title: Application of ITS2 metabarcoding to determine the provenance of pollen collected by honey bees in an agroecosystem.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Melissopalynology, the identification of bee-collected pollen, provides insight into the flowers exploited by foraging bees. Information provided by melissopalynology could guide floral enrichment efforts aimed at supporting pollinators, but it has rarely been used because traditional methods of pollen identification are laborious and require expert knowledge. We approach melissopalynology in a novel way, employing a molecular method to study the pollen foraging of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in a landscape dominated by field crops, and compare these results to those obtained by microscopic melissopalynology. •
  
  
  METHODS
  Pollen was collected from honey bee colonies in Madison County, Ohio, USA, during a two-week period in midspring and identified using microscopic methods and ITS2 metabarcoding. •
  
  
  RESULTS
  Metabarcoding identified 19 plant families and exhibited sensitivity for identifying the taxa present in large and diverse pollen samples relative to microscopy, which identified eight families. The bulk of pollen collected by honey bees was from trees (Sapindaceae, Oleaceae, and Rosaceae), although dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and mustard (Brassicaceae) pollen were also abundant. •
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For quantitative analysis of pollen, using both metabarcoding and microscopic identification is superior to either individual method. For qualitative analysis, ITS2 metabarcoding is superior, providing heightened sensitivity and genus-level resolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691 USA.
authors.forename: Rodney T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691 USA.
authors.forename: Chia-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691 USA.
authors.forename: Douglas B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Sponsler
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691 USA.
authors.forename: Juan O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Quijia
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 1179 University Dr., Newark, Ohio 43023 USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Goodell
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691 USA.
authors.forename: Reed M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: Apis mellifera; Fraxinus; bee foraging landscape; palynology; pollen analysis; pollinator ecology