Kirsten Traynor

Kirsten Traynor
University of Hohenheim · Apicultural State Institute

PhD, biology
Director of the State Institute for Bee Research, University of Hohenheim

About

98
Publications
35,748
Reads
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1,805
Citations
Introduction
I am the director of State Institute of Apiculture in Stuttgart Germany. I study honey bee communication, health, and nutrition. I am particularly interested in the impacts of varroa and pesticides on colony health. I published eight issues of the quarterly magazine 2 Million Blossoms: protect our pollinators. Author of "Simple, Smart Beekeeping" and "Two Million Blossoms".
Additional affiliations
August 2008 - April 2014
Arizona State University
Position
  • PhD Student
November 2012 - July 2013
French National Institute for Agriculural Research, Avignon, France
Position
  • Decoding Brood Pheromones
Description
  • I investigated the effects of honey bee brood pheromones on adult caregiver behavior in the research lab of Dr. Yves le Conte while on a French Fulbright Fellowship.
May 2006 - September 2007
Bieneninstitut, Celle, Germany
Position
  • Independent Research project examining differences in European and American bee breeding
Description
  • For 18 months I explored the differences in European and American bee breeding and how best to maintain honey bee health while a German Chancellor Scholar of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Education
June 2011 - May 2014
Arizona State University
Field of study
  • Biology
April 2008 - May 2011
Arizona State University
Field of study
  • Biology
September 1998 - May 2001
Kenyon College
Field of study
  • English

