Working on the PBL problem itself will take the first five weeks of the course, after which, the course will focus on communication (in particular electronic, web-based communication) and evaluation skills. In groups, the students will analyze and attempt to solve a problem involving killer bees. Students will then be introduced to web-page software for constructing web poster presentations, will prepare a web poster of their findings, and will participate in peer evaluation and presentation of their group's findings.
      During the first week of the PBL section, students will be placed into their "home group", with whom they will work to create a solution to the "killer" bee problem. These groups will consist of 5 students and will be created by the instructor to ensure that each group has a diverse composition. During the second week, these home groups will discuss and assign interest group roles. Once roles are selected, the home groups will temporarily split and new "interest groups" will form. These will be ephemeral however, and students will rejoin their home groups in the fifth week to work on preparing and communicating their solutions. Within groups, roles (facilitator, recorder, etc.) will initially be assigned by the instructor and then rotated each week. A quick explanation of the roles will be given on the first day of class.
      Answering the PBL problem and communicating the solutions will require the students to both work individually and in groups. For students enrolled in the pilot section, their PBL projects will replace the 4 homework assignments that currently count for 1/3 of the course grade in Bio Sci 1A. The PBL points will be divided as follows: 45% for the group poster detailing the group's solution to the "killer" bee problem, 25% for feedback that each individual student will give to a group, 20% for the interest group presentation, and 10% for individual student's evaluations of the group-work process. Students not enrolled in the pilot section will do the standard homework assignments.

Handouts / Resources

• Handouts modeled on PBLFI forms and/or those in Allen and Duch (1998. Thinking Towards Solutions: Problem-Based Learning Activities for General Biology; Instructor's Manual.)
  • group rules
  • role definitions
  • self-evaluation forms
• Web poster software from Case It! - A project to integrate collaborative case-based learning into international undergraduate biology curricula.
  • Download from: http://www.uwrf.edu/caseit/caseit.html
  • Contact: mark.s.bergland@uwrf.edu

   

Proposed quarter long schedule for weekly pilot section meetings

Day 1

"A swarm of killer bees viciously stung a man to death and fiercely attacked his two friends for five terrifying hours because one of the men had squashed a bee. The ferocious insects the same kind expected to reach America next year were so determined to kill that they even attacked like crazed kamikazes while the men were hiding underwater!"

--National Enquirer, before Africanized honeybees were first found in Texas

"Killer bees hit L.A."

--CNN.com, January 14, 1999

"Killer bees' presence confirmed in 4 O.C. cities"

--The Orange County Register, March 25, 1999

Africanized honeybees were first reported seen in the U.S. near Hidalgo, Texas in October, 1990. Since then, they have spread north and west through Texas and have also moved into New Mexico (1993), Arizona (1992-3), and California. The first California swarm was collected in October, 1994 near the Arizona border in the region of Blythe. This past year, their spread into areas of Los Angeles and Orange Counties was documented.

The arrival of Africanized honeybees to densely populated areas is a matter of considerable concern. Since their arrival in the United States, 5 deaths have been attributed to Africanized bee stings.

How did this happen? Will the bees continue to spread? How can they be stopped before there are more deaths?

Melly Fera, a biology graduate of UCI, becomes extremely concerned about the expansion and potential future spread of Africanized honeybees and decides to make practical use of her biology education to do something about the bee problem.
There is an ad in the Orange County Register for a bee specialist at the Orange County office of the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). The person hired for this job will be responsible for coming up with a comprehensive policy for Africanized bee control in Orange County. Melly has been doing research at UCI on mosquitoes for several years, so she has good credentials for the job and is asked to interview for the position. In preparation for her interview, she decides to bone up on bee biology so that she'll have a better understanding of the position.

