Center for Pollinator Research

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A honeybee pollinating a flower

Penn State earns 'Bee Campus USA' certification

12/3/18

Penn State has become the 55th educational institution in the nation to be certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program, designed to marshal the strength of educational campuses for the benefit of pollinators.

Bee close-up

Scientists find evidence of 27 new viruses in bees

6/21/18

An international team of researchers has discovered evidence of 27 previously unknown viruses in bees. The finding could help scientists design strategies to prevent the spread of viral pathogens among these important pollinators.

bee pollinating catnip

$2.1 million enables creation of decision-support tools for pollinator health

3/27/18

The Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State, in collaboration with researchers at the University of California, Davis; the University of Minnesota; and Dickinson College will receive more than $2 million from the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research and the United States Department of Agriculture to translate basic research into online decision support tools to help beekeepers and land managers maintain and expand populations of managed and wild bees.

Honey bee on apple blossom

Ag Department, Penn State seek public input on state Pollinator Protection Plan

9/28/17

Farmers, gardeners and other Pennsylvanians concerned about the health of pollinators — given their critically important role in growing and producing food — now have the chance to comment on a draft of the state’s proposed Pollinator Protection Plan. The plan, developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State, is designed to protect bees and other insects that pollinate nearly 75 percent of the Commonwealth’s food crops.

Honeybees and Homemakers: Pollination and Gendered Labor

Undergraduate researcher uses honeybees to probe society’s gender roles

9/20/16

What do traditional gender roles of women have in common with the non-visible labor of honeybees? Through a research project supported by an Apes Valentes Undergraduate Research Award, Christina Dietz found that, in both subjects, the value of labor is lessened based on the lack of visibility it receives.

Elina Lastro Niño beekeeping workshop

Penn State bee research pollinates next generation of scientists

7/15/16

While Penn State has developed a reputation as a leader in pollinator research, the experiences of entomology alumni illustrate another key contribution to pollinator health. Penn State is playing a critical role in training the next generation of scientists to address problems — such as parasitic mites, diseases and pesticide effects — that are likely to take longer to solve than the duration of a research grant or even an entomologist's entire career.

Bumble Bees

Picky eaters: Bumble bees prefer plants with nutrient-rich pollen

6/27/16

Bumble bees have discriminating palettes when it comes to their pollen meals, according to researchers at Penn State. The researchers found that bumble bees can detect the nutritional quality of pollen, and that this ability helps them selectively forage among plant species to optimize their diets.

Beekeeper handling bees

'This is Penn State' salutes the hard-working honeybee

4/25/16

Penn State’s Center for Pollinator Research is the bee’s knees. It's on the front lines of a fight to help the hard-working honeybee that along with other insects pollinates three-fourths of America’s crops.

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