Stephen has studied social insects (bees, wasps, termites and ants) for most of his career. His areas of specialisation are the ‘hornet ecology’, ‘pest and diseases of honeybees’ and ‘chemical ecology of ants’. He holds a Chair in Social Entomology in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at Salford University, Manchester. Prior to that he spent 12 years working at Sheffield University, 7 years with the National Bee Unit and 7 years in Japan conducting research into hornets.
Stephen is best known for his work on the Varroa mite a global parasite of honeybees and its association with viruses, especially the Deformed Wing Virus, but more recently his expertise in hornet biology is in demand, both nationally and internationally. His research funded in part by beekeepers aims to understand why some honey bee colonies have become naturally tolerant to Varroa and see if this information can provide beekeepers with a long-term solution to their mite-problem.
Research Interests
Social Insects, honey bees, wasps, hornets, termites and ants.
Modelling, virology, chemical ecology
Teaching and Learning
•Helped develop and run UG field courses to the Amazon (6 trips), and UK national parks, Lake and Peak district.
•Developed new research lead courses on chemical ecology, honey bee health problems, infectious diseases and a flipped learning module.
•Developed a graphic computer model showing the daily growth of a hornet colony, which was used as a teaching aid at Exeter University.
•Developed the ‘Varroa calculator’ which allowed beekeepers to calculate in the field when control measures against the parasitic mite need to be taken.
UNDERGRADUATE AND POST GRADUATE TEACHING
•Module coordinator and teach 50% on UG Wildlife Ecology & Behaviour (2nd yr) and Evolution, Development & Adaptation (3rd yr) modules from 2013.
•Teach on 11 modules across UG/PG wildlife & biology programs at Salford.
•Delivered seminars and tutorials at Salford, Sheffield to UG & PG.
•Gave UG lectures on a regular guest basis at Exeter & Cardiff Universities.
•Lectured on the ecology of social insects at Shinshu University Japan.
Vast 4,000-Year-Old Spatial Pattern of Termite Mounds
A vast array of 200 million termite mounds have existed in NE Brazil for up to 4,000 years. These mounds cover 230,000 km2, an area similar to that of the UK, and are the result of the excavation of 10 km3 of soil during the construction of a massive underground network of tunnels. A combination of time and interconnectivity of the tunnels has allowed a regular (over-dispersed) pattern of mounds to emerge through self-organizational processes driven by episodic leaf fall.
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
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