Written by Joe Ballenger

Today’s post is a little bit different than our other posts, mostly because we’re doing it on a podcast instead of text.

A few months ago, we got a question from Peter Bryant of the Mythwits podcast about CCD. The conversation progressed, and I thought this would be a good chance to do something different and fun. So in lieu of a text post, I decided to do the podcast.

I’ve written about CCD online before, for the sustainability website Biofortified. You can read these posts here, here and here. So if you want to read these posts before hand feel free, although this is not required by any means to understand what the podcast will cover.

The podcast is normally geared towards adults, but a lot of the crass humor is going to be reined in for this particular discussion. We typically write this blog at a middle-school reading level, although this does vary depending on topic. So far as possible, we do try to keep things family friendly.

The first hour will talk about CCD, and after that we’ll talk about some of our interests which don’t revolve around science. So if you want to know what scientists are like outside of work, that will be a good opportunity.

Full disclosure: I work for a contracting agency on assignment at Monsanto, which is a large agricultural company that is currently working on some bee health projects. You can read about the specifics of those projects here. I’m not directly involved with these projects, but I am under some non-disclosure agreements which prevent me from saying anything about those projects that isn’t covered by the website. I do not write this blog on behalf of Monsanto, and will not be doing this podcast on their behalf. As with all other posts, any opinions expressed are mine and mine alone…and may or may not reflect the opinions of anyone I’m affiliated with.

Unfortunately, Nancy couldn’t attend due to a schedule conflict. I will be doing this podcast with a guest, Doug Yanega who is an entomologist from UC Riverside. Doug is a taxonomist who studies bees, and is extremely knowledgeable about insect biology. He’s written about CCD at Bug Girl’s Blog, and maintains a personal website here.

So hopefully, between my contributions and Dr. Yanega’s contributions we’ll have a good discussion that covers this issue from a variety of perspectives.