Current Research Program:

My major areas of research interest include life history, caste structure, and reproduction in social insects, pheromones of honey bees and their pests, crop pollination and pollination biology, and 4) bee management. Current projects include 1) pheromone effects on worker ovary development, 2) the evolution of multiple mating in honey bees, 3) bumble bee drifting and orientation studies, 4) pollinator life history and management in managed greenhouse tomato systems, 5) impact of genetically modified pollens and novel pesticides on non-target wild bees, 6) interactions between agricultural practices, nearby plant communities, and pollinator diversity and abundance, and 7) the Once Upon a Bee project which is studying bee populations in urban habitats and encouraging conservation programs. Also, we are continuing basic studies of honey bee behaviours associated with swarming, temporal polyethism, and foraging, as well as other beekeeping and pollination management projects.

Centre for Pest Management
Behavioural Ecology Research Group
Curriculum Vitae (MS Word)
Short Curriculum Vitae (MS Word)
Popular nature and science articles

Selected Publications (for a full publication list, see link to Curriculum Vitae )

Winston, M.L. 2002. Travels in the Genetically Modified Zone. Harvard University Press.

Winston, M.L. 1997. Nature Wars: People vs. Pests. Harvard University Press.

Plettner, E., K.N. Slessor, M.L Winston and J.E. Oliver. 1996. Caste-Selective Pheromone Biosynthesis in Honeybees. Science. 271: 1851-1853.

Winston, M.L., K. N. Slessor, 1992. The essence of royalty: honey bee queen pheromone. American Scientist 80: 374-784.

Winston, M.L. 1987. The Biology of the Honey Bee (Harvard University Press).

Once Upon a Bee Project

A typical scene from a honey bee colony during the summer. From: The Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark L. Winston (Harvard University Press).