Researcher Elizabeth Franklin appeared in a Popular Science article on July 12 about the impact of pesticides on bees’ learning and memory.
The article focused on a new study that pooled evidence from 23 studies of honeybees and bumblebees. The article said levels of pesticides currently considered safe to use may still affect bee colony survival.
A post-doctoral researcher in U of G’s School of Environmental Sciences, Franklin said bees don’t all live collectively and that wild bees do not live in colonies. She said if a wild bee’s ability to learn or remember things is affected, it lacks the backup help that other bees living in colonies rely on to remember key things like foraging routes or which flowers they’ve already visited.
She added that with pesticide restrictions increasing globally, many people will be looking for alternative chemicals for crop protection.
Franklin studies the interactions of landscape and pesticides on bumblebee foraging success.