Dr. Susan Dudley’s Trailblazing Bee Research

Dr. Susan Dudley’s research, published in The Canadian Entomologist and highlighted in Brighter World McMaster, has uncovered an unexpected link between local bee populations and non-native snails. Led by students Isobel Fanaki and Sebastian Irazuzta, their work has revealed that native bees thrive by using shells from European grove snails as incubators for their offspring. This work highlights an intriguing adaptation that seems to have helped support and bolster bee populations in the area.