Felicity Muth: "What Are Bees Thinking?"

UC Davis assistant professor Felicity Muth will present a Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on "What Are Bees Thinking? Cognition in Captive and Wild Bumble Bees" on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Her seminar will take place at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall and also will be on Zoom. The link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

"Understanding the ‘Umwelt’ of an animal goes hand-in-hand with understanding their ecology, since animals’ cognition reflects environmental challenges, past and present," Muth says in her abstract. "Bumble bees have long been studied for their learning and decision-making abilities, and more recently have emerged as models for ‘complex cognition.' 

"Here I discuss our work using bumble bees in the lab where we ask ecologically relevant questions about their cognition, attempting to capture some of the complexity of their natural environments, including human-posed challenges. In addition, I discuss recent work on comparative cognition in wild bumblebees. Finally, I will discuss the importance of science communication."

Muth, a member of the faculty of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, UC Davis College of Biological Sciences since 2014,  specializes in animal behavior and cognition, including aspects of learning and memory that have a clear function in the natural world. 

As part of the UC Davis' $1.039 billion in external research awards, Muth received funding from The National Geographic Society for her project, "Ecology Shaping Cognition: An Exploration with Wild Bees." 

Muth is the author of a children's book,  "Am I Even a Bee?"  and is a scholar with the Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS). 

Muth, originally from London, completed her undergraduate degree in zoology from the University  of Edinburgh in 2009, and her doctorate in biology from the University of St. Andrews in 2012.  After receiving her doctorate, she began studying bumble bee cognition at the University of Arizona and University of Nevada, Reno. She was funded by L'Oreal for Women in Science, the American Association of University Women, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

For any Zoom technical issues, contact seminar coordinator Marshall McMunn, assistant professor, at msmcmunn@ucdavis.edu.