- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Her Oct. 7th seminar was recorded. You can access it via Aggie Videos on the ENT website at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/seminars. Here's the direct link.
Her topic: "Don't Compromise: Food Lipid Contest Shapes Protein-Lipid Regulation in Honey Bee (Apis melliera) Nurses," which she delivered in Room 122 of Briggs and also on Zoom.
Posada was introduced by apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension and founder and director of the California Master Beekeeper Program.
Posada began her talk by noting that one of the hot topics of honey bee research is nutrition. She went on to explain what bees need and the research her team is doing.
Her abstract: "Regulating nutrient intake is a fundamental and multidimensional challenge for all animals. Typically, animals prioritize macronutrient intake, and we know much about protein-carbohydrate regulation. In contrast, we know relatively little about protein-lipid regulation, especially among palynivores like bees that feed on food (pollen) that has high, but variable, protein and lipid content."
"Using a Geometric Framework or nutrition experimental approach, we show that nurse honey bees (Apis melliera) maximized their protein-lipid intake on diets that had a 3:2 protein:lipid ratio and that it was lowest on highly lipid-based diets. In choice experiments with nutritionally complementary diets, bees self-selected a protein-based diet. However, total consumption was suppressed when a lipid-biased food was present. Our collective results suggest bees actively regular the intake of both protein and lipid, but that lipid regulation is particularly strict. Our findings have implications for honey bee and palynivore ecology, and nutritional ecology more broadly."
All ENT seminars recorded will appear at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/seminars. The first speaker in the fall series was Kyle Wickings of Cornell, who spoke Sept. 30 on "Composition and Function of Soil Invertebrate Communities in Residential Greenspaces." The direct link to his seminar is here.
The fall seminars begin Monday afternoon, Sept. 30 and will continue every Monday through Dec. 2.
Nematologist Amanda Hodson, assistant professor of soil ecology and pest management, is coordinating the seminars. All, except one, will be held in 122 Briggs Hall. All, but one (Nov. 18), will be on Zoom. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.
Here's the remaining schedule:
Monday, Oct. 14, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar, Putah Creek Lodge
Michael Hoffmann
Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
Title: “Our Changing Menu: Using the Power of Food to Confront Climate Change”
This will take place beginning at 4 p.m. in the Putah Creek Lodge and will include a social, lecture and dinner. Reservations are closed, but his seminar will be recorded and archived. (See more)
Monday, Oct. 21, 4:10 to 5 p.m.,122 Briggs
Andrew Corbett
Research Affiliate, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (formerly with the lab of UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim, now emeritus)
Title: "In Silico Experiments with the Effect of Natural Habitats on Biological Control in Agricultural Landscapes."
Monday, Oct. 28, 4:10 to 5 p.m., 122 Briggs
Jolene Saldivar
UC Davis Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, lab of Professor Louie Yang
Title: "Disturbance in Coastal Sage Scrub and the Implications for Migratory Butterflies”
Monday, Nov. 4, 4:10 to 5 p.m., 122 Briggs
Eliza Litsey (exit seminar)
Litsey, a former graduate student in the honey bee lab of Elina Niño, UC Davis Department of Entomology, received her master's degree in entomology in June 2024 and is now a laboratory technician at the lab of research entomologist Julia Fine, USDA/ARS, Davis. Litzey also holds a bachelor's degree from UC Davis.)
Monday, Nov. 18, 122 Briggs (in-person only; will not on Zoom)
Andre Custodio Franco
Assistant Professor, Indiana University Bloomington
Title: "Deciphering the Soil Macrobiome: Belowground Communities Driving Ecosystem Responses to Global Change”
Monday, Nov. 25, 4:10 to 5 p.m., 122 Briggs
Christine Sprunger
Associate Professor of Soil Health at Michigan State University
Title: "Nematodes as Bioindicators of Soil Health and Climate Resiliency”
Monday, Dec. 2, 4:10 to 5 p.m., 122 Briggs
Inga Zasada
Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS
Title: "How an Applied Nematolgist Uses Genomic Tools to Address Plant-Parasitic Nematode Research”
For more information contact Hodson at akhodson@ucdavis.edu
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
An international leader in honey bee research--Juliana Rangel Posada--will speak on "Don't Compromise: Food Lipid Content Shapes Protein-Lipid Regulation in Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Nurses" at 4:10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7 in 122 Briggs Hall. Her seminar also will be broadcast on Zoom. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.
Can't attend or Zoom in? Her seminar will be archived on the Entomology and Nematology seminar website at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/seminars.
"Regulating nutrient intake is a fundamental and multidimensional challenge for all animals," Posada says in her abstract. "Typically, animals prioritize macronutrient intake, and we know much about protein-carbohydrate regulation. In contrast, we know relatively little about protein-lipid regulation, especially among palynivores like bees that feed on food (pollen) that has high, but variable, protein and lipid content."
"Using a Geometric Framework or nutrition experimental approach, we show that nurse honey bees (Apis melliera) maximized their protein-lipid intake on diets that had a 3:2 protein:lipid ratio and that it was lowest on highly lipid-based diets," she continued. "In choice experiments with nutritionally complementary diets, bees self-selected a protein-based diet. However, total consumption was suppressed when a lipid-biased food was present. Our collective results suggest bees actively regular the intake of both protein and lipid, but that lipid regulation is particularly strict. Our findings have implications for honey bee and palynivore ecology, and nutritional ecology more broadly."
Posada joined the TAMU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty in January 2013. She is active in the Texas Beekeepers Association and has addressed dozens of beekeeping associations across the United States and internationally.
Posada and her research group at Texas A&M found that a widely used pesticide—the miticide amitraz—used to protect honey bees from mite infestation, has an effect on mating among the queens. (See Entomology Today, a publication of the Entomological Society of America)
She's also an outstanding teacher, the recipient of TAMU awards and the 2023 Excellence Achievement Award in Teaching, Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
Nematologist Amanda Hodson, assistant professor, is coordinating the ENT seminars. The full list is here. For more information or for technical issues, contact Hodson at akhodson@ucdavis.edu.
Resources:
- Interview with a Social Insect Scientist, published in 2017 by Insectessociaux
- Biology of Mating, National Honey Show Lecture Series 2015, YouTube
- Bee Happy: Maximizing Honey Bee Characteristics for Health Bees, Finding Genus Podcast
- Posada lab Facebook page: facebook.com/TAMUhoneybeelab
