Marla Spivak

Last updated
Marla Spivak
Born1955 (age 68–69)
Denver, Colorado [1]
Alma mater California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, University of Kansas
Known forBee research [2]
Awards MacArthur Fellowship, Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture, Women of Discovery Award, Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, [3] 2003 Hambleton Award from the Eastern Apicultural Society [4]
Scientific career
Fields entomology
Institutions University of Minnesota
Doctoral advisor Dr. Orley (Chip) Taylor [5] [6]
Other academic advisorsDr. Gloria Degrandi-Hoffman and Dr. Martha Gilliam [7]
Website beelab.umn.edu

Marla Spivak (born 1955) is an American entomologist, and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota specializing in apiculture and social insects. [8]

Contents

Career and research

Spivak graduated with a B.A. from Humboldt State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. [9] [10] She is particularly well known for her work breeding lines of honey bees that detect and quickly remove diseased larvae and pupae, which is called hygienic behavior. [11] [12] Spivak has extensively studied the causes and impacts of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon where honey bee hives are abandoned by their worker bees. She attributes CCD to a combination of factors, including parasites, diseases, poor nutrition, pesticide poisonings, and habitat loss. Her research aims to identify stress factors that compromise bee immune systems and develop methods to mitigate these stresses. [13] She was instrumental in setting up the first bee Tech-Transfer Team in the United States, [14] [15] which continues to help honey bee queen breeders select for disease resistance traits. [16] More recently, she has begun studying the role of resins, which bees collect and mix with wax to make propolis coatings on the inside of their hives, as an example of honey bee social immunity. [17] Her lab also studies the effect of the surrounding landscape on the health and nutrition of both honey bees and native bees. [18]

Awards

She was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant in 2010 for her work with honey bees. [19] [20] After receiving the MacArthur grant, she started an organization called the Bee Squad, which works to help beekeepers and people in the Twin Cities community improve the health of bee pollinators. [21] [22] In 2015, she won the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota AgriGrowth Council. [23] In 2016, she won the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture (category: Knowledge) for her many contributions to understanding bee biology and threats to bee health [24] and a Women of Discovery Award from Wings Worldquest, honoring her pioneering work promoting bee health and conservation. [25] Spivak was elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America in 2017. [26] In 2020 a former student of Spivak's, bee taxonomist Joel Gardner, named a species of sweat bee Lasioglossum spivakae in her honor. [27]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bee</span> Clade of insects

Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea. They are currently considered a clade, called Anthophila. There are over 20,000 known species of bees in seven recognized biological families. Some species – including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees – live socially in colonies while most species (>90%) – including mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees – are solitary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honey bee</span> Colonial flying insect of genus Apis

A honey bee is a eusocial flying insect within the genus Apis of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmopolitan distribution of honey bees, introducing multiple subspecies into South America, North America, and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beehive</span> Structure housing a honey bee colony

A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Though the word beehive is used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive. Nest is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term hive is used to describe an artificial/man-made structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies. But for honey production, the western honey bee and the eastern honey bee are the main species kept in hives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekeeper</span> Person who keeps honey bees

A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping.

Beekeeping is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus Apis are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as Melipona stingless bees are also kept. Beekeepers keep bees to collect honey and other products of the hive: beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. Other sources of beekeeping income include pollination of crops, raising queens, and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an apiary or "bee yard".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halictidae</span> Family of bees

Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees with nearly 4,500 species. They are commonly called sweat bees, as they are often attracted to perspiration. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Usually dark-colored and often metallic, halictids are found in various sizes, colors and patterns. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red, purple, or blue. A number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly have yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. The family is one of many with short tongues and is best distinguished by the arcuate basal vein found on the wing. Females in this family tend to be larger than the males. They are the group for which the term 'eusocial' was first coined by entomologist, Suzanne Batra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caucasian honey bee</span> Subspecies of western honey bee

The Caucasian honey bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee.

<i>Varroa destructor</i> Species of mite

Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite, is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees and is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant mite infestation leads to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. Without management for Varroa mite, honey bee colonies typically collapse within 2 to 3 years in temperate climates. These mites can infest Apis mellifera, the western honey bee, and Apis cerana, the Asian honey bee. Due to very similar physical characteristics, this species was thought to be the closely related Varroa jacobsoni prior to 2000, but they were found to be two separate species after DNA analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small hive beetle</span> Species of beetle

Aethina tumida,commonly known as small hive beetle (SHB), is a beekeeping pest. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, but has spread to many other regions, including North America, Australia, and the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. L. Langstroth</span> American apiarist (1810–1895)

Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth was an American apiarist, clergyman, and teacher, and considered to be the father of American beekeeping. He recognized the concept of bee-space, a minimum distance that bees avoid sealing up. Although not his own discovery, the use of this principle allowed for the use of frames that the bees leave separate and this allowed the use of rectangular frames within the design of what is now called the Langstroth hive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May Berenbaum</span> American entomologist

May Roberta Berenbaum is an American entomologist whose research focuses on the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants, and the implications of these interactions on the organization of natural communities and the evolution of species. She is particularly interested in nectar, plant phytochemicals, honey and bees, and her research has important implications for beekeeping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honey extraction</span> Process of harvesting honey from honeycomb

Honey extraction is the central process in beekeeping of removing honey from honeycomb so that it is isolated in a pure liquid form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western honey bee</span> European honey bee

The western honey bee or European honey bee is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekeeping in the United States</span> Commercial beekeeping in the United States

Commercial Beekeeping in the United States dates back to the 1860s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beekeeping in New Zealand</span>

Beekeeping in New Zealand is reported to have commenced in 1839 with the importing of two skep hives by Mary Bumby, a missionary. It has since become an established industry as well a hobby activity.

