Project Background & Further Information

2019-2020

The Haddix STEM corridor program is an opportunity for high school juniors to do research in a STEM field at Creighton University.  This was my first opportunity to conduct research at the collegiate level. Based on my application essays, interview, and indicated area of interest, I was paired with Dr. Fassbinder-Orth, an associate professor in Virology and Disease Ecology.  Her current focus is studying honeybees and finding physiological markers of bee health.  While I was excited to do the research with Dr. Fassbinder-Orth, my knowledge of honeybees was limited as my previous experience with pollinators had been with Monarch butterflies.  

Upon starting the Haddix STEM program, Dr. Fassbinder-Orth said I could help with one of the studies she had underway or develop my own project.  I informed her of my desire to compete at the Metro Science Fair and potentially get my research published.  She responded that if I wished to do so, my project would need to be of my own idea and work.  She gave me a week to do a literature review and develop a research question.  My research led me to the journal article "The function of resilin in honeybee wing joints" (Ma 2015).  I was fascinated with resilin and was eager to learn more!  After further research, Dr. Fassbinder-Orth approved my proposal to study the variance of resilin between honeybee age classes.

The Haddix program ended with a final symposium on August 12th.  After eight weeks worth of research, my small sample size had produced interesting results that warranted further study.  I wanted to continue working on the project throughout the school year.  After receiving Dr. Fassbinder-Orth's permission to continue, I contacted my guidance counselor at Omaha North, the Zoo Academy, and the OPS-Career Center liaison.  After schedule coordination and emphasis that my research was of great importance, I was allowed to visit Creighton University during the school day on Mondays and Wednesdays. 

In November I applied to the Regeneron Science Talent Search.  This was the first time I wrote a professional scientific paper for the experiment.  I also wrote many essays detailing the importance of my project and my independence in its design and completion.  I applied for the Davidson Fellows award in February and had the ultimate goal of finishing the project before March, which begins science fair season.  I continued to work at Creighton during the school day, but put in additional hours after school and on the weekend.  I competed at the Metro Science and Engineering Fair on March 5th and drove down to Oklahoma to compete in the regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium on March 6th.  It was the next week the World Health Organization classified the COVID-19 outbreaks as a global pandemic. I have continued to compete in virtual science fairs and work on my scientific paper. 

2021-2023

I returned to the lab during the summer of 2021 to perform molecular confirmation tests. Resilin gene expression was measured for each worker age caste and drones. Further literature research into the biology and age-related changes in the wing was completed. Progress on the paper continued until the final publication in September of 2023.  

Our planet is home to the only life that we know in this universe.  Ever since a young age, this life—animals and plants—has fascinated me.  The diversity and uniqueness of each species captivated my imagination. I would spend hours reading scientific books about animals, memorizing as many facts as I could.  Each species was unique but there was a universal theme in many of the books—the species was endangered and needed help. My fascination transformed into a desire to protect. 

My first research experience was an eighth grade science fair project.  I had recently learned about the Monarch butterfly’s addition to the Endangered Species list and the federal action that was taking place to conserve this important pollinator.  I designed an experiment that tested the drought tolerance of milkweed, a plant vital to the survival of the butterfly.  While my project did well at the science fair and won many awards, the best reward was seeing Monarch caterpillars on my milkweed plants.  I had helped the Monarch butterfly! 

With that science fair project, I started to understand the importance of pollinators to both the agricultural sector and the natural world, and I realized that I truly enjoyed science research. I continued to participate in science research opportunities throughout high school and in my junior year I applied for the Haddix STEM corridor program, a prestigious opportunity to complete STEM research at Creighton University.  This was my first opportunity to conduct research at the collegiate level.  Based upon my application essays and interview, I was paired with Dr. Fassbinder-Orth, an associate professor in Virology and Disease Ecology.  Her current focus is studying honeybees and finding physiological markers of bee health.  I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to work on research regarding pollinators again.  

During my literature review I began to research Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a large problem for honeybee populations. A defining characteristic of CCD is the disappearance of foragers, the oldest bees who travel outside the hive to collect pollen. Foragers use their wings more than any other age class so I focused my literature research to learn more about bee wings with the hope of finding a potential marker of bee health. I came upon resilin, an elastoprotein. There are many articles about the mechanics of resilin, as it is found in many insects, but very few studies regarding resilin in bees and only one study about resilin in honeybee wings (Ma 2015). This gap in scientific knowledge inspired my study.

A New Idea with High Impact and Broad Implications 

Foragers, the oldest honeybee biological age class, travel outside the hive to collect pollen to feed the colony.  They are the only biological age class of honeybees to travel any distance outside of the hive.  Their disappearance jeopardizes colony health and contributes to the onset of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon of mass worker bee disappearance and ultimate demise of the colony. CCD has resulted in the loss of over 10 million colonies worldwide between 2007 - 2013.  

