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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
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January/February 2026
INSECTS PART OF INSTITUTE RESEARCH AT SEED CAMPUS
Behind the SEED (Science, Employee Education, and
Development) Campus' main building is a wonderful world
of buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies thanks to studies
overseen by Davey Institute research lab staff.
Using multiple clover and pollinator plots, employees can
study which types of bees visit certain flowers and how
different pesticides affect flower visitation. These plots on
SEED Campus land are divided into equally shaped and
spaced squares and seeded using different methods,
including slit, drone and broadcast seeding. Next to the
pollinator plots are bee hotels, where head of beekeeping
Alex Kramer and his team study the western honeybee
and even harvest honey themselves.
"People don't know how vital bees are in everyday life,"
Kramer, lab technician, Davey Institute, said. "Without
bees, there wouldn't be any nuts, fruits or vegetables on
our dinner tables. They're also interesting because they
all work together to maintain a hive. They've had a system
that has worked for millions of years – honeybees are
proof that working together works."
With monarch releases, the team is attempting to understand
what animals try to eat monarchs and the frequency with
which they are attacked as caterpillars. Many of the research
sites are in backyards around Ohio.
Kat Hutchison, lab technician, Davey Institute, began rearing
the caterpillars into butterflies and collecting their frass,
which is insect waste, in 2025 as an added variable to the
project. The next phase of the study involves covering clay
model caterpillars with the frass to see if the smell affects
a predator's visitation frequency.
"That study, along with the others we are diligently working
on, will help create a suite of conservation ideals that can
potentially be implemented into the everyday operations of
Davey offices and service lines," Kramer said.
Kat Hutchison (left) and Alex Kramer are checking a beehive that
is maintained at the SEED Campus for research purposes.
VISION
