KU News Release

Entomologist to offer talk on the threats facing honey bees and other pollinators

LAWRENCE — You can thank a honey bee for the fruit you put on your breakfast cereal, for now. But as pollinators go, so does the food supply — and pollinators are struggling.

Chip Taylor, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Kansas, said if populations of honey bees and other pollinators continue to decline, the diversity of plant life will be in peril, as will the animal populations that depend on that diversity for survival. Fruits, vegetables and other flowering plants would be unable to reproduce without adequate pollinators.

Taylor will lead a talk and discussion about the decline of pollinator populations at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at KU’s Natural History Museum. The event is free.

The talk will include a look at the much-publicized Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disappearance of thousands of honey bee colonies. Taylor also will discuss the interconnected conditions that are working against pollinators, including agricultural practices, pesticides and changes in the atmosphere.

“What’s Happening to Our Honey Bees, Bumble Bees and other Pollinators?” is the third in the museum’s monthly Wild Science series. Held the first Wednesday of each month, the series offers a chance for the public to ask questions directly to researchers in an informal setting. Coffee, hot chocolate and cookies will be served.

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