Summer 2024
This summer, Julianna and Moira are working on evaluation techniques for detecting the presence of antibiotics in honey. Specifically, they have been taking a deeper dive into microbiological assays and how they can be used to test honey for residues. They will also be continuing research on Deformed Wing Virus in our hives and local area during the fall, with help from other professors in the GCC biology department.
More information will be added as these projects progress!
Be sure to check back during the fall to see how these and other projects progress, and to learn more about what the GCC Research Team is doing!
Spring 2024
Color Theory and Beekeeping
During the 2023-2024 school year, Matt worked on a "Color Theory Meets Beekeeping" project. Matt is a gifted artist and worked to incorporate his talents into a research project that considers specific colors and designs and how they affect bee behavior. By painting the hives with distinct designs and colors that will prevent drifting and overheating of the hive, Matt created a more suitable habitat for our bees to live in. Read more about his research by clicking the button below!
The Top Bar Hive
Luke also incorporated his technical skills into a research project this semester. During summer, Luke works with a contracting company specializing in carpentry and construction. Thus, Luke took his knowledge of woodworking to construct a Top Bar hive. This hive differs from the usual Langstroth hive in that it is a horizontal hive similar to the shape of a trough. Our team will continue to monitor this hive over the summer and following semesters to determine factors such as convenience of hive inspection, winterization capabilities, and swarm potential. May the greatest hive win!
Honey Testing
This semester, Julianna and Kaitlyn worked on a project that surveyed the plant sources of various honey samples. The samples had several different label claims, varying from "local" to "raw" to mixed origins. Our research team partnered with Jonah Ventures, a private laboratory that performs DNA metabarcoding tests on pollen residues to determine plant origin. This is an ongoing project that will be continued this summer. Check out our pollen metabarcoding results in this blog post below!