In the process of reading about Africanized bee biology, she learns that they were first introduced to the Americas from Africa by a prominent Brazilian geneticist, Warwick Kerr, in 1956. Kerr was known for his extensive work studying native Brazilian bees and was also very interested in bee breeding and bee-keeping (apiculture). He thought that he might be able to produce a new breed of honeybees by crossing wild African honeybees with the honeybees used for Brazilian apiculture (domesticated European honeybees). He hoped that this cross would produce bees with a mixture of African and European traits and that they would be more productive honey producers in Brazil than the current European stock.

Dr. Kerr collected African honeybee queens and brought them back to Brazil for breeding experiments. At the end of 1956, there were 48 of these African queens in quarantine at a Brazilian agricultural research station. Preliminary breeding experiments were done by artificially inseminating the African queens with sperm from European males and many of the queens produced colonies.

Although there was attrition in the number of African queens, those that remained were doing well and, along with their workers, they were maintained in hive boxes equipped with "queen guards". These queen guards were placed over the hive openings so that workers were allowed to come and go freely from the hive to forage. However, the guards made the hive openings too small to allow the somewhat larger queens to leave the hives.
According to Dr. Kerr, a local beekeeper noticed the queen guards and removed them. Queen guards are ordinarily used only before queens begin laying eggs and the beekeeper may have thought that they'd been left on the hives by mistake.

Whatever the reason, the removal of the queen guards in October, 1957, resulted in the escape of 26 African honeybee queens along with small swarms of Africanized workers. The escaped colonies moved into the local forests and Kerr was unable to locate them. Within a few years, there were reports of honeybee swarms making vicious attacks on farm animals and humans, some leading to death of the victims. This had not happened before the escape of the Africanized bees and it soon became clear that these "killer" bees were the offspring of the escaped bees. They rapidly spread northward, reaching Mexico by the 1980's and the United States by 1990.

The interview goes extremely well and Melly is hired for the job.

1. What else will Melly need to learn about the biology of these bees in order to be able to arrive at a plan for their control?

2. What citizen groups and interest groups might Melly want to consult because they have an interest in the nature of the policy that is proposed?

3. The Africanized honeybees are new to local ecosystems. What components of the ecosystem might they affect? How should these potential ecosystem level effects be factored into Melly's policy?

Topics you may want to consider in identifying learning issues:
Invasive species
Species concepts (biological, morphological, etc.)
Population growth and regulation
Reproductive biology
Pollination biology
Bee stings

Resources
These lists are in no way exhaustive; they are intended to be a starting point! Use Biosis or Melvyl to find additional relevant books and articles and any web search engine to find more web sites.

Books:

1. The "African" honey bee /, edited by Marla Spivak, David J.C. Fletcher, and 0Michael D. Breed. Boulder : Westview Press, 1991. 435 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm. Series title: Westview studies in insect biology

2. Africanized honey bee action plan for State of California /, prepared by Governor's Task Force for Africanized Honey Bee. Rev. July 1991. [Sacramento, Calif.] : The Governor's Task Force, 1989 [i.e. 1991] 101 p. ; 28 cm.

3. [Africanized honey bee information packet], [California : s.n., 1994?] 14 p. :1 map ; 28 cm.

4. Africanized Honey Bee Symposium 1986 : Atlanta, Georgia). Proceedings of the Africanized Honey Bee Symposium, February 11-12, 1986, Atlanta, Georgia /, sponsored by American Farm Bureau Research Foundation. Park Ridge, Ill. : The Foundation, [1986] iii, 129 p. : ill., maps ; 30 cm.

5. Africanized honey bees and bee mites /, editors, Glen R. Needham ... [et al.]. Chichester, West Sussex, England : E. Horwood ; New York : Halsted Press, distributors, 1988. xviii, 572 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. Series title: Ellis Horwood series in entomology and acarology

6. Bee alert : africanized honey bee facts., [La Jolla, Calif.] : Cooperative Extension, University of California, County of San Diego. 1 folded sheet ([6] p.) : ill. ; 22 x 9 cm.

