Miles (5 yo) asked: Why do flowers smell nice? I got to chat with Washington State University’s Dr. Universe to help answer that question! Check out the answer here!
Thank you, Green Fund!
I have the pleasure to be a part of the new group, the Tufts Pollinator Initiative (TPI). Our group was recently funded by the Tufts Green Fund to make Tufts University a better place for pollinators! To learn about our initiative, check out TPI’s first blog post (written by yours truly) here!
2018 highlights from the social insect community
2018 was a busy year for me: I successfully defended my PhD, I got married, and I started a new job studying a new study system! Read about my (and other’s!) 2018 research highlight and favorite conference/field experience on the Insectes Souciaux blog here.
Honey bee immunity: more specific than we thought
Nature can be hostile, especially for insects — tiny creatures that deal with big problems. They get eaten, they dry out, they get smashed. Believe it or not, insects also deal with even tinier pests and pathogens, just as we do. Also, like us, insects have developed an immune system to combat such microscopic threats. […]
A trip to the beeyond
“So is there anything everyday people can do to keep these creatures around so that future generations can experience the joy seen in Bonoan’s class? Surprisingly, yes.” Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting ExPress writer, Emma Hodgdon, in my insect pollinators class. I teach From Bees to Beetles: Insect Pollinators and Real-World Science […]
#PicturePerfectPollinator
Back in June, The Xereces Society held a #PicturePerfectPollinator photo contest. In honor of National Pollinator Week, I entered a photo accompanied by a pollinator fact each day. Just recently, it came to my attention that my photo of a male Puget blue butterfly getting a snack from oxeye daisy was selected as an honorable […]
Interview with a social insect scientist
Insectes Sociaux: What is your favourite social insect and why? “This question is so hard. As a beekeeper and someone who recently got their PhD studying honey bees, I feel like I should say honey bees. I do love honey bees, but my favourite social insect might be…” I was recently interviewed byInsectes Sociaux, a […]
Livin' on a Prairie
Just south of Olympia, WA, my new field site is a lively 180-acre prairie. There are queen bumble bees searching for nests, barn swallows doing acrobatics, and some of the strangest flowers I have ever seen. I half expect the Alice-in-Wonderland-esque flowers to break into song. This week, I had the opportunity to write my […]
Ant-caterpillar symbioses
Being a small, squishy, slow-moving caterpillar is tough. Caterpillars are a protein-packed snack for carnivorous insects such as wasps and spiders, some ants, and birds. For my post-doc, I’m studying an ant-caterpillar symbiosis. A “symbiosis” is an interaction between two organisms of different species. Insect pollinators and plants, clownfish and anemones, us and the microbes […]
National Pollinator Week
For National Pollinator Week, I shared a pollinator photo, accompanied with a pollinator fact, on social media each day. In case you’re not on Instagram or Twitter, here are my photos with their fact. I hope you learn something new! Day 1 Day 1 of #NationalPollinatorWeek! First up, this cute little mining bee foraging on […]
Providence Pollinator Lab 