“Back to the Bee” by Jim Paterson, 1989
The Brock Bee Lab is the research group of Miriam Richards (mrichards at brocku.ca) at Brock University. We study the behaviour, evolution and ecology of bees, mostly in the Niagara region of southern Ontario, Canada, but sometimes in other places. Our favourite study species are the common bees that most people, even biologists, never notice, in particular, sweat bees and carpenter bees. We have two main lines of long-term research: 1. behavioural and social evolution in sweat bees and carpenter bees, and 2. changing abundance and diversity of bees in disturbed landscapes, especially in former landfill sites. We use all sorts of approaches, including field experiments, extensive behavioural observations, and molecular biology tools aimed at uncovering genetic variation. Our lab includes undergraduate and graduate students, and luxury of luxuries, a research technician.
As for me, I’ve been in love with animals since before I can remember. Now studying animals is my job – I’m a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Brock University, in St. Catharines, Ontario. Since 2018, I’ve been Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Insectes Sociaux. I teach undergraduate courses in Zoology, Animal Behaviour, Molecular Ecology, and Genes and Behaviour, as well as graduate course topics that change from year to year. I live at FarrFetched Farm in Welland, Ontario, where I spend a lot of time growing flowers and bees and chasing the dogs and chickens out of the gardens.
Brock Bee Lab 