The APHIS National Honey Bee Survey (NHBS) is a comprehensive physical examination of apiaries throughout the United Stated. The NHBS began in 2009 in order to address rising concerns over the health and sustainability of honey bee populations. The NHBS was funded by USDA-APHIS and is a collaboration between the University of Maryland and the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory. The purpose of the NHBS is to be a comprehensive analysis of honey bee pests and an examination of the health of apiaries to further provide context for future and present epidemiological studies. One aspect of the NHBS is that each sample is tested for the…
Author: Shayne Madella
Shayne Madella is a Faculty Research Assistant at the University of Maryland as part of the Bee Informed Partnership. She specializes in molecular biology lab work which includes the extraction and quantification of honey bee virus’ for the APHIS National Honey Bee Survey. She also helps with varroa, nosema and tropilalaep sample processing with the BIP Team. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and is beginning her Masters in Bioinformatics. She found out about BIP through a friend who was working at the lab and began interning in 2013. After that, she has found a new fascination with honey bees and native bees alike. Before joining the lab she has always had a fascination with biology and nature. One of her prior experiences included working with the Bahamas National Trust to help design a national trail system around blue holes and teaching environmental sustainability to children.
Shayne joined BIP in 2013 because “I feel that what I do matters and that I am making a positive difference in the world.”