Assessing Honey Bee Equilibrium Range and Forage Supply using Satelite-Derived Phenology

Two important and highly publicized issues regarding honey bees are impacting agricultural pollination and honey production in the United States. These are: (1) the increasing presence of the invasive Africanized Honey Bee (AHB); and (2) the spread of pests and diseases within managed European Honey Bee (EHB) populations that cause major loss of colonies (of which Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the most recent). The primary objective of this research is to improve prediction of the equilibrium range of both the AHB and EHB within the U.S, and to determine the impact of both urbanization and climate change on this equilibrium range. This will be achieved through integration of: climate data; scale hive defined nectar flow measurements; nectar and pollen source distributions; as well as satellite-derived vegetation phenology.