I wondered why foragers do not return to the hive, and whether any aspect of their wings contributed to their inability to return. That is when I came upon resilin, an elastomer essential to honeybee flight and the role of the forager.  Resilin provides flexibility to the wing joints, allowing the wing to passively deform or “twist”.  This wing flexibility increases camber, reduces energy expenditure, and stabilizes the insect in flight.  Many studies on dragonflies have examined the mechanical role of resilin in insect wings and cuticle, but there is only one study looking at the mechanical role of resilin in honey bees.  There are no studies looking at the biological implications of resilin in honey bees. Thus, my project investigating the relationship between biological age and resilin distribution and abundance is a novel idea that could revolutionize how we understand honeybee health, flight, and Colony Collapse Disorder.  My results have thus far indicated that there is a statistically significant difference in the area and intensity of resilin between biological age classes and that the forager age class contains the greatest area and intensity of resilin. 

Understanding the causes of CCD and trying to prevent it is of great significance to the world’s food supply.  The European honeybee is the single most important species of pollinators to human agriculture, contributing a $20 billion USD economic impact in the United States alone. As the world’s population continues to grow, understanding the declines in honeybee populations and how to prevent them is of utmost importance. 

An Important Advancement that can be Replicated and Built Upon

As Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and other stressors continue to impact honeybee populations, it strains the global agricultural sector that is supported by honeybee pollination services. Understanding and establishing markers of honeybee health will hopefully lead to the creation of early warning systems, allowing for beekeepers to take preventative action.

As mentioned previously, CCD happens when foragers leave the hive and do not return. It is difficult to study these bees after the fact if they are never found again. Finding easily identified physiological markers of bee health is needed so that beekeepers can monitor the health of the hive and ideally be able to take preventative measures against CCD. 

I am continuing to collect data for my project in an effort to show that the initial results can be replicated.  Further planned studies include studying the amount of resilin in wings of honeybees with Deformed Wing Virus to see if the virus affects the amount and distribution of the resilin.  Does the varroa mite, an ectoparasite on Apis mellifera, affect resilin?  Do pesticides have a negative effect on resilin?  There are many other studies that can build upon my initial findings.  

An Interdisciplinary Discovery with the Potential to Effect Positive Change  

Research thus far indicates there is not a single cause of Colony Collapse Disorder but a complex array of factors including, but not limited to, viruses, mites, and pesticides.  My study verified some joints which contain resilin identified in the Ma (2015) study and then uniquely provides a quantitative measure or resilin across age classes.  The larger goal will be to see if resilin is an indicator of health.  Resilin would be a unique marker of health because of its accessibility and ease of measurement.  Currently, the equipment needed to look at resilin in a wing is accessible at research facilities across the world.

Ideally, chemists would create home test kits for resilin. Additional steps regarding CCD includes virologists and entomologist studying and identifying the effects of the varroa mite as well as looking for additional indicators of bee health. Chemical engineers, ecologists, and farmers need to work together to create more environmentally friendly pesticides that can be applied less often. Educators need to teach the public about the benefits of pollinators to flowering plants, food supply and overall environmental health.  Helping to decrease the incidence of CCD will be an interdisciplinary effort.  Understanding A. mellifera’s health is of significance as it is an indicator of the health of the ecosystem.  

How My Work Makes a Positive Contribution to Society

Pollinator decline is a current ecological crisis as they are important to the ecosystem and the production of certain agricultural products.  Scientists and apiarists do not fully understand Colony Collapse Disorder and the decline in pollinators so we need better indicators and markers of bee health.  Over 2 billion dollars have been spent between the years of 2013-2019 in an effort to replace hives lost to Colony Collapse Disorder.  If the current rate of CCD continues, managed honeybees will be nearly extinct by 2035.  If we want the world to Bee Healthy, we need Healthy Bees! 

Insects possess a very strong and flexible protein in their appendages and wing joints called resilin. In flying insects, resilin provides wing flexibility that improves flight and movement dynamics. In our study, we investigated how resilin changes with age in honey bees. We discovered that resilin genes are expressed at high levels in worker honey bee pupae, but then levels decline significantly with age. We also determined that the resilin protein is found at higher levels in some joints in the newly emerged honey bees compared to older age classes, further confirming the age-dependent nature of resilin presence in honey bee wings. Specifically, resilin is highly expressed in pupae, deposited at high amounts in some joints in newly emerged honey bees, and then expression and deposition both decline rapidly with age. Resilin must be kept hydrated to stay functional, so these results suggest that although resilin genes may not be expressed significantly after emerging, the resilin protein is likely maintained through fluid support to allow for strong flight dynamics throughout life. Resilin expression and maintenance should be explored for their potential to be used as an indicator of wing development and overall wing health in aging honey bees in the future. 

This project lasted from May 2019 to September 2023.  I have spent approximately 3,000 hours to date, imaged 1,765 wing joints, and have collected over 12,865 points of data.