Objectives:
The objectives of the World Honey Bee Health COLOSS Task Force are to:
- Monitor and document the global distribution of Apis mellifera pests and pathogens, and
- Serve as a resource for the honey bee research community/authorities to make science-based decisions that will improve the health of honey bees and the sustainability of beekeeping globally.
Meet the Team
The World Honey Bee Health Task Force is administered by a team of Regional Coordinators.
Humberto Boncristiani
Research Scientist
Dr. Humberto Boncristiani is the honey bee husbandry applied researcher at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. Dr. Boncristiani has a diverse background in honey bee research, having worked in a government institution (USDA), academia (UNCG, UMD), private industry, with the National Research Council, and having come from a beekeeping family. At the Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab, Dr. Boncristiani conducts honey bee husbandry research that is directly applicable to commercial beekeeper operations in the state of Florida and across the country. He is also the founder of InsideTheHive.TV a YouTube channel dedicated to bees
Jason Grahan
Research entomologist
Dr. Jason Graham completed his MS and PhD in the UF Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab 2006-2013. As a post doctoral researcher at University of Hawaii, Dr. Graham studied endangered Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, developing conservation methods and spreading awareness about their decline. He is now principal investigator for the Pollinators in Paradise project, supported by Disney Conservation Funds through a partnership with the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
Jamie Ellis
Task Force Chair
Dr. Ellis is the Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology in the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida (UF). At the University of Florida, Dr. Ellis has responsibilities in extension, instruction, and research related to honey bees. Regarding his extension work, Dr. Ellis created the UF Bee College, the UF Master Beekeeper Program, Two Bees in a Podcast, and the YouTube Beekeeping Academy series. As an instructor, Dr. Ellis supervises Ph.D. and MS students studying honey bees. Dr. Ellis and his team conduct research projects in the fields of honey bee husbandry and ecology. He is also a Council Member for the International Bee Research Association (https://ibra.org.uk/) and an editor of the COLOSS BEEBOOK series (https://coloss.org/activities/coreprojects/beebook/).
Website: www.ufhoneybee.com
Ashley Mortensen
Research entomologist
Ashley Mortensen is Senior Scientist at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research. Her research focuses on honey bee behavior and biology. She strives to combine laboratory studies that investigate specific relationships between individual bees and their environment with field studies that investigate the broader relationship between the colony as a whole and the environment.
Daniel Schmehl
Research entomologist
Dr. Dan Schmehl is a senior ecotoxicologist and pollinator specialist at Bayer CropScience. Dan served as a post-doc in Jamie’s laboratory from 2013-2014. His expertise are: honey bee husbandry, pollinator ecotoxicology, and Varroa. His primary responsibility is to conduct environmental risk assessments aimed at reducing non-target effects of pesticides to pollinators and other species.
Cameron Jack
Apiculture Lecturer
Cameron Jack is the Apiculture Lecturer and Distance Education Coordinator for the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida. His main interest is to serve the beekeeping industry by providing practical solutions to beekeepers seeking to improve honey bee health. Currently, his research efforts are focused on honey bee epidemiology and toxicology. As often as possible, he tries to support undergraduate students with their research questions and ensure that they are conducting publishable studies that contribute to the overall body of scientific knowledge.
Chase Kimmel
Research entomologist
Dr. Chase Kimmel is a postdoctoral associate at the Florida Museum of Natural History. His main research interests revolve around insect conservation and investigating how different land management practices impact the pollinator/flower-visiting insect community. Currently, his research is examining the distribution, ecology, and habitat requirements of the blue calamintha bee (Osmia calaminthae), a very rare bee that is only known to occur on the southern part of the Lake Wales Ridge in Florida.
Tomas Bustamante
Software developer