fact, we’ve lost roughly 30 percent of our colonies each year. In 2018, we lost 40 percent of our colonies – a devastating loss for beekeepers and South Dakota agriculture as a whole.
See, bees are important pollinators for crops, and in many areas, native bees are the most important pollinators for plants. Many of the nutritious plants grazed by livestock in the Northern Great Plains are pollinated by insects like butterflies, moths and wasps, but most crops are dependent on the pollination of native bees.
These pollinator services to crops have a value of more than $3 billion each year. In 2018 alone, South Dakota beekeepers produced more than 7.8 percent of the U.S. honey crop, with an economic contribution of more than $23.7 million in the same year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
A downward bee population is not good news for crops, our economy, or other animals. So it’s important for us to do something about it.
My focus on enhancing our state’s habitat will directly influence the wellbeing of bees and other pollinators in South Dakota. What’s good for the bees is good for pheasants, deer, farmers, ranchers, business owners, and everything in between.
My Department of Game, Fish and Parks has established pollinator plots on Game Production Areas and in state parks across South Dakota. Many of their plantings focus on flowering plants to enhance pheasant chick survival that also provides habitat for other wildlife species, bees included.
In addition to flowering plants, it’s important to recognize the critical role that habitat like diverse prairies and grasslands plays in helping native wild bees and other pollinators. GFP has gone to great lengths to both incorporate forbs and wildflowers in many of its grassland habitat restoration projects, as well as implementing management practices on native prairie grasslands to promote diverse plant communities important to pollinators.
Enhancing habitat in South Dakota touches every aspect of life in our state – from the outdoor activities, we enjoy to the honey we eat. We must be responsible for protecting these resources, creating healthy habitats, and supporting growth and health in our natural populations.
