May 23, 2008
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| Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS—The UC Davis Department of Entomology is revitalizing its 76-year-old honeybee research program to meet the needs of California’s multibillion dollar agricultural industry and to address the nation’s growing concern about bee health and the declining bee population.
"The honeybee industry plays a key role in the success of California agriculture, and it is imperative that UC Davis provide the research necessary to help solve some of the pressing problems related to bee health, breeding and pollination," said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Plans call for adding two bee pollination biologists and a Häagen-Dazs postdoctoral fellow this year to the Harry H. Laidlaw Honey Bee Research Facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the UC Davis main campus.
“The beekeeping industry is crucial to California’s $42 billion agricultural economy,” said Lynn Kimsey, chair of the Department of Entomology, who is rebuilding the bee biology program after faculty retirements and budgetary constraints cut into the program in the 1990s. “More than 90 different crops, with a total value exceeding $6 billion, require pollination. One-third of the food in our diet is pollinated by bees.”
Bees pollinate almonds, alfalfa, sunflowers, tree fruits and many other crops. California’s almond production soared this year to 740,000 acres, requiring two hives per acre.
California accounts for $6 billion of the nation’s $16 billion-pollination industry, said Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1976. California also accounts for half of the nation’s sales of queen-and-packaged-bees stock, he said. “And we continually rank among the top four honey-producing states, along with North Dakota, South Dakota and Florida.”
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Honey bee on salvia |
The UC Davis program, long a powerhouse in bee biology research, is also one of the country’s oldest honeybee research programs. Today the 8,200-square-foot Laidlaw bee biology facility is home to laboratories, a honey bee food processing room, a large multipurpose room, glassed observation hives, offices and a wood shop.
The faculty and staff include Mussen; Susan Cobey, bee breeder-geneticist; Robbin Thorp, professor emeritus and a native bee pollinator specialist; and Kim Fondrk, manager of a noted bee stock developed by former UC Davis bee geneticist Robert Page, now at Arizona State University. “The specially selected high and low pollen hoarding genetic stock spanning 32 generations is the most studied and most valued research stock ever,” Page said. The stock arrived back at UC Davis in February.
Also doing research at the Laidlaw facility is affiliate Claire Kremen, a UC Berkeley conservation biologist specializing in native bee pollinators.
Two bee pollination biologists will join the faculty later this summer, Kimsey said. As of May 21, recruitment is under way for the Häagen-Dazs postdoctoral research fellow.
Concerned about the declining bee population, Häagen-Dazs launched a national campaign Feb. 19 to create awareness for the plight of the honey bee and to support research at UC Davis and Pennsylvania State University. Häagen-Dazs gifted UC Davis with $100,000 to support sustainable pollination research, target colony collapse disorder and fund a postdoctoral research fellow. The premier ice cream company also launched a Web site, www.helpthehoneybees.com. Nearly 40 percent of Häagen-Dazs brand ice cream flavors are linked to fruits and nuts pollinated by bees.
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Susan Cobey |
Cobey, who joined the UC Davis bee biology program last May, said she wants to “strengthen the ties between the university research community and the honey bee industry. A 30-year veteran of bee fertility research programs, she is considered the world’s most renowned bee insemination authority and instructor. She studied under Laidlaw, who mentored her in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“It’s a huge honor to help revive the UC Davis bee biology laboratory,” said Cobey, who joined the bee biology program in May 2007 after a 17-year career at Ohio State University. “California is the center for the bee industry and home to some of the nation's best beekeepers."
Cobey’s work focuses on improving stock. She maintains a breeding line of bees known as New World Carniolans. Her classes on the art of queen rearing and queen bee insemination draw students from throughout the world.
Mussen, whose UC Davis career spans 31 years, continues to anchor the bee biology research and outreach program. Mussen’s expertise is widely sought on scores of other topics, including honey bee nutrition, diseases, pesticides, crop pollination and beekeeping. He serves as the state’s beekeeping industry liaison with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation and Apiary Inspectors of America, a regulatory and enforcement group.
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Eric Mussen |
Mussen is widely recognized for his bee industry leadership and research in the areas of colony management, pollination, mite control and insecticide damage. The Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America awarded him its Distinguished Achievement in Extension Entomology in April 2008. Mussen received the California State Beekeepers’ Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999; Apiary Inspectors of America’s Exceptional Service Award in 2000, and the California State Beekeeper Association’s Beekeeper of the Year Award in 2006. In 2007, the American Association of Professional Apiculturists honored him with an Award of Excellence in Extension Apiculture, one of only five awards the group has presented in 20 years.
The Harry and Ruth Laidlaw estate established an endowment fund that directly supports research efforts in the areas of honey-bee genetics and pollination biology. With contributions from the beekeeping industry, the endowment surpassed the $500,000 mark in May 2008. All earnings from this endowment support graduate students and research projects directly related to honey bees.
Donations to UC Davis bee research can be made by accessing the Department of Entomology home page and clicking on “Save the Honey Bees” (see Quick Links). Other ways to donate to the bee biology program are listed here.
The UC Davis Department of Entomology, headquartered in Briggs Hall, is ranked No. 1 in the country by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Contacts:
- Lynn Kimsey, Chair of Department of Entomology, 367 Briggs Hall, (530) 752-0475, lskimsey@ucdavis.edu
- Eric Mussen, Cooperative Extension Apiculturist, 396 Briggs Hall, (530) 752-0472, ecmussen@ucdavis.edu
- Susan Cobey, Bee Breeder-Geneticist, Harry Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, (530) 754-9390, swcobey@ucdavis.edu
- Jan Kingsbury,
Major Gifts Officer, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
(530) 752-3723, kingsbury@ucdavis.edu
- Kathy Keatley Garvey, Communications Specialist, Department of Entomology, (530) 754-6894 or kegarvey@ucdavis.edu
- Pat Bailey, Agricultural and Veterinary Science Writer, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
