Research

Cooperative Research and Education


As a part of the BIOL399 course, each student participates in an on-going research project. Here are a few of the projects we have started up for summer 2012.

Biology and Processing of Bees Wax
We are learning how bees secrete wax; its functions in the hive; chemical properties, industrial uses, and problems, especially pesticide contamination. We have built a solar wax melter to render our collection of recyclable combs. We will process the wax in an experiment to remove pesticide residues. We'll also make candles!


Mite Monitoring & Management Testing
We are studying the biology of the Varroa mite and its management. We have been consistently monitoring the mite populations in hives with a variety of treatment regimes to assess their relative performance. Our data will contribute to the series begun in 2011.


Hygienic Behavior Assessment
We are using a standard freeze-kill method to create a uniform "unhygienic" patch in the brood of colonies of several different strains. We assess the ability of the bees to detect dead brood and remove it. This is a behavioral trait correlated with the ability to clean the hive of disease spores and possibly other problems. This test was developed by professional researchers for breeding more "hygienic" bee strains.


Dance Behavior and Forager Mapping
We are recording foraging dances within the hive and translating them into a detailed map of foraging range centered on the Farm apiary. Then, to verify the data, we will go to one of the indicated sites, set up feeding stations, mark bees that arrive, and try to recover the marks in one of the home hives.