About us

Pollinators are incredibly important to the agricultural economy of New York and to the floral diversity of natural ecosystems. The Pollinator Network at Cornell is a multidisciplinary group of researchers, extension personnel and students that collectively work to understand wild and managed pollinators in New York, across the United States and around the world.

We are committed to promoting healthy pollinator populations and a sustainable beekeeping industry. Our research enables us to understand the biology and evolution of bees, investigate the role of pollinators in natural and agricultural systems, and identify the current factors threatening pollinator health. Our findings are communicated to growers, beekeepers, policymakers and the public through a variety of extension and outreach programs.

What is a Pollinator?

A pollinator is any animal that helps plants reproduce by transferring pollen from the male structures of one flower to the female structures of the same or another flower. Pollinators perform a vital service, enabling reproduction in over 85% of the world’s plants. While some bird and bat species are pollinators, most pollination relies on insects. Insect pollinators include bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, beetles, and flies. Bees are the most important group of pollinators because they deliberately gather pollen from many flowers of the same species to provision their offspring. This makes bees effective and efficient pollinators.

People in beekeeping gear inspect frames from a hive.
A bee pollinates a flower.

Pollinator research news

Brown soil and green plants in a field

News

$1.6M supports land-grant research for NY farms, forests, communities

Fifty-four research projects addressing New York’s agriculture, environment and communities have collectively received $1.6 million from the USDA.

  • Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ann Fraser, a consultant on the grant and retired biology professor from Kalamazoo College, hand pollinates an apple flower in Uttarkhand region, India. Photo by Kiran Cunningham.

News

The project will compare smallholder apple farms in the Western Himalayas and in Central New York to study how people might act collectively to promote wild pollinator health.

  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Department of Entomology
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
multicolored corn-shaped seed pellets in a hand

News

Cornell innovation allows growers to use corn seed planting machines to plant strips of milkweed or wildflowers next to their fields.

  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Department of Entomology
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
A bumblebee on campus

News

An antidote to pesticide poisoning in bees shows promising early results in tests done with common eastern bumblebees.

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Department of Entomology
  • Agriculture
Local beekeepers and researchers examine an open log with a Melipona favosa nest during a workshop

News

Cornell Atkinson’s annual Academic Venture Fund will provide nearly $1 million in seed funding to support research teams across five colleges and 11 departments, many with key external partnerships.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Animal Science
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology