Seeing impacts from your research can be a long, laborious and tedious process. But testing a hypothesis and discovering a fact that ends up impacting everyday people — that’s a crowning achievement for a scientist.
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Assistant professor Cameron Jack was able to do just that. After years of research into how to protect honey bees from damaging pests, his work has led to a change in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pesticide labelling for oxalic acid to create a more effective pest management option for beekeepers.
Jack, a faculty member in the UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department, said oxalic acid is used on beehives to treat a parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, which can cause an entire honey bee colony to collapse.
The EPA’s pesticide label had previous stated that for the vaporizer method of applying oxalic acid, only 1 gram of oxalic acid dihydrate powder could be used per brood chamber. Now, up to 4 grams can be used, which his research showed to be effective at killing the mites without hurting the honey bees. EPA released a letter on June 24, confirming the label change.
“It was a long battle,” Jack said. “It was really meaningful to see that our research had a real-world impact on beekeepers’ lives and hive management practices.”
For more information, please contact Meredith Bauer at meredithbauer@ufl.edu.
