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Save the Bumblebees
About Me

Research Interests:

I completed an Hons B.Sc. in Zoology at the University of Toronto, St.George campus. During this time I assisted various people in Dr. Thomson's lab 
with projects on pollination biology/pollinator behaviour and completed two honours theses.  The first looked at the effects of parasites on bumblebee
foraging behaviour and the second documented the transfer of parasites from commercial bumble bees used for greenhouse pollination to wild bumblebees
foraging near greenhouses.          

 
I am now pursuing a PhD in Biology at York University under the supervision of Dr. Packer. My projects include determining to what extent the Rusty-
Patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) has declined throughout its native range and how bumblebee species diversity has changed in southern Ontario, Canada over
the past 100 years.  I am also interested in determining habitat associations and requirements for each eastern species in order to aid future conservation
efforts.  The possible causes for decline which I am currently looking into include pesticide use, disease susceptibility, habitat loss and climate change.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Here are some media links related to my research:

Signs of Decline, First Honeybees, Now Bumblebees -Washington Post

Colony Collapse Disorder:Many Suspects, No Smoking Gun -BioScience

The Disappearing Bumblebee -CBC's Quirks & Quarks

North America's Losing Its Bumblebees -CurrentResults.com

Plight of the Bumblebee -Toronto Star

Plight of the Bumblebee- Canadian Geographic
headshot.jpg

Sheila R. Colla

Scientific Publications: 
  • Colla, S.R. & M. Otterstatter (In Prep) Status Report for the Western Bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis). COSEWIC, Environment Canada
  • Colla, S.R. (Submitted) Natural history notes for the bumble bees of southern Ontario.
  • Colla, S.R. & C.M. Ratti (2010) Evidence for the decline of the Western Bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis Greene) in British Columbia Pan-Pacific Entomologist 86:32-34.
  • Ratti, C.M. & S.R.Colla (In press) The presence of an eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, in western Canada
  • Colla, S.R. (Submitted) Status Report for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee (Bombus affinis). COSEWIC, Environment Canada
  • Colla, S.R,, E.Willis, & L.Packer. (2009)  Can green roofs provide habitat for urban bees? CATE.  (2):1 [Online] http://escholarship.bc.edu/cate/vol2/iss1/4/
  • Williams, P., S.R. Colla & Z. Xie. (2009) Bumblebee vulnerability: common correlates of winners and losers across three continents. Conservation Biology  23: 931-940
  • Colla, S.R. & L. Packer. 2008. Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumblebees (Hymenoptera:Apidae), with special focus on Bombus affinis. Biodiv and Cons 17: 1379-1391
  • Colla, S.R., M.C. Otterstatter, R.J. Gegear & J.D. Thomson. 2006.  Plight of the bumblebee: Pathogen spillover from commercial to wild populations. Biol Cons 129: 461- 467
  • Otterstatter, M.C., R.J. Gegear, S.R. Colla & J.D. Thomson. 2005.  The effects of two parasites on bumblebee foraging behaviour. BES 58: 383-389
DOWNLOAD PDFs

Colla&Ratti2010.pdf

WilliamsCollaandXie2009

Colla&Packer2008

Colla et al.2006

OtterstatterGegearCollaandThomson2005