Honey Bee and Pollinator Research
Penn State researchers are leading the research investigating the disappearance of honey bees.
The loss of honey bees is a multifaceted problem and is reflected in projects ranging from understanding the incidence and prevalence of viruses and the role of pesticides on bee health and behavior to the role mites have on colony decline, including vectoring disease and impairing the bee immune system.
People specializing in this area
Graduate Students
Rajwinder Singh
Currently, the focus of my research is to understand the epidemiology of RNA viruses in the pollinator community. RNA viruses are emerging as a serious threat to honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and are suspected as one of the major contributors to the recent malady, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), especially the Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV). In addition, the recent detection of some of these viruses from bumble bees as well as in in-hive food reserves of honey bees (honey & pollen), suggests a possible much wider environmental spread of these viruses with potential impact on the overall pollinator community.
