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James Wilson

Extension Apiculturist
James_Wilson
312 A Price Hall

About

I joined the Virginia Tech faculty in January 2017 as the new Extension Apiculturist.  My focus includes many Extension efforts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, teaching the Bees and Beekeeping class, Insects in Human Society class on campus, and I serve as the faculty advisor to the student club the Beekeepers at Virginia Tech.  In my Extension efforts I work with growers, gardeners, naturalists, beekeepers, educators, and Extension Agents throