Who we are?
Research Group Leader
Dr. Margaret J. Couvillon
Assistant Professor, Pollinator Biology & Ecology
I am a broadly trained bee researcher with a particular interest in the foraging and recruitment behaviors of the honey bee. I earned my undergraduate degree from Loyola University in New Orleans (B.S. in Biology, minor in Chemistry) and then spent a year as an AmeriCorps *NCCC volunteer. I completed a M.S. in Neurobiology at Duke University before moving overseas for my Ph.D. with Professor Francis Ratnieks at the University of Sheffield, where I investigated mechanisms of nestmate recognition in honey bees and stingless bees. As a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Anna Dornhaus at the University of Arizona, I investigated proximate and ultimate explanations for worker size variation in the bumble bee Bombus impatiens. For a second postdoc, I rejoined the lab of Francis Ratnieks, now at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. There I worked to develop the honey bee, in particular its waggle dance communication, as a bioindicator for the "health" of the British landscape.
I started as an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech in 2017. My lab will be looking for enthusiastic and motivated graduate students to begin autumn or winter 2020. Check out the "Opportunities" tab for more information. Interested postdocs and undergrads should contact me directly.
Contact: Email me | Google Scholar Profile | Download CV | The BeeGroup @ VT Facebook Page
Assistant Professor, Pollinator Biology & Ecology
I am a broadly trained bee researcher with a particular interest in the foraging and recruitment behaviors of the honey bee. I earned my undergraduate degree from Loyola University in New Orleans (B.S. in Biology, minor in Chemistry) and then spent a year as an AmeriCorps *NCCC volunteer. I completed a M.S. in Neurobiology at Duke University before moving overseas for my Ph.D. with Professor Francis Ratnieks at the University of Sheffield, where I investigated mechanisms of nestmate recognition in honey bees and stingless bees. As a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Anna Dornhaus at the University of Arizona, I investigated proximate and ultimate explanations for worker size variation in the bumble bee Bombus impatiens. For a second postdoc, I rejoined the lab of Francis Ratnieks, now at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. There I worked to develop the honey bee, in particular its waggle dance communication, as a bioindicator for the "health" of the British landscape.
I started as an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech in 2017. My lab will be looking for enthusiastic and motivated graduate students to begin autumn or winter 2020. Check out the "Opportunities" tab for more information. Interested postdocs and undergrads should contact me directly.
Contact: Email me | Google Scholar Profile | Download CV | The BeeGroup @ VT Facebook Page
Graduate students
Bradley Ohlinger
Brad is broadly interested in social insect communication, especially the individual and group-level behaviors used to allocate foragers according to the needs of their colony. He earned his B.S. in Environmental Science at Albright College and his M.S. in Biology from Bloomsburg University, where he studied flower constancy and innate color choice in the honey bee and the alfalfa leaf-cutter bee.
For his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, Brad is investigating honey bee foraging across different landscapes in Virginia. In particular, he will use the honey bee waggle dance to understand the spatial and temporal availability of food for honey bees in representative areas. Brad is co-advised by Dr. Maggie Couvillon and Dr. Roger Schürch, and his research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Brad is broadly interested in social insect communication, especially the individual and group-level behaviors used to allocate foragers according to the needs of their colony. He earned his B.S. in Environmental Science at Albright College and his M.S. in Biology from Bloomsburg University, where he studied flower constancy and innate color choice in the honey bee and the alfalfa leaf-cutter bee.
For his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech, Brad is investigating honey bee foraging across different landscapes in Virginia. In particular, he will use the honey bee waggle dance to understand the spatial and temporal availability of food for honey bees in representative areas. Brad is co-advised by Dr. Maggie Couvillon and Dr. Roger Schürch, and his research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Mary Silliman
Mary is interested in pollination and landscape ecology, with particular interest in statistical and ecological modeling. She earned her B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University and conducted undergraduate research in bumble bee floral preferences.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Mary is investigating honey bee foraging in row crop systems. She will use the honey bee waggle dance to determine the contribution of row crops, plants traditionally considered not to feed pollinators, to colony nutrition. Mary is co-advised by Dr. Maggie Couvillon and Dr. Sally Taylor, and her research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Mary is interested in pollination and landscape ecology, with particular interest in statistical and ecological modeling. She earned her B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University and conducted undergraduate research in bumble bee floral preferences.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Mary is investigating honey bee foraging in row crop systems. She will use the honey bee waggle dance to determine the contribution of row crops, plants traditionally considered not to feed pollinators, to colony nutrition. Mary is co-advised by Dr. Maggie Couvillon and Dr. Sally Taylor, and her research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Taylor Steele
