Varroa After the Fat: Current Research Endeavors to Fight the Mite
Varroa feed on honey bee fat body, not hemolymph. But what’s happened since that discovery? What have we done to make that information more than just interesting trivia? Well, it turns out that knowing what the mites are eating is information that can be used against them. At the USDA Bee Research Laboratory we’re working on figuring out precisely how these findings can be weaponized against the greatest global pest of bees.
Fight the Mite Thailand Edition: Understanding the Mysterious Tropilaelaps Mite
Tropilaelaps mercedesae is among the most concerning threats to our bees, but continues to be one of the least studied. The Fight the Mite Initiative was established to proactively better our understanding of this creature without waiting for it to arrive in the US first. Funded largely by the beekeeping community, Samuel has been researching the behavior, life cycle, and vulnerabilities of the Tropilaelaps to chemical and nonchemical treatment measures. Though the project was ended abruptly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, this presentation will detail discoveries and data collected to this point and the need for continued study.
Note: Samuel Ramsey will be joining us via Zoom this year.
Samuel Ramsey graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Entomology from Cornell University in 2011, and focused his research on Predatory & Parasitic Insect Behavior. He cultivated an interest and expertise in the close relationships between insects and other creatures (symbioses), and dedicated his doctoral research to understanding a parasite killing honey bees globally (Varroa destructor). In Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp’s Honey Bee lab at the University of Maryland, College Park, he completed his formal education receiving his PhD. As he closely examines the biology of honey bees, their associated parasites, and related threats, he considers how discoveries can best be made available to everyone. Samuel strives to understand the behavior and biologies of these threats in isolation while developing preventative and emergency measures to preserve honey bee species at home and abroad.