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Many arthropods, especially the social insects, are susceptible to a wide variety of pathogens. They can be influenced by their uninvited guests in many ways, changing their appearance and ability to reproduce, as well as many aspects of their behavior. But they may just as well remain unnoticed because they affect their hosts in ways invisible to the human eye.

As part of a wider project, it is my job to study the pathogens that are prevalent in bumble bees. My goal is to identify the various species and understand the relationship they have with their hosts. I will study the ecology of pathogens and create environments under which it will be possible to investigate the susceptibility of several species of bumble bees to a number of pathogens.

"An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer."
Max Planck