Taylor is interested in plant-pollinator interactions and how pollinators determine the health of our ecosystem. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in California. Her background has included research in effect of neonicotinoid residue on honey bee health and diversity of native pollinators among highly disturbed habitat.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Taylor is investigating honey bee foraging in fruit and food crop systems in Northern Virginia. She will use the honey bee waggle dance to determine the contribution of fruit orchards, landscapes that often depend on honey bee pollination, to colony forage. Taylor's research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Taylor is interested in plant-pollinator interactions and how pollinators determine the health of our ecosystem. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo in California. Her background has included research in effect of neonicotinoid residue on honey bee health and diversity of native pollinators among highly disturbed habitat.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Taylor is investigating honey bee foraging in fruit and food crop systems in Northern Virginia. She will use the honey bee waggle dance to determine the contribution of fruit orchards, landscapes that often depend on honey bee pollination, to colony forage. Taylor's research is supported by The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
Micki Palmersheim
Micki is interested in identifying what plants that will increase insect diversity and abundance in your garden. She earned her B.A. in Biology at North Dakota State University and then worked as a lab tech at the USDA-ARS in Fargo, ND. Her background has included research on the sublethal impacts of neonicotinoid exposure on solitary bee physiology and behavior.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Micki is identifying which garden plants are preferred by pollinators. Although there are many lists of what plants to include in a garden, there is not enough scientific research to back these recommendations, and oftentimes the data are not available, so a gardener cannot customize the plantings. Additionally, not all pollinator plantings may be equal - while some plants may be favorable to honey bees, they may be unattractive to native bees and butterflies and vise versa, and there might also be an interesting effect from whether or not a plant is native to our region. For more, check out Micki's instagram account @plantings4pollinators. This research is supported by a donation to the Couvillon Lab from Kaeser Compressors, Inc.
Micki is interested in identifying what plants that will increase insect diversity and abundance in your garden. She earned her B.A. in Biology at North Dakota State University and then worked as a lab tech at the USDA-ARS in Fargo, ND. Her background has included research on the sublethal impacts of neonicotinoid exposure on solitary bee physiology and behavior.
For her M.S. at Virginia Tech, Micki is identifying which garden plants are preferred by pollinators. Although there are many lists of what plants to include in a garden, there is not enough scientific research to back these recommendations, and oftentimes the data are not available, so a gardener cannot customize the plantings. Additionally, not all pollinator plantings may be equal - while some plants may be favorable to honey bees, they may be unattractive to native bees and butterflies and vise versa, and there might also be an interesting effect from whether or not a plant is native to our region. For more, check out Micki's instagram account @plantings4pollinators. This research is supported by a donation to the Couvillon Lab from Kaeser Compressors, Inc.
Laura McHenry
Laura is interested in the intersection of animal behavior, wildlife ecology, and conservation. She earned her B.A. in Biology from Kenyon College, where she conducted undergraduate research in foraging ecology with Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis). Laura has also spent time studying the socioecology of Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living alongside humans in Morocco and the relationship between wildlife conservation and public health in Kenya and Tanzania. These research experiences have given rise to her holistic interest in the form and function of resilient biological and biocultural systems – from organism to biome.
For her M.S. at Virginia tech, Laura is studying honey bee communication and in the context of foraging recruitment. When a forager honey bee finds a profitable resource out on the landscape – like a good source of pollen or nectar – she may perform a waggle dance back at the hive to “tell” her nestmates where to get the good stuff. Then, bees who observed her dance may set out to follow their sister's instructions to find and forage that same floral resource. Fascinatingly, however, while some bees succeed, others never make it. Why does recruitment sometimes fail? The underpinnings of this phenomenon are still unclear. Laura plans to use waggle dance decoding alongside feeder-training experiments to better understand honey bee communication both when it succeeds, and when it appears to break down.
Laura is interested in the intersection of animal behavior, wildlife ecology, and conservation. She earned her B.A. in Biology from Kenyon College, where she conducted undergraduate research in foraging ecology with Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis). Laura has also spent time studying the socioecology of Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) living alongside humans in Morocco and the relationship between wildlife conservation and public health in Kenya and Tanzania. These research experiences have given rise to her holistic interest in the form and function of resilient biological and biocultural systems – from organism to biome.
For her M.S. at Virginia tech, Laura is studying honey bee communication and in the context of foraging recruitment. When a forager honey bee finds a profitable resource out on the landscape – like a good source of pollen or nectar – she may perform a waggle dance back at the hive to “tell” her nestmates where to get the good stuff. Then, bees who observed her dance may set out to follow their sister's instructions to find and forage that same floral resource. Fascinatingly, however, while some bees succeed, others never make it. Why does recruitment sometimes fail? The underpinnings of this phenomenon are still unclear. Laura plans to use waggle dance decoding alongside feeder-training experiments to better understand honey bee communication both when it succeeds, and when it appears to break down.
Undergraduate students
Jenna Slezak
Tessa Batterton
Taylor Carter
Junior researchers
Nathaniel and Rosalie Schürch
Nate and Rosie are investigating the effects of periodic sleep disturbance on the well-being of their parents.
Nate and Rosie are investigating the effects of periodic sleep disturbance on the well-being of their parents.
