D3460: Tallow (Triadica sebifera) use by honey bees in a fringe area in the Mississippi Delta

Tallow (Triadica sebifera) is an invasive species in the southeastern USA that blooms around May and June. It tolerates a wide range of environmental conditions, and it disperses and outcompetes native plants across the southeast region. Our study area is the Mississippi Delta, a mostly agricultural landscape near the northern extent of tallow distribution. We collected empirical data on the importance of tallow by collecting pollen and nectar from honey bee colonies during the tallow bloom. Collecting tallow in a sub-rural fringe tallow environment will provide information on what other plants are available that bees forage on during this time period. Our goal with this project is to determine the importance of tallow to honey bees and identify possible alternative resources to tallow for bees.