** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** INSECTICIDE USE IS UBIQUITOUS IN MANY POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROPS. DESPITE THE WELL-KNOWN NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF INSECTICIDES ON LONG-TERM POLLINATOR (MOSTLY HONEYBEE COLONY) HEALTH, THE NEAR-TERM IMPACT OF INSECTICIDES ON CROP POLLINATION AND MARKETABLE YIELD IS SURPRISINGLY UNKNOWN. MOST STUDIES EVALUATING POLLINATION SERVICES AND CROP PRODUCTION TEND TO FOCUS ON ECOLOGICAL METRICS OF CROP YIELD, INCLUDING FRUIT SET AND SEED NUMBER, RATHER THAN THOSE GOVERNING CROP MARKETABILITY. THUS, TO MAXIMIZE THE ROLE OF BEES AS CROP POLLINATORS, INCREASE AGRONOMIC PROFITABILITY, AND PROTECT POLLINATOR HEALTH, WE NEED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW COMMONLY USED, BROAD-SPECTRUM INSECTICIDES AFFECT POLLINATOR FORAGING BEHAVIOR AND MARKETABLE YIELD. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVISE NOVEL MANAGEMENT TOOLS THAT MAINTAIN OPTIMAL LEVELS OF CROP POLLINATION WITHOUT SACRIFICING PEST CONTROL. USING THE UNIQUE SPATIAL CONFIGURATION OF THE POLLENIZER SYSTEM IN SELF-INCOMPATIBLE CROPS, WE WILL PERFORM NOVEL EXPERIMENTS ON RESEARCH AND COMMERCIAL FARMS GROWING SEEDLESS WATERMELON, A HIGHLY POLLINATOR-DEPENDENT CROP. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL: 1) DETERMINE THE DIRECT EFFECTS OF INSECTICIDES ON POLLINATOR FORAGING BEHAVIOR AND MARKETABLE YIELD; 2) EVALUATE THE INDIRECT EFFECTS OF INSECTICIDE INPUTS ON FIELD-SCALE CROP YIELD BY REDUCING THE NEED FOR POLLENIZERS; AND 3) ASSESS THE COMBINED INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF INSECTICIDE PROGRAMMING AND POLLENIZER RATIOS ON COMMERCIAL WATERMELON PRODUCTION. THIS PROJECT'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES CLOSELY ALIGN WITH THE POLLINATOR HEALTH PROGRAM AREA PRIORITIES: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE ABUNDANCE, DIVERSITY AND HEALTH OF POLLINATORS AND DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF INNOVATIVE TOOLS AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT WOULD LIKELY BE ADOPTED BY STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE HEALTHY POLLINATORS.