# What whould you want to see tested for bees?



## Zephyr (May 4, 2016)

Hey guys, I'm thinking about taking up some research during my undergraduate. One of the subjects I'd like to explore is of course bees. I dont have much direction so I figured fellow beekeepers whould be a great place to brainstorm. So what kind of ideas have yall?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

will you be attending the university of arkansas in fayetteville zehpyr?


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## mthiessen (May 31, 2016)

How about a test for how much vitellogenin is in a sample of bees as an indicator of hive nutrition?


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

What's your field? 

The first thing that came to my mind was some easy and inexpensive method of measuring pheromones that measure hive health, perhaps a reliable early indication that they're thinking of swarming.

An economical test that would specifically indicate varroa load or early stages of parasitic mite syndrome, without the bother of shaking 300 out for a roll, would no doubt be welcome by many.

If you don't have the biochemical resources, but are more into behavior, I'm fascinated by bee intelligence tests. Bumbles have now been shown to be able to learn a food-gathering trick by watching their hive mates, and a similar test on honey bees should be straightforward. I'm wondering how much they can learn. This particular study used very simple and inexpensive apparatus, and might a good choice for undergraduate (and thus probably under-funded) research. It just takes time and a keen eye.

http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002564#pbio.1002564.s012

If you're into advanced neurophysiology, learning to attach bee antennae to electronic interfaces has both scientific interest and commercial application. DHS would love to be able to make sensors that can sniff out a wide variety of hazardous substances.


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## Dmlehman (May 30, 2015)

Assuming you can find an interested mentor, behavioral studies don't require a lot of bees or analytical equipment. So, they are feasible to perform, but still interesting and rewarding. I would highly recommend bumble bees as the model organism. They are cheap ($150), relatively understudied and, important for reasons of practicality, amenable to being kept in a laboratory. Plus, the can be purchased year-round.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Dmlehman said:


> Assuming you can find an interested mentor, behavioral studies don't require a lot of bees or analytical equipment. So, they are feasible to perform, but still interesting and rewarding. I would highly recommend bumble bees as the model organism. They are cheap ($150), relatively understudied and, important for reasons of practicality, amenable to being kept in a laboratory. Plus, the can be purchased year-round.


The bumblebee study in my link above would strongly support this. Bumbles can be studied in modest "arenas" that would drive honey bees batty. Still, I think you could do similar studies on honey bees, especially by training them to frequent your test station. The neat thing is, unlike the dumber members of the insect class, bees are bright enough to learn novel behaviors, and relatively quickly.


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## Zephyr (May 4, 2016)

Squarepeg- No, I am a sophomore at the Monticello campus. If you know someone up there however, I'd like to contact them! There's just one entomology professor down here so the more the merrier 

Pheobee- I am pre-vet (focusing on livestock and zoo) Havent been able to get an internship in a clinic or on a ranch in the 2 years I've been here. I need hands on hours signed off by whoever whould be my supervisor for grad school so I'm hoping some research can convince school to forget about that. "advanced neurophysiology" yikes. But some of those expiraments look interesting. Worth a mention to the professor


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

I'd like to see someone investigate why so many queens from commercial sources are failing in their first season.


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## Zephyr (May 4, 2016)

Michael Palmer said:


> I'd like to see someone investigate why so many queens from commercial sources are failing in their first season.


For future reference, what farms have given you troubles?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Michael Palmer said:


> I'd like to see someone investigate why so many queens from commercial sources are failing in their first season.


Perhaps you'd be interested in the 2nd paragraph of this Randy Oliver paper: 
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/scibeeimages/2016-Beyond-Taktic-pdf.pdf


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