7. Cheney, Sheldon. Killer bees, Africanized bees, 1970-85 : 267 citations /, searched by Sheldon Cheney. Beltsville, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1985] [4], 21 p. ; 28 cm. Series title: Quick bibliography series NAL-BIBL. QB. 86-24., Quick bibliography series 86-24.

8. Cheney, Sheldon. Killer bees, Africanized bees, 1970-1986 : 231 citations /, prepared by Sheldon Cheney. Beltsville, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1987] 3, 16, 5 p. ; 28 cm. Series title: Quick bibliography series NAL-BIBL. QB. 87-32., Quick bibliography series 87-32.

9. Cheney, Sheldon. Killer bees/Africanized bees : January 1981-September 1990 /, Sheldon Cheney. Beltsville, Md. : National Agricultural Library, [1990] 25 p. ; 28 cm. Series title: Quick bibliography series QB 91-28

10. Crumpler, Kathleen S.. Africanized honeybees or "killer bees" : a bibliography, 1985-1988 /, Kathleen S. Crumpler. Monticello, Ill., USA : Vance Bibliographies, [1989] 10 p. ; 28 cm. Series title: Public administration series--bibliography P 2719 0193-970X ; 4002746223

11. Flakus, Greg. Living with killer bees : the story of the Africanized bee invasion /, Greg Flakus. 1st ed. Oakland, Calif. : Quick Trading Co., 1993. xv, 144 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

12. Florida. Legislature. Senate. Committee on Agriculture. A review of the migration of the Africanized honeybee to the State of Florida /, prepared by staff of the Senate Committee on Agriculture ; Mark Foley, Chairman. [Tallahassee, Fla.] : The Committee, [1993] 1 v. (various pagings) ; 28 cm.

13. Lavies, Bianca. Killer bees /, text and photographs by Bianca Lavies. 1st ed. New York : Dutton Children's Books, 1994. 1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill., col. map ; 29 cm.

14. Potter, Anthony. The killer bees /, Anthony Potter. New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1977. 159 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

15. Pringle, Laurence P.. Here come the killer bees /, Laurence Pringle. New York : Morrow, c1986. 58 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

16. Rafats, Jerry. Killer bees /, prepared by Jerry Rafats. Beltsville, Md. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1985] ii, 11, [4] p. ; 28 cm. Series title: Special reference briefs NAL SRB. 86-01., Special reference briefs NAL SRB. 86-01.

17. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Subcommittee on Agricultural Research and General Legislation. Importation of African-Brazilian honeybees : hearing before the Subcommittee on Agricultural Research and General Legislation of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session, on S. 18 ... June 3, 1975., Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1975. iii, 33 p. : map ; 24 cm.

18. DISSERTATION. Winston, Mark L.. Intra-colony demography of the Africanized honeybee in South America /, by Mark L. Winston. 1978. ii, 102 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

19. Winston, Mark L.. Killer bees : the Africanized honey bee in the Americas /, Mark L. Winston. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1992. xiii, 162 p. : ill., maps ; 22 cm.

20. Year of the Africanized bee?, Beltsville, MD : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, [1989] 6 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

21. Umbach, Kenneth W.. Africanized honeybees in California /, by Kenneth W. Umbach. Sacramento, CA : California State Library, California Research Bureau, 1999. 9 p. ; 28 cm. Series title: CRB note ; v. 6, no. 2

Articles:

1. Quezada-Euan, J. J. G.; Paxton, R. J.. Rapid inter-generational changes in morphology and behaviour in colonies of Africanized and European honey bees (Apis mellifera) from tropical Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Apicultural Research, v.38, n.1-2, 1999.:93-104.

2. Guzman-Novoa, Ernesto; Vandame, Remy; Arechavaleta, Miguel E.. Susceptibility of European and Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) to Varroa jacobsoni Oud. in Mexico. Apidologie, v.30, n.2-3, March-June, 1999.:173-182.

