Pollinator Protection in the Pacific
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The islands of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin American territories have environments that are unique – and uniquely vulnerable.
They are isolated yet dependent on tourism and imported food and goods. This facilitates invasions by non-native species, which can thrive in a mild climate that supports crop production and pest pressures year around.
The Pacific Pollinator Protection Project, a Center signature project, project educated growers about conservation of pollinators and other beneficial species. It stemmed from a need articulated by growers who had become aware of the importance of taking action to maintain pollinator populations, especially following the arrivals of two serious pests of honeybees, the varroa mite and the small hive beetle.
The culmination of the project was a 2012 workshop, “Protecting Beneficials in Hawaii and the American Pacific: A Workshop on the Conservation of Pollinators and Other Beneficial Species.”