Gene Ezia Robinson is an American entomologist, Director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and National Academy of Sciences member. He pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior and led the effort to sequence the honey bee genome. On February 10, 2009, his research was famously featured in an episode of The Colbert Report whose eponymous host referred to the honey Dr. Robinson sent him as "pharmaceutical-grade hive jive".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Propolis</span> Resinous mixture produced by honey bees

Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the beehive. Propolis is used for small gaps, while gaps larger than the bee space are usually filled with burr comb. Its color varies depending on its botanical source, with dark brown as the most common. Propolis is sticky above 19 °C (66 °F), while at lower temperatures, it becomes hard and brittle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Dyer Seeley</span> American biochemist

Thomas Dyer Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. He is the author of several books on honeybee behavior, including Honeybee Democracy (2010) and The Wisdom of the Hive (1995) He was the recipient of the Humboldt Prize in Biology in 2001. He primarily studies swarm intelligence by investigating how bees collectively make decisions.

<i>Lasioglossum vierecki</i> Species of bee

Lasioglossum vierecki, also known as Dialictus vierecki and Halictus vierecki, is a sand sweat bee and is part of the family Halictidae of the order Hymenoptera. It is found in the eastern half of North America from Minnesota to the New England States down to Georgia and Louisiana and up in Manitoba and Ontario. Commonly found in sandy areas, it pollinates various flowers such as grass-leaved goldenrod and rattlesnake master.

Christina Grozinger is an American entomologist, the Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology at Pennsylvania State University and the director at its Center for Pollinator Research.

References

  1. ↑ "Ten Entomologists Join the Ranks of Fellows of the Entomological Society of America | Entomological Society of America". Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  2. ↑ "Home". beelab.umn.edu.
  3. ↑ "Ten Entomologists Join the Ranks of Fellows of the Entomological Society of America". Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Previous Hambleton Award Recipients". Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ten Entomologists Join the Ranks of Fellows of the Entomological Society of America | Entomological Society of America". Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2016-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Ten Entomologists Join the Ranks of Fellows of the Entomological Society of America | Entomological Society of America". Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  8. ↑ "Marla Spivak : Department of Entomology : College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences : University of Minnesota". Archived from the original on 2014-08-25.
  9. ↑ "Marla Spivak — MacArthur Foundation".
  10. ↑ dalyx224 (2014-08-11). "Marla Spivak". Department of Entomology. Retrieved 2019-03-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Spivak, Marla (December 2008). "The Future of the MN Hygienic Stock of Bees is in Good Hands!". American Bee Journal . 149 (10): 965–967. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ Spivak, Marla. "The Future of the MN Hygienic Stock of Bees is in Good Hands!". ResearchGate. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  13. ↑ https://new.nsf.gov/news/marla-spivak-scientist-real-bee-her-bonnet
  14. ↑ McNeil, M.E.A. (September 2010). "Getting bees back on their own six feet" (PDF). American Bee Journal . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-08. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ Lee, Katie (June 2011). "Origins". Bee Informed Partnership Blog . Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Tech Teams - Bee Informed Partnership".
  17. ↑ Spivak, Marla (March 2013). "The Benefits of Propolis" (PDF). Bee Craft Magazine. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ Miller, Kerri (April 1, 2013). "With hives in sharp decline, expert calls for bee-friendly flowers". MPR News . Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  19. ↑ Ross, Jenna (September 28, 2010). "Buzz about U professor is 'genius'". Star Tribune . Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  20. ↑ Horn, Tammy (November 1, 2011). Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market. University Press of Kentucky. p. 170. ISBN   9780813134369.
  21. ↑ hvander (2015-01-27). "Bee Squad". Bee Lab. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  22. ↑ "Bee Squad : Bee Lab : Department of Entomology : University of Minnesota". Regents of the University of Minnesota. 2014. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14.
  23. ↑ "Distinguished Service Award". AgriGrowth. 2016.
  24. ↑ Anonymous (16 March 2016). "Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture announces 2016 laureates".
  25. ↑ "2016 Women of Discovery Awards". WINGS WorldQuest. Archived from the original on 2016-09-01.
  26. ↑ "Ten Entomologists Join the Ranks of Fellows of the Entomological Society of America | Entomological Society of America". Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  27. ↑ Gardner and Gibbs (December 2020). "The 'red-tailed' Lasioglossum (Dialictus) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) of the western Nearctic". European Journal of Taxonomy (725): 1–242. doi: 10.5852/ejt.2020.725.1167 . S2CID   229449584 . Retrieved December 6, 2020.
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Marla Spivak: Why bees are disappearing, TEDGlobal 2013
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