LACBA Speaker November 2, 2026 - Genesis Chong (In Person)

Can some bees thrive better with Varroa? What Southern California hybrid honey bees may teach us

Genesis Chong is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside, where she studies how honey bees respond to various forms of stress, including parasites such as Varroa destructor and environmental challenges like heat stress. Her work combines field and laboratory approaches to understand the mechanisms that allow some bees to survive under pressure. She is particularly interested in how immune responses and host-parasite interactions contribute to resilience, with the goal of supporting more sustainable beekeeping practices.

Presentation:
In ongoing evidenced-based research, it is clear that some feral or hybrid bee populations consistently maintain lower varroa mite levels and require fewer mite treatments. Chong's research goal is to understand what exactly causes this phenomenon, and isolate it in order to benefit large scale bee populations, through the establishment of a molecular breeding program. In this talk, she will share her findings from her long-term study of feral-hybrid honey bee colonies in Southern California.