A&M facility aims to shore up weak link in food chain.

By Dorian Martin

What’s the buzz about in Texas A&M University’s entomology department? Researchers and Texas beekeepers are astir about the creation of the new Janice and John G. Thomas ’59 Honey Bee Facility, dedicated on February 20, 2010. "The dreams, passions, and hard work of many have brought us to the opening of this much needed facility," said Dr. Kevin Heinz, head of Texas A&M’s entomology department. "The Janice and John Thomas (’59) Honey Bee Facility provides the necessary infrastructure to insure research on honey bees continues well into the future."

Honey bee research and education began a century ago at Texas A&M. However, in 1965 Texas A&M’s last bee researcher left to work at Harvard. As Texas A&M and other state and federal institutions scaled back research programs, honey bees began facing a variety of external and economic threats.

"All of these problems significantly impacted the bottom line of the commercial beekeeper," said Thomas, a Texas AgriLife Extension entomologist emeritus who served as the Texas Beekeepers Association’s executive secretary for 14 years. "And these issues also had an impact on consumers since about one-third of what we eat has to be pollinated."

Facility Created to Solve Critical Problems
The real-world external and economic threats faced by the honey bee industry proved to be the impetus for A&M to review and renew its commitment to honey bees and beekeepers. "The problems that we’ve faced during the past 20 years as well as those we’re now facing in the field are the biggest reasons for having the research facility," said Todd Youngblood, the TBA president.

The facility, which was initially suggested in the early 1990s when the first African bee colony was discovered in South Texas, was created through a campaign coordinated by the Texas A&M Foundation. Financial support came from TBA, the Thomases, the Heep Foundation, Texas A&M’s Department of Entomology, and Texas AgriLife Research. Dr. Craig Nessler, director of Texas AgriLife Research, said, "This wonderful new facility will support this and other translational research to ensure that this critical component of our agroecosystem continues to thrive and prosper."

For more information about how you can support Texas A&M’s Department of Entomology, contact Monica Delisa, senior director of development for Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, at (979) 847-9314.