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Researcher tells committee 76 native bee species were recorded in Treasure Valley and urges pollinator protections
Summary
Ron Bittner presented results of a Treasure Valley native-bee survey to the House Agriculture Affairs Committee, reporting about 10,000 specimens collected and 76 species identified (roughly 90% ground-nesting). He urged funding and policy steps to protect pollinators that support high-value specialty seed crops.
Ron Bittner, a researcher who works with the College of Idaho and collaborators, told the House Agriculture Affairs Committee that a 2022–23 survey of pollinators in Canyon County recorded roughly 10,000 bee specimens and at least 76 species.
Bittner said ground-nesting bees comprised about 90% of the individuals collected and that many nests occur 10 to 12 inches below the soil surface. He warned development and earth-moving activity are destroying habitat for those species. “As we were surveying these bees…we’re…
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