Apis mellifera is the primary managed pollinator in the world and it is required for pollination of $40B of agricultural crops per year in the US alone. Pollination contributes significantly to food security, the ability of a country to produce its own food, and as such is a factor in economic and social security and stability. Apis mellifera is also a sentinel species and like the proverbial canary in a coal mine, may be instrumental in identifying toxic synergisms of compounds that are relatively harmless individually. Additionally, Apis mellifera has value as a model for network science and more broadly, as a model eukaryotic organism. Recent declines in both feral and managed Apis mellifera populations indicate a lack of understanding of how Apis mellifera responds to and is impacted by biological and non-biological agents.

Research in this group is concerned with identifying factors that negatively and positively impact Apis mellifera health and survival. This group seeks to exploit advances in molecular biology, genetics and genomics, in synergism with other disciplines, to identify genes and pathways that interact with and respond to biological and abiological factors in the environment.