Tuesday December 08
07:30 PM
Role of floral traits in mediating disease transmission
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
My work addresses how floral traits can affect bee pathogen loads and disease transmission. Although many researchers now study bee pathogens due to concerns about pollinator decline, we still know remarkably little about the role of plants in mediating bee diseases. In this talk I will demonstrate how nectar chemistry and pollen can affect bee gut pathogen loads, how transmission varies across plant species and consequences of plant variation for colony-level bee disease loads.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 5:45 PM) at the West Side Lounge, 1680 Massachussetts Avenue, Cambridge.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (5:45 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
