A Sequence- and Lab-based Approach to Investigate Chalkbrood Disease Infection within Blue Orchard Bees

Lexie is an entomology PhD candidate interested in the impact of microbes on bee health. She received a BS in Biology (focus evolution, ecology, and behavior) and a BSA in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. As an undergraduate, she investigated the spatial distribution of bacteria within the guts of bumblebees and the gut microbiota of the Mexican honey wasp. In the Vannette Lab, she studies how microbes acquired socially and environmentally affect the health of bumblebees and blue orchard bees. 

Speaker: Alexia Martin, UC Davis