The ABCs of colony health

Think about the last time you bit into a nice, juicy apple. The crisp flesh and sweet flavor has been enjoyed for centuries. These are quite literally the fruits of the labor of pollinators. Since the mid-2000’s, however, honeybee health has been quite a concern with the onset of a widespread phenomena known as pollinator decline that includes such disorders such as Colony Collapse Disorder. One potential culprit for pollinator decline is the use of neonicotinoid insecticides, which are a new class of systemic insecticides.

Stephanie measuring the protein content of bees' hypopharyngeal glands (which produce food for the honey bee larvae) in response to the pesticide treatments

Stephanie measuring the protein content of bees’ hypopharyngeal glands (which produce food for the honey bee larvae) in response to the pesticide treatments (photo courtesy S. Parreira)

Stephanie scrapes newly-emerged honeybees for experimentation

Stephanie scrapes newly-emerged honeybees for experimentation (photo courtesy S. Parreira)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight at 7PM PST, Stephanie Parreira, a Masters student in the department of Horticulture, will talk with us about how she became interested in colony health. In particular she’s interested in finding out how neonicotinoids affect colony health when they consume it from pollen. Tune in on 88.7FM or stream at http://kbvr.com/listen to find out how a first-generation college student came to do first class research to help understand our pollinators’ plight.

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About Zhian Kamvar

Zhian got his Ph. D. in the department of Botany and Plant Pathology ( advisor: Dr. Niklaus Grünwald) developing software tools for genetic analysis of clonal populations. He has had a passion for radio ever since he started in 2004 at Truman State University’s radio station: KTRM, Kirksville. Beyond being a scientist and radio host, he speaks intermediate Korean and enjoys baking, writing music, listening to the Screaming Females, and watching bad SF/Horror movies.