Geraldine A. Wright

Nutrition of honeybees is constrained by the ratios of essential amino acids in pollen protein

The paper examines how the essential amino acid (EAA) ratios in pollen affect honeybee nutrition and behavior, finding that diets matching bee tissue EAA profiles improve food intake and growth.

Acoustic phenotyping reveals sublethal pesticide stress in bees using BEEhaviourLab

The paper uses acoustic phenotyping with BEEhaviourLab to detect sublethal pesticide stress in bees by analyzing buzzing behavior.

Specialization and adaptation in pollen sterol use by wild bees

This study identifies common and specialized sterol use in UK bees, showing that pollen diet drives sterol profiles rather than phylogeny.

Bumblebees learn to use peripheral taste to predict the presence of nectar in flowers

This study shows bumblebees can detect surface taste cues on artificial flowers and learn to associate them with nectar rewards.

Pollen sterols are highly diverse but phylogenetically conserved

The paper analyzes sterol diversity in pollen from 295 UK wildflower taxa and finds that sterol composition is conserved within plant lineages and important for bee nutrition.

A technical semi-field methodology to measure the effect of nutrition on honeybee brood rearing

The paper introduces a semi-field method to assess how nutrition affects honeybee brood rearing by measuring colony growth relative to diet consumption.

Do pollinators play a role in shaping the essential amino acids found in nectar?

This study investigates whether pollinators influence the essential amino acid profiles in nectar by testing bumblebee preferences and finding no direct selection pressure but post-ingestive evaluation mechanisms.

Essential sterols from engineered yeast prevent honeybee colony population decline

This paper shows that engineered yeast producing essential sterols can improve honeybee colony health and brood rearing when added to pollen substitutes.

Mouthparts of the bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) exhibit poor acuity for the detection of pesticides in nectar

This study shows bumblebees cannot detect or avoid field-relevant pesticide concentrations in nectar using their mouthparts.

Temporal responses of bumblebee gustatoryneurons to sugars

This study shows that bumblebee gustatory receptor neurons encode sugar value through distinct temporal firing patterns, revealing specialized mechanisms for detecting nutritional and toxic sugars.