Buzzworthy: Social Insect Lab zeroes in on honey bee health.

PositionRESEARCH NORTH CAROLINA: UNC GREENSBORO

Dozens of young honey bees buzzed through the air on the warm June day. The two undergraduates, though, weren't sure how to proceed. Collecting bees for research isn't covered in most classes.

The students, visiting UNC Greensboro for a National Science Foundation research experience program, asked Dr. Olav Rueppell for help. The Social Insect Lab director was happy to demonstrate.

He eschewed the beekeeper's hood and seemed oblivious to bees swirling around him. Young bees, it turns out, rarely sting.

As the students observed from several feet away, Rueppell briskly collected bees for them to take to the lab.

The bees were headed inside to be sedated and studied--all part of the Social Insect Lab's research to better understand how honey bee genetics, behavior and health fit together.

* A sticky problem

Rueppell believes research on how genetics and the environment interact in honey bees will help beekeepers keep hives healthier, and therefore help us all.

In the last few decades, bee populations have declined. Colony collapse disorder, where most worker bees disappear from a hive, is just one well known but poorly understood cause.

"Colony collapse is the tip of the iceberg," Rueppell says. He ticks off a range of problems: less diverse food sources, pesticides, diseases, mites and lifestyle-related stress.

Researchers aren't the only ones concerned. Beekeepers are losing 20 to 40 percent of their bees yearly--millions of bees per commercial beekeeper.

These losses threaten businesses and our food supply. That's because bees do much more than make honey: they pollinate billions of dollars of produce each year.

"Most wild pollinators can't survive in our modified agricultural landscape," Rueppell explains. "We rely on honey bees for a lot."

Without them, many fruits and vegetables you see in the grocery store simply wouldn't be there. By some estimates, honey bees pollinate $15 billion in crops annually--crops accounting for one-third of the American diet.

Commercial beekeepers transport hives across the country to pollinate crops like broccoli, peppers and almond groves.

This brings us to bee lifestyle. "Commercial bees get shipped everywhere," Rueppell says. "Usually in high density conditions, with 20 or 30 colonies right next to each other."

Imagine growing up in a rural town and being relocated to a crowded, noisy high-rise. You'd be stressed, too.

In addition, agriculture use means many hives get nutrition from one or a few crops...

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