The State of Iowa will host the Rossmann Manatt 2021 seminar on Thursday, titled “The Bee Squad: Understanding and Improving Pollinator Health in Iowa.” The seminar will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Room 360 at Heady Hall.

Sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Student Government Conferences Committee, the seminar will explore some of the current research on pollinator conservation and bee health. The seminar will also feature short videos on the projects students worked on that were funded by the program.

The seminar will be presented by the winner of the 2021 Rossmann Manatt Prize, Amy Toth, professor in the departments of ecology, evolution, organism biology and entomology. Toth studies the mechanisms of insect sociality through evolution and uses honey bees and paper wasps as modeling systems.

The Rossmann Manatt Award is used to recognize outstanding faculty members of the College of Agriculture or the College of Humanities. The award is given to tenured professors who demonstrate creativity and productivity in their role as professors.

This seminar serves to highlight research carried out on bee health and pollinator conservation. Bees play an important role in the pollination of plants and are an important part of our ecosystems. This seminar will raise awareness of these issues and draw more attention to ongoing work in this area.

The Iowa State Lecture Series offers students and the public a range of educational lectures and seminars. All events are free, funded by both the student government and the provost’s office.