Why Queen Bees Can Have It All
Biologist Karen Kapheim
DR. KAREN KAPHEIM, PROFESSOR, USU DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AND USU ECOLOGY CENTER
Date
FRIDAY, March 20, 2026
7 p.m. Eccles Science Learning Center,
Emert Auditorium, Room ESLC 130
Hands-on learning activities, along with refreshments, follow the talk in the Eccles Science Learning Center atrium.
Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
Directions and Parking Information
Talk Description
All living things, including people, face trade-offs. We only have so much time and energy to accomplish the things we want to do. Animals strive to reproduce, live as long as possible and defend their young, but sometimes they have to give up one or more of these goals. Queen bees, on the other hand, have lots of helpers that enable them to avoid more trade-offs than most other animals, and to accomplish more of what they want to do.
USU biologist Karen Kapheim and her graduate students study the fascinating lives of social bees. Karen will tell us about the lives of queen bees, and will share what these creatures can teach us about evolutionary processes.