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Introduction

Project Description

Since pollinators play a key role in agriculture and maintaining biodiversity, this research project explored economically and environmentally sustainable solutions to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of Apis mellifera. Research looked at causes of CCD, such as crop monocultures, pesticides, parasites, and pathogens and solutions, including artificial honey, alternatives to crop monocultures and pesticides, and RNA-modified honey bees that would be resistant to parasites and pathogens.

Project received 2nd Place in SMART Teams Category out of 80+ teams in 2018 Northwest Association for Biomedical Research Bio Expo

Book cover photo by Jonathan Kwong, 2020.

Vocabulary

Mountlake Terrace High School Class of 2019 alumna Annika Prom and Class of 2020 alumnus Jonathan Kwong pose with their second place ribbons from the 2018 Northwest Association for Biomedical Research Bio Expo. “This project was worth the $70 worth of sheet metal I bought to make this interactive model,” Prom says. This year, the SMART Teams category was the largest category in the entire Bio Expo. With most of their classmates in the category, this team was awarded for their outstanding work in exploring a global issue and interacting with the audience.
  • Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD): An occurrence where a honey bee hive faces a significant decrease in the number of worker bees
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): A group dedicated to protecting the environment and reducing pollution
  • Deformed Wing Virus (DWV): A disease that impairs honey bee wings and flight
  • Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH): A behavior in honey bees in which they can identify mite presence in brood and remove the mites

Acknowledgements

  • Penny Lefavour
  • Janis Shin
  • James Wilson
  • Mark Burbank
  • Randall Ritter
  • Craig DeVine
  • Eric Patno

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Honey, I Shrunk the Bee Population Copyright © 2020 by Jonathan Kwong is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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