3. Rosenkranz, Peter. Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) tolerance to Varroa jacobsoni Oud. in South America. Apidologie, v.30, n.2-3, March-June, 1999.:159-172.

4. Guzman-Novoa, Ernesto; Page, Robert E., . Selective breeding of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Africanized areas. Journal of Economic Entomology, v.92, n.3, June, 1999.:521-525.

5. Rinderer, T. E.. The identification of Africanized honey bees: An assessment of morphometric, biochemical, and molecular approaches. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, v.44, n.1-2, 1998.:177-194.

6. Schmidt, Li S.; Schmidt, Justin O.. Africanized honey bee attack behavior and clinical consequences in humans and dogs: Experiences in USA. Toxicon, v.36, n.9, Sept., 1998.:1313. Conference: 12th World Congress on Animal, Plant and Microbial Toxins

7. Degrandi-Hoffman, Gloria; Collins, Anita; Martin, Joseph H.; Schmidt, Justin O.; Spangler, Hayward G.. Nest defense behavior in colonies from crosses between Africanized and European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Insect Behavior, v.11, n.1, Jan., 1998.:37-45.

8. Loper, Gerald M.; Fierro, Macario M.. Use of drone trapping and drone releases to influence matings of European queens in an Africanized honey bee area (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Apicultural Research, v.30, n.3-4, 1991 (1992).:119-124.

9. Echazarreta, Carlos M.; Paxton, Robert J.. Comparative colony development of Africanized and European honey bees (Apis mellifera) in lowland neotropical Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Apicultural Research, v.36, n.2, 1997.:89-103.

10. Matis, James H.; Kiffe, Thomas R.. Migration effects in a stochastic multipopulation model for African bee population dynamics. Environmental and Ecological Statistics, v.4, n.4, Dec., 1997.:301-319.

11. Piccirillo, Giancarlo A.; Quiros-De-G, Magally. Conditions of management of Africanized honeybees in Northwestern Venezuela. Interciencia, v.22, n.2, 1997.:81-86.

12. Brandeburgo, Malcon A. Manfredi; Azevedo-Marques, Marisa M. Lethality of Africanized honey bee venom. Interciencia, v.22, n.1, 1997.:31-33.

13. Quezada-Euan, Jose Javier G.; Echazarreta, Carlos M.; Paxton, Robert J. The distribution and range expansion on Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Journal of Apicultural Research, v.35, n.3-4, 1996.:85-96.

14. Diniz-Filho, Jose Alexandre Felizola. Population ecology and diffusion of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in South America. Naturalia (Rio Claro), v.21, n.0, 1996.:141-145.

15. Danka, Robert G.; Villa, Jose D.. Comparative susceptibility of Africanized honey bees from South Texas to infestation by Acarapis woodi. Southwestern Entomologist, v.21, n.4, 1996.:451-456.

16. Alves, S. B.; Marchini, L. C.; Pereira, R. M.; Baumgratz, L. L. Effects of some insect pathogens on the africanized honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hym., Apidae). Journal of Applied Entomology, v.120, n.9, 1996.:559-564.

17. Kolecki, P.; Thomas, R.. Africanized bee attacks in Arizona: Morbidity and mortality. Journal of Toxicology Clinical Toxicology, v.34, n.5, 1996.:590-591. Conference: 1996 Annual Meeting of the North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology

18. Schumacher, Michael J.; Egen, Ned B.; Tanner, David. Neutralization of bee venom lethality by immune serum antibodies. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, v.55, n.2, 1996.:197-201.

19. Rubink, W. L.; Luevano-Martinez, P.; Sugden, E. A.; Wilson, W. T.; Collins, A. M.. Subtropical Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) swarming dynamics and Africanization rates in Northeastern Mexico and Southern Texas. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, v.89, n.2, 1996.:243-251.

20. Collins, Anita M.; Rubink, William L.; Aguilar, Jose I. Cuadriello; Hellmich, Richard L. Ii. Use of insect repellents for dispersing defending honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, v.89, n.3, 1996.:608-613.

