The Plight of the Honey Bees: Colony Collapse Disorder - Diana Cox

Diana Cox-Foster is a professor of entomology at Pennsylvania State University. She is leading a team of researchers trying to explain "colony collapse disorder," the name given to the phenomenon that occurs when bees unexplainably become disoriented and fail to return to their hives. Her research focuses on insect biochemistry and physiology and insect-pathogen interactions. Cox-Foster's research on the potential role of the Israeli acute paralysis virus in colony collapse disorder, recently published in Science, has huge implications for the honey bee industry in the United States and hence for U.S. agriculture. Her presentation will include an overview and discussion of colony collapse disorder along with related research on other pollinator species and implications.