Publications

Publications (98)
Article
Honey bees Apis mellifera forage in a wide radius around their colony, bringing back contaminated food resources that can function as terrestrial bioindicators of environmental pesticide exposure. Evaluating pesticide exposure risk to pollinators is an ongoing problem. Here we apply five metrics for pesticide exposure risk (prevalence, diversity, c...
Article
Full-text available
Eusocial Apis mellifera colonies depend on queen longevity and brood viability to survive, as the queen is the sole reproductive individual and the maturing brood replenishes the shorter-lived worker bees. Production of many crops rely on both pesticides and bee pollination to improve crop quantity and quality, yet sublethal impacts of this pestici...
Article
Full-text available
This study measured part of the in-hive pesticide exposome by analyzing residues from live in-hive bees, stored pollen, and wax in migratory colonies over time and compared exposure to colony health. We summarized the pesticide burden using three different additive methods: (1) the hazard quotient (HQ), an estimate of pesticide exposure risk, (2) t...
Article
Full-text available
The US National Honey Bee Disease Survey sampled colony pests and diseases from 2009 to 2014. We verified the absence of Tropilaelaps spp., the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), and slow bee paralysis virus. Endemic health threats were quantified, including Varroa destructor, Nosema spp., and eight honey bee viruses. Varroa loads varied across years,...
Article
Full-text available
Declines of pollinators and high mortality rates of honey bee colonies are a major concern, both in the USA and globally. Long-term data on summer, winter, and annual colony losses improve our understanding of forces shaping the viability of the pollination industry. Since the mass die-offs of colonies in the USA during the winter of 2006–2007, gen...
Article
Full-text available
The honey bee ectoparasite Varroa destructor is the main cause of honey bee colony losses worldwide. Over the last decades, several projects have focused on improving the robustness of Apis mellifera against this parasitic mite. Selection traits, such as mite non-reproduction (MNR) and Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH), are favored selection factors i...
Article
Full-text available
A sustainable solution to the global threat of the Varroa destructor mite is the selection of varroa‐resistant honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. Both “mite non‐reproduction” (MNR) and “varroa sensitive hygiene” (VSH) appear to be promising selection traits for achieving the goal of a resistant honey bee. MNR describes colonies that have a high n...
Article
Full-text available
Final report of the EIP project SETBie in Baden- Württemberg. The intention of the project was the selection and etablation of varroa tolerant honey bee colonies (SETBie) in Baden-Württemberg, Germany (2019-2022). View: https://setbie.uni-hohenheim.de/
Article
Full-text available
The efficacy of various lithium chloride (LiCl) applications in eradicating the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies was investigated, with a specific focus on its impact on brood development. In broodless colonies (3 weeks post queen caging), the highest efficacy of 98% was achieved with a 9-day treatment of 2.5 kg of candy spike...
Article
To counteract the ongoing decline of pollinators, we need innovative and effective promotion strategies. Urban areas often function as pollinator refugia, but lack of open spaces can limit promotion measures. This scarcity in open surfaces requires rethinking the conventional flower bed. Can green walls, planted with pollinator- friendly plants, pr...
Preprint
Full-text available
The efficacy of various Lithium Chloride (LiCl) applications in eradicating the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies was investigated, with a specific focus on its impact on brood development. In broodless colonies (3 weeks post queen caging), the highest mite mortality rate of 98% was achieved with a 9-day treatment of 2.5 kg of...
Article
Urbanization and the increasing use of wireless technologies lead to higher emission rates of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in populated areas. This anthropogenic electromagnetic radiation is a form of environmental pollution and a potential stressor on bees or other flying insects. Cities often have a high density of wireless devi...
Article
Full-text available
Varroa destructor is one of the main causes of colony losses of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera). Many efforts exist to breed honey bees resistant to V. destructor. Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) is a commonly selected behavioural trait; VSH workers remove the pupae of mite infested brood cells with high efficiency, interrupting the reproduct...
Article
Full-text available
Global pollinator declines threaten food production and natural ecosystems. The drivers of declines are complicated and driven by numerous factors such as pesticide use, loss of habitat, rising pathogens due to commercial bee keeping and climate change. Halting and reversing pollinator declines will require a multidisciplinary approach and internat...
Article
Full-text available
In complex societies, individuals’ roles are reflected by interactions with other conspecifics. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) generally change tasks as they age, but developmental trajectories of individuals can vary drastically due to physiological and environmental factors. We introduce a succinct descriptor of an individual’s social network that c...
Preprint
Full-text available
Eusocial Apis mellifera colonies depend on queen longevity and brood viability to survive, as the queen is the sole reproductive individual and the maturing brood replenishes the shorter lived worker bees. Production of many crops rely on both pesticides and bee pollination to improve crop quantity and quality. We looked at the resiliency of queens...
Preprint
Full-text available
In complex societies, individuals’ roles are reflected by interactions with other conspecifics. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) generally change tasks as they age, but developmental trajectories of individuals can vary drastically due to physiological and environmental factors. We introduce a succinct descriptor of an individual’s social network that c...
Article
Pesticide and veterinary drug residues are one of the stress factors affecting bee health and mortality. To investigate the occurrence, the concentration and the toxicity risk to bees of pesticide residues in four different types of beeswax (brood comb wax, recycled comb wax, honey comb wax, and cappings wax), 182 samples were collected from apiari...
Article
The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has shaken the beekeeping and pollination industries since its spread from its native host, the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), to the naïve European honey bee (Apis mellifera) used commercially for pollination and honey production around the globe. Varroa is the greatest threat to honey bee health. Worrying ob...
Preprint
Full-text available
The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has shaken the beekeeping and pollination industries since its spread from its native host, the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana), to the naïve European honey bee (A. mellifera) used commercially for pollination and honey production around the globe. Varroa is the greatest threat to honey bee health. Worrying obse...
Preprint
Full-text available
The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, has shaken the beekeeping and pollination industries since its spread from its native host, the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana), to the naïve European honeybee (A. mellifera) used commercially for pollination and honey production around the globe. Varroa is the greatest threat to honeybee health. Worrying observa...