21. Silva, Etelvina C. A. Da; Silva, Ronaldo M. B. Da; Chaud-Netto, Jose; Moreti, Augusta C. C. C.; Otsuk, Ivani P.. Influence of management and environmental factors on mating success of Africanized queen honey bees. Journal of Apicultural Research, v.34, n.4, 1995.:169-175.

22. Kraus, Bernhard; Page, Robert E., . Effect of Varroa jacobsoni (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) on feral Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in California. Environmental Entomology, v.24, n.6, 1995.:1473-1480.

23. Franca, F. O. S.; Benvenuti, L. A.; Fan, H. W.; Dos Santos, D. R.; 0Hain, S. H.; Picchi-Martins, F. R.; Cardoso, J. L. C.; Kamiguti, A. S.; Theakston, R. D. G.; Warrell, D. A.. Severe and fatal mass attacks by 'killer' bees (Africanized honey bees-Apis mellifera scutellata) in Brazil: Clinicopathological studies with measurement of serum venom concentrations. QJM, v.87, n.5, 1994.:269-282.

24. Matis, J. H.; Kiffe, T. R.; Otis, G. W.. Use of birth-death-migration processes for describing the spread of insect populations. Environmental Entomology, v.23, n.1, 1994.:18-28.

25. Schiff, N. M.; Sheppard, W. S.. Mitochondrial DNA evidence for the 19th century introduction of African honey bees into the United States. Experientia (Basel), v.49, n.6-7, 1993.:530-532.

26. Hunter, L. A.; Jackman, J. A.; Sugden, E. A.. Detection records of Africanized honey bees in Texas during 1990, 1991 and 1992. Southwestern Entomologist, v.18, n.2, 1993.:79-89.

27. Guzman-Novoa, Ernesto; Page, Robert E., . Backcrossing Africanized honey bee queens to European drones reduces colony defensive behavior. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, v.86, n.3, 1993.:352-355.

28. Moretto, Geraldo; Goncalves, Lionel Segui; De Jong, David. Heritability of Africanized and European honey bee defensive behavior against the mite Varroa jacobsoni. Revista Brasileira de Genetica, v.16, n.1, 1993.:71-77.

Web Sites:

http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb
Educational site for grades K-12 from the Arizona Department of Agriculture

http://cnas.ucr.edu/~ento/CAAHB/ahb-index.html
Africanized honeybee information site from the UC Riverside Department of Entomology

http://claraweb.co.santa-clara.ca.us/agri/ahb.html
Africanized honeybee facts published by the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture and Vector Control District

http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees/
Africanized honey bee information published by The Texas A&M University Agriculture Program

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/pests/honeybee/honeybee.html
Africanized honey bee information from the California Department of Food and Agriculture

http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/ahb/
Homeowner information on the Africanized honey bee published by the Arizona branch of US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

http://persephone.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/news/GPRA99/Competitive/bees.html
Review of a publication of Purdue University on the aggression gene of Africanized honey bee

http://www.sdnhm.org/research/entomology/ahb.html
Africanized honeybee information from the San Diego Natural History Museum

http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_l/l-102.html
New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics alert about Africanized Honeybees

http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/mussen/briefs/brief8.html
UC Davis Department of Entomology brief on Africanized honey bees

Day 2

In January 2000, NBC4 led their nightly news with reports of a possible Africanized bee hive in Lake Forest (just south of Irvine). Luckily, the report stated, no one was hurt. The report also mentioned that the USDA was considering which actions to take regarding the bees. The alarmist tone of the news flash concerned residents throughout Orange County, in particular, the members of the Irvine Homeowners Association (IHA), who were concerned about both the bees and the USDA's possible actions.

