02/18/21 

HAYS, Kan. – The first edition of Fort Hays State University’s Science Café for the new year has been set for Monday, Feb. 28. The monthly presentation about science, sponsored by FHSU’s Science and Mathematics Education Institute (SMEI), will begin at 7 p.m. at The Venue in Thirsty’s Brew Pub & Grill, 2704 Vine.

Dr. James Balthazor, associate professor of chemistry at FHSU, will present “Saving Bees by Killing Them.”

The honey bee is a significant agricultural tool that is suffering from many factors that lead to colony collapse and the overall death of arguably the world’s most important pollinator.

The infestation of parasites, or parasitization, is one of the factors that may lead to colony collapse. Balthazor will outline the research being done at FHSU into the mitigation of parasites, which starts with isolation and production of genetic “poisons.”

Science Café presentations are free and open to the public. Questions can be directed to Cari Rohleder at cbrohleder@fhsu.edu or 785-628-4743 or by visiting:

www.fhsu.edu/smei

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