Services for Beekeepers
Services Available:
Plant Identification in Honey and Pollen Samples
Using a technique called pollen metabarcoding, DNA from pollen is extracted from a sample and used to identify at the genus level both
- what plants are present in a sample
- the proportion each contributes to the total amount of plant DNA in the sample.
For example, a report would list the plants by providing the scientific name & the common name: Acer/Maple, Trifolium/Clover, Helianthus/Sunflower and the percentage each is present: Maple 30% Clover 60% & Sunflower 10%.
Coming Soon: Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) Detection in Honey
In areas where Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is present, honey bees can collect SLF honeydew, which imparts certain characteristics to the resulting honey. Because of this and other factors, many beekeepers are interested in having their honey tested for SLF. To support this effort, the Grozinger Lab has successfully modified a method (Lockwood lab at Rutgers ) to detect SLF DNA in honey samples & are excited to offer this service to interested beekeepers in the upcoming 2024 season.
The fees for these services are NOT for profit and go towards the labor and materials needed for testing and to develop future tests so that we can to continue adding to and improving our services for beekeepers and pollinator researchers.
Interested in submitting a sample?
Fill out our sample submission form* to request plant identification in honey and pollen samples. We will be in touch shortly!
*If you receive an error message upon submission, we apologize for the 'bugs' in our system! Please email us the information and report the error to Michele Mansfield (man203@psu.edu).
Upcoming services and suggestions
Because the PSU HPDL was designed to meet the needs of beekeepers and pollinator researchers alike, please let us know what suggestions you have for further services that would be valuable to you and your bees! Some suggestions include:
- Pollen & lipid ratios for pollen samples to evaluate pollen nutrition
- Honey characteristic evaluations such as sugar & phenolic content
- Let us know what YOU would like to see added!
