Experts on Demand

The depredations of parasitic mites that feed on the blood of larval honey bees has led to declining numbers of managed honey bee colonies at the same time as demand for bees for pollination, particularly of almonds, has been increasing. The mites, which have developed resistence to widely use miticides, have wiped out whole colonies, leading to an acute shortage of bees and a sharp increase in costs for growers. For Visscher, the situation highlights the need for breeding bees for mite resistance as well as for the use of alternative chemical and non-chemical controls. Visscher researches the behavior, evolution, and ecology of social insects, with an emphasis on honey bees, among the most behaviorally complex and beneficial of all social insects. Honey bees produce honey, and wax, which is used in candles, soap, lubricants and cosmetics. Both are commercially valuable commodities, making apiculture an important California and worldwide industry. Bees also serve crucial roles as pollinators of billions of dollars worth of agricultural crops, so another aspect of his research seeks to understand and minimize the adverse affects of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals on bee colonies. He also studies Africanized honey bees -- popularly nicknamed "killer" bees for their aggressive behavior.

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