USU Undergrads Experience Life Sciences Research in Immersive Summer Mentorship Program

It’s said you are what you eat, and for bumble bees, the nectar they drink from available flowers not only affects their health and behavior, but also the entire ecosystem in which they reside.

“As pollinators, bees of many species are crucial to our food supply and all can be affected by viruses, pests, pesticides and other issues,” says Utah State University ecologist Valerie Martin, who conducts research in the lab of USU faculty member Robert Schaeffer. “This past winter, we experienced record, national losses of honeybee colonies. As such, bumble bees have become increasingly important pollinators in agricultural systems. Understanding the role of microbes affecting bee health and behavior may aid in their management.”

To better understand factors affecting bumble bee health, Martin, a doctoral candidate in USU’s Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center, is exploring bumble bee taste and scent preferences for varied nectars. She enlisted help from undergraduates Noah Todachiny and Sage Yazzie, who are participants in USU’s Native American Summer Mentorship Program.

In its 10th year, the monthlong program welcomes about 18 early undergrads to the Logan campus to learn about USU’s broad range of four-year bachelor’s degree programs and to experience, firsthand, undergraduate research in varied disciplines. Additionally, NASMP participants learn how these degree programs and experiences are building blocks to graduate and professional school opportunities.

The first order of business for Martin’s undergraduate lab assistants? Moving nearly 100 bees into clear cylindrical feeding chambers, about the length of a pencil, in preparation for testing the insects’ taste and scent preferences.

“I had a little anxiety about that task at first, but Valerie showed us how to do it,” says Yazzie, who is a welding major at USU Blanding.

“We put the bees in the fridge so they’re chilled out before we move them,” Martin says. “Bumble bees are adapted to the cold, so they’re able to warm themselves up fairly quickly.”

Todachiny, a journalism major at USU’s Logan campus, also expressed some trepidation about handling stinging insects.

“It’s kind of weird to be able to observe a creature up close that’s used to freely roaming around in nature,” he says.

The undergrads learned the bees used in the experiment are from eight source colonies maintained in the bumble bee rearing room at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit in Logan. The eight bee nests are divided into two groups, supplied with either sterile nectar made in the lab or the same nectar fermented for three days by four yeast species.

“We are conditioning the bees with either non-fermented or fermented nectar as food sources, then testing how that conditioning affects their smell and taste preferences for food outside the nest,” Martin says.

Though life sciences are a departure from Yazzie and Todachiny’s usual studies, both enjoyed observing the bees.

“I look at bees as builders like us, and especially like me, as a welder,” says Yazzie, a 2016 graduate of Montezuma Creek, Utah’s Whitehorse High School, who uses his welding skills to create metal sculptures.

Todachiny says the experience is his first time in a lab, and he’s surprised at the amount of set-up and repetition required for research.

“I like learning new things,” says the 2020 graduate of Utah’s Tooele High School. “My journalism emphasis is on video and I like being able to tell stories that aren’t usually told — to shine a light on lesser-known subjects.”

Todachiny and Yazzie are visiting multiple labs, workspaces and museums on campus and sampling varied disciplines. They and their fellow NASMP participants are also participating in recreational activities and visiting local sites, including Logan Canyon.

Participants in the 2025 Native American Summer Mentorship program present their research experiences Tuesday, June 10, 9-11:30 a.m. in MAIN 121. All are welcome.