Title: Pesticides, mosquito control, and stingless bees in SE Queensland

Presenters: Dr Brian Johnson and Dr James Hereward

Summary: This talk will look at the potential for interactions between mosquito control programs and stingless bees around SE Queensland. We will discuss what we know so far about the likely impact of various pesticides (mostly from work on honeybees). We will then outline a proposed program of research to better understand the likely points of contact between mosquito control programs and stingless bees, and to test the effects of commonly used mosquito control products directly on locally native stingless bee species.

Biographies

Dr Brian Johnson  Brian is a Senior Research Officer in the Mosquito Control Laboratory (MCL) at QIMR-Berghofer and also currently serves as the Research Scientist for the Mosquito and Arbovirus Research Committee (MARC). The MARC is an independent Australian body that represents local government and state health departments. Members are committed to implementing effective, environmentally conscious measures of mosquito control and disease prevention supported by scientific research. Brian works in the lab and field to help achieve these goals. Brian has worked extensively in both the United States and Australia to improve the surveillance and control of economically and medically important mosquito species.

Dr James Hereward  James is a research fellow at the University of Queensland (UQ) and uses ecological genetics to understand insect pests, weeds, and pollinators, with the overall goal of improving food security and sustainable production. Together with Tobias Smith, James helps to run the UQ stingless bee lab and has co-supervised a number of student projects on the ecology and genetics of stingless bees. James is currently working in the lab of Professor Mike Furlong and developing methods and approaches for better  understanding the interactions between insecticides and pollinators.

All are welcome to attend in person at Bulimba Community Centre, 1 Barramul St, Bulimba, Brisbane. Free for members, $5 for non-members. ANBA members can attend by Zoom, a link to join will be sent by email prior to the event.

Masks and vaccine certificates required please.