November 9, 2018
Postdoc, James Crall joined former PhD student, Callin Switzer ('17, Hopkins Lab) and OEB professors, Benjamin de Bivort and Naomi Pierce to investigate the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on the bumblebee's nest behavior. Previous studies showed the pesticides reduced colony size, but how the reduction occurred was not known. In the study published in Science, the researchers used an automated, robotic platform for continuous monitoring of worker's behavior in the colony. They discovered that following pesticide exposure, bees spent less time nursing larvare and were less social with other bees, often shifting from the nest's center to the periphery. Media: The Harvard Gazette, Science Daily