California Honey Bee Sampling 2010 Gigapan #5 by Dennis vanEngelsdorp

This is our three man sampling team.

I have had the pleasure of working with nathan rice of the usda bee research lab for three years on surveys like this one. Nathan is Jeff Pettis' right hand man...needless to say Nathan is a very busy man and a key player in the research (especially the field work) that goes on at the Bee Research lab in Beltsville, MD.

Rob Snyder joined the research team a year ago and since then his knowledge of bees and abilities in the field have been a tremendous asset to the Survey team.

I am the odd one out because prior to joining the research team almost four years ago I had no prior beekeeping experience. I was forced to learn quickly! I really don't think I knew what I was getting myself into...

Nathan got his Masters Degree in Vancouver then spent some time in New Zealand working with a commercial beekeeper until taking a job with the USDA seven years ago.

Rob Snyder studied bees at Delaware Valley College and then moved on after graduation to become an Apiary Inspector for the state of Pennsylvania covering the greater Philadelpphia area. Rob worked as an Inspector for two years before joing the research team. He is an excellent taxonomist specializing in native and solitaire bee identification. Rob is also an expert in identifying bee diseases in the field.

I began working for Dennis vanEngelsdorp in March of 2007 and received my "baptism by fire" into the realm of the beekeeping world while doing field work during the onslaught of CCD. Dennis hired me without even looking at my resume. I think he was more concerned about having someone around to help lift heavy honey supers than hiring someone with beekeeping experience. Whatever the case may be I am glad to be a part of this group.

There aren't two other guys in the country I would rather work with. Each of us brings something different to the table and best of all we enjoy the work we do...Which for me is the single best quality a co-worker can possess. Generally if you like your job that equates to minimal complaining. The survey work can sometimes be grueling and complaining about things you have no control over doesn't help the job get done faster!