URI_Research _Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2020_Melissa-McCarthy

Bees play a vital ecological and

economic role; not only do they provide honey but more importantly they pollinate fruit and vegetable crops, which is vital to maintaining our food supply.

Casey Johnson ’19

Beekeepers need to do their due diligence and know all the factors that pertain to beekeeping. Many may not know that varroa mites will attach to a bee, and stay attached during flight, thereby endangering other neighboring hives.

The goal, therefore, is to develop a compound that will kill varroa mites without harming their bee hosts. Kiesewetter is looking at polymer-based delivery systems and currently experimenting with the compound lactic acid. One option is making honeycombs out of lactic acid and inserting the synthetic honeycomb into the beehives. However, there are two sides to the problem, and finding new and effective pesticides comprises only half the battle. The other issue lies in actually treating the bees, and with the collaboration between professors Kiesewetter and Alm, both sides of the problem can hopefully be addressed. “Because URI has faculty from such a diverse array of backgrounds and disciplines, I was able to find a colleague who is an expert on honeybees and pollination,” says Kiesewetter. “Dr. Alm runs the East Farm and knows about the entire other side of this problem, and he is a wonderful collaborator.” Kiesewetter also speaks to the relevance of the work in Rhode Island saying, “I think the state has a very big interest in local, farm-to-table produce, and there are a lot of small honey producers in the state who really care about beekeeping and protecting the pollinator populations so it is easy to convince people this is something we should be doing.”

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Structure of bee hive.

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