Poster
Full-text available
A quarterly magazine open to article submissions. We pay contributors. Learn more at https://www.2millionblossoms.com/
Article
Full-text available
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies continue to experience high annual losses that remain poorly explained. Numerous interacting factors have been linked to colony declines. Understanding the pathways linking pathophysiology with symptoms is an important step in understanding the mechanisms of disease. In this study we examined the specific patholo...
Data
CART analysis of bees from CCD symptomatic and non-symptomatic colonies from all investigated apiaries. (PDF)
Data
Autopsy data from individual bees from CCD and non-CCD colonies in CCD and non-CCD apiaries. (CSV)
Article
In eusocial insects, daughters rear the offspring of the queen to adulthood. In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, nurses rear young and old larvae, which emit divergent pheromones. These larval pheromones in turn affect nurse bee behaviour and physiology. To determine whether larvae and their associated pheromones have long-term physiological and behav...
Article
Full-text available
An interview with Dr. Peter Molan, conducted during my visit to New Zealand in June 2010.
Article
Full-text available
The news is filled with reports on the dangers of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, to honey bee health. Neonic ban movements have grown in strength. Some cities have restricted their use on public lands. Home Depot has pledged to label neonic treated plants, while Lowe's is phasing out neonic products over the next four years.
Article
Full-text available
An interview with honey bee scientist Dr Alison Mercer, who studies the impact of queen pheromone on honey bees.
Article
A book review of “Bees: An up-close look at pollinators around the world.”
Article
Kirsten Traynor is a PhD student at Arizona State University studying the effects of honey bee brood pheromones on foraging behaviour with Dr Rob Page. Her goal is to better understand the development of eusociality and to apply her findings to enhance pollen foraging and pollination efficiency of colonies.
Article
Full-text available
How a colony regulates the division of labour to forage for nutritional resources while accommodating for size and demographic composition is a fundamental question in the sociobiology of social insects. In honeybees, Apis mellifera, young and old larvae produce pheromones that differ in composition. Nurses differentially regulate larval nutrition,...
Article
Full-text available
Several insect pheromones are multifunctional and have both releaser and primer effects. In honey bees (Apis mellifera), the queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) and e-beta-ocimene (eβ), emitted by young worker larvae, have such dual effects. There is increasing evidence that these multifunctional pheromones profoundly shape honey bee colony dynamics b...
Thesis
Full-text available
How a colony regulates the division of labor to forage for nutritional resources while accommodating for changes in colony demography is a fundamental question in the sociobiology of social insects. In honey bee, Apis mellifera, brood composition impacts the division of labor, but it is unknown if colonies adjust the allocation of foragers to carbo...
Chapter
Many different organisms exhibit social behavior. These behaviors are sometimes defi ned as interactions between two or more members of a species, but then most sexually reproducing animals would behave socially. With social behavior, we refer to phenotypes in animals that live in conspecifi c groups. The most advanced forms of such groups are foun...
Conference Paper
For many years, researchers have known that brood stimulates pollen foraging. The nutritional and thermoregulatory needs of brood shift as they age, as do the pheromone profiles emitted by the developing young. If honey bees can recognize different aged larvae and their divergent nutritional needs, they may adjust their foraging behavior accordingl...
Article
Full-text available
Article
If you keep more than two hives, you probably harvest more honey than you and your immediate family can consume. Honey makes a wonderful gift and if you decide to share it with friends, they will appreciate the delicacy. At some point though, you may decide you wish to recoup some of the costs of your beekeeping by selling the sweet luxury your bee...
Article
As you read this, winter still engulfs the landscape. The busy holiday season is upon us, a time of year filed with family and friends, when the days are short and the nights dark and long. But the winter solstice is near. Soon the hours of daylight will begin to grow again. As days lengthen, the slumbering world starts to reawake.
Article
Depending on where you live, winter wanders in slows and quiets or bursts in with a sudden frost Before the leaves disappear from the trees, you want to prep your hive for the coming cold. Late August and early September is the time for building up a hive where we live in Maryland If the hive is not heavy with honey in late August we pile on a feed...
Article
I often volunteer to man the bee booth at county fairs and festivals. On such occasions an observation hive always draws excitement from the crowd. Young and old love to spot the majestic queen as she moves gracefully across the comb. With her long abdomen, she walks differently than the worker bees. With time you will be able to recognize her char...
Article
Full-text available
Much needed rain obscured the California sun as researchers from around the world gathered on January 8th, 2008 in Sacramento for the first International Symposium on Honey and Human Health. The room quickly overflowed as scientists, media and interested beekeepers traveled great distances to participate in this inaugural event.
Article
Full-text available
While the ancient Egyptians and Greeks used honey for wound care, and a broad spectrum of wounds are treated all over the world with natural unprocessed honeys from different sources, Medihoney has been one of the first medically certified honeys licensed as a medical product for professional wound care in Europe and Australia. Our experience with...
Article
Full-text available
Last month we took a detailed look at Buckfast breeding in Denmark. Let's travel just over the southern border to take a peek at the German bee breeding industry. With almost 90,000 beekeepers, Germany has almost half as many beekeepers as the United States, although they're all crunched into a space about the size of Texas.
Article
Full-text available
Harried, stressed, tired, rushed and price conscious are fitting descriptions of the average shopper trying to make sense out of the plethora of food items vying for his or her attention. Rarely do they have time to stop and read the details of the label, which means that when it comes to honey, cheap imports often land in our potential customer's...
Article
Harried, stressed, tired, rushed and price conscious are fitting descriptions of the average shopper trying to make sense out of the plethora of food items vying for his or her attention. Rarely do they have time to stop and read the details of the label, which means that when it comes to honey, cheap imports often land in our potential customer's...
Article
Full-text available
Every year on the first Sunday in September the largest Beekeeping Institute in Germany opens it doors and welcomes the public into its halls to explore the many labs, delve into the intricacies of a bee hive and wander through their immaculate garden. Based at the edge of the historic city of Celle, one of the prettiest restored cities in Germany...

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