At the homeowners association meeting later that week the issue of the "killer" bees was discussed. The IHA board has been known to be quite activist when it comes to issues that could affect the association's members. Therefore, it was decided that a special committee would be formed to contact the USDA regarding the potential bee problem. When the committee contacted Melly Fera at the USDA, they were not the first interest group to register their concerns with her. Earlier, the Sierra Club and local agriculture companies had both sent letters to Melly stating their intent to monitor any decisions Melly and the USDA may make.

This high level of concern by several members of the community led Melly to organize a town hall meeting where she could discuss the USDA's position and concerns regarding the Africanized "killer" bees in Orange County. Additionally, she would invite interest groups to speak and present their case. The following groups will be represented:

1. the USDA
2. the Orange County Farm Bureau
3. the Orange County Health Association-Public Health
4. the Irvine Homeowners Association
5. the Sierra Club

Before coming to the meeting, each of these groups must prepare statements of their concerns and positions regarding how the USDA may deal with Africanized bees. Everyone realized that this will be a complicated issue, thus each group must be prepared to present to Molly (and other Orange County residents) the following information:

1. Why is their group concerned about Africanized honey bees, any USDA action, or both? What economic, health, environmental, or other issues are important to the group?
    
   
2. What actions does their group believe need to be taken to deal with the bees and to address their concerns?
    
   
3. How are their concerns similar or different to other groups'? Would this affect their proposed actions (from question 2)?

In your home groups select a person to be a representative of each interest group. Then members of each interest group should get together to discuss 1) the questions listed above and 2) which ideas need to be researched more before the interest groups present their cases at the town hall meeting in two weeks.

Day 3

At the beginning of section, each interest group will reconvene to share the ideas that the members have researched and developed over the past week. Be sure that people take the roles of facilitator and recorder, as well as other roles that Dr. Berkelhamer has discussed.

After each person in your interest group has had the opportunity to share their information, your interest groups should begin to discuss the solutions that the members feel will best satisfy the goals and concerns of the group. As you discuss things, each individual should make a list of 5 points they feel should be covered by your group in next week's town hall meeting. From your individual lists, the group should arrive at a common list that will be covered by the presenter. You will also need to choose a presenter for a brief (5 minute) presentation next week. However, everyone in the group should be prepared to respond to issues and questions raised by other interest groups during the town hall meeting. As a group, you should anticipate possible objections to your position so that you will be prepared to do this.

The schedule for the town hall meeting next week follows. Since the presentations may take 75 of the 80 available minutes, each group will need to be very organized!

Schedule:

1. a 5-minute opening statement by each interest group; order to be determined randomly
    
   
2. an opportunity (5 minutes maximum) for each group to raise arguments against the statements of other interest groups.
    
   
3. a period (5 minutes per group) during which counter-arguments may be presented

Day 4

During day 4, a town hall meeting will take place in class where each interest group will present to the rest of the class a 5-minute presentation that details the group's position regarding the "killer" bee problem and which answers the questions from day 2. The order of presentation will be decided by a random draw. Each group should be prepared to begin speaking within a minute of being given the floor. Also, each person in the interest group should have some role in the presentation (providing a quick introduction, holding visual aids, being an "expert" on a particular issue, presenting the main arguments, etc.) The groups should not only provide well-supported arguments to the rest of the class, but each group should also present their information in an engaging and persuasive manner-keep in mind, you want people to be on your side. The groups should be familiar with their positions so that they can answer questions from the audience and defend their proposals.

Everyone should maintain courtesy and respect for opinions that differ from their own. Each group has important ideas and positions that must be considered when creating a final solution to the "killer" bee problem. After each group has presented, the audience will have 5 minutes to ask questions of the presenters and the presenters will have 5 minutes each to respond. If time remains after every group has presented, and all questions have been answered, the citizens/students will discuss the merits of the various proposals.

Next week, you will rejoin your home groups to begin formulating a plan that Melly should take with regard to the bees. Keep in mind that while you would like to consider solutions that address the concerns of every interest group, to create a workable plan of action you probably will have to give more weight to some concerns and less to others.