Department of Entomology

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Tanya Pankiw

Associate Professor

Education:

Post-Doctoral Research Department of Entomology University of California, Davis, California, USA
Doctor of Philosophy Biology Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
Master of Science Entomology University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Bachelor of Science Plant Science University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

 

TEACHING ACTIVITIES: I teach courses in Honey Bee Biology on campus (ENTO 320), at a distance (ENTO 320) and, in continuing education (ENTO 320). I also supervise graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: My current appointment is 75% research and 25% teaching. My research is primarily focused on basic and applied aspects of honey bee pheromone biology, behavior, and nutrition. I supervise several graduate and undergraduate student research projects and, I teach ENTO 320, Honey Bee Biology in the classroom and online. Additionally, I provide most of the content for the department honey bee web site at http://honeybee.tamu.edu/ and am active in updating the content.

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Honey bee pheromones and their affects on individuals and colonies.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES: My current research interests are concerned with the mechanisms that regulate the organization of honey bee colonies. A social insect colony represents a complex system that emerges from the simple actions of thousands of individuals. A central view of social insect colony organization is the response threshold model, such that individuals have different response thresholds for stimuli that mediate responses. Response stimuli act on multiple systems from genes to behavior. Individuals have different response thresholds for stimuli that mediate responses. An emergent property is the division of labor among thousands of individuals divided by task like “organs� serving different functions that collectively integrate activities to function like a single organism. Specifically we study effects of pheromones on honey bee neurosensory physiology, endocrinology, behavior ontogeny, and gene expression.