Professor Laurence Packer, professor of biology in the Faculty of Science & Engineering, spoke to Bob McDonald, host of CBC's Quirks & Quarks on June 26 about his research on international bee populations. He is the author of Keeping the Bees: Why All Bees Are at Risk and What We Can Do to Save Them.

You can listen to the interview on Quirks & Quarks' Website. The clip runs approximately 10 minutes.

Here's what Quirks & Quarks had to say about it:

That constant buzzing noise coming from South Africa these days makes Dr. Laurence Packer think of his true passion. He's a Canadian melittologist, which means that when he hears buzzing, he thinks of "the beautiful insect" rather than "the beautiful game." Dr. Packer studies bees, and in his latest book, he dispels a lot of myths - for instance, not all bees sting, not all bees make honey, and not all bees live in social colonies - and he warns that unless we do more to save the bees, we risk losing many of our food crops.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.