Can a CU insect expert warn the U.S. about a honeybee crisis before it’s too late?

In The NOCO

A tiny parasite is an emerging threat to honeybees globally. And a scientist at the University of Colorado is sounding the alarm.

Dr. Samuel Ramsey is an entomologist, someone who studies insects. Dr. Sammy, as he is also known, is assistant professor of entomology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and talks about science on his YouTube channel.

The tropilaelops mite -- or as Ramsey likes to call them, tropi-mites -- have devastated bees in Asia and are spreading to Europe. Ramsey is studying how we might prevent this species from spreading to North America and becoming a honeybee pandemic.

Ramsey is a gay, Christian, Black scientist who attributes much of his research success to his unique perspective. We talked with him about what tropilaelops could mean for honeybees, as well as how a diversity of viewpoints makes for better scientific research.