Insect pollinator nutritional & behavioral ecology
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
I wrote a guest blog post for Insectes Sociaux reviewing a recent study on group decision-making in Asian honey bees. Check it out here.
Of course bees live in bee hives. When a managed Langstroth hive is abandoned by its bee inhabitants however, it becomes a nice home for a few other animals. An abandoned bee hive is a wonderful home for mice. This is particularly true in the wintertime (it’s warm). Thus, in the winter, many beekeepers put […]
Providence Pollinator Lab 