PHOTOS: SCIENCE IN ACTION

FORAGER IN FLIGHT

A honey bee forages on red clover, one of the most common sources of forage in our area.

Honey bees in experimental hives have packed the comb full of diverse pollen.

Ashley and Zoe record data on honey bee hive health in Iowa prairies.

This Polistes metricus wasp made her nest from colored construction paper, which we provided as building material.

Are used in many experiments. Here, we simulated vibrational communication using piezoelectric devices.

Polistes paper wasps can be readily reared in the laboratory.

Is often used to track nest development. It is usually done at night, here by Amy Geffre.

Are not only colorful, but useful! This allows us to track individual behavior.

Using a pipetter is a handy way to deliver experimental treatments, such as drugs or dsRNA.

Is a regular part of our work, so that we have healthy bees for experiments.

Happens a lot. Here, we were all pitching in to help paint about 10,000 bees in a day.

Is sometimes needed to make collections at numerous field sites around Iowa.

Colby monitors wasp nests is substantially easier at dawn when all occupants are home and sleepy.

We've introduced dozens of new students to beekeeping, as Alex is doing here!

Much of our work involves observing and discussing behavior in the field, as Amy and Adam are doing here.