Neuroethology of Bumblebees
What we do:
We have a couple of different projects going on in lab that span different topics! We have and continue to look at the impact of agrochemicals and how they impact bumblebee foraging and behavior. One of our newer projects is exploring odor valence (aversive and attractive odors), how to test it and its impact on bumblebee foraging behavior. We’re also looking at how bees generalize and differentiate between odors, as a way to understand how they use odors as cues. All of these topics broadly look at how bumblebees forage and how perceive the world around them. By gaining a better understanding in these areas, we can look at how humans interact and impact these different aspects of the environment. This allows us to make better decisions that will hopefully help protect our pollinators!
How we do it:
One of our staple lab protocols is FMPER, or free-moving proboscis extension reflex.This is used to gather behavioral data based on a learned appetitive reaction to an odor, and has been modified to be used in many different projects.
Our Goal:
We hope to gain a better understanding of the perception and procession of bumblebees to inform our decisions on using materials that are potentially harmful to bees.
Interested in learning more:
Email me at phenderson@muhlenberg.edu or reach out to Dr. Sprayberry!
What research is like?
Life in the Spraylab is very self motivated and based around each of our own schedules so it often varies from person to person. Typically though, each project will have a meeting with Dr. Sprayberry once a week to discuss progress or problems that are specific to them. We also have a weekly lab meeting as a whole to discuss new papers relevant to our field and anything that we want to discuss while everyone is present. Outside of these two meetings, our daily responsibilities revolve around bumblebee care, as we have to make sure the bees have enough pollen and sucrose to maintain a healthy colony. These daily checks are rotated between lab members based on schedule availability because we know not everyone is around all the time. This flexibility extends to experimental trials, as we conduct them based on our free time. Trails themselves vary between projects but can take about 1-2 hours based on the protocol. Although this may seem a bit overwhelming on paper since we are such a collaborative lab we are never alone in our trials and responsibilities, making it easy to meet the needs of our bees and our researchers!
Why we stand out
We are a very community based lab. Although we may have our own projects, so many of the concepts overlap so that we end up all helping with each others projects. This manifests in data collection, as we will often help each other with data collection when we have the time. We also discuss many of our observations and conclusions with each other, as we know it will often help our lab mates with something they might be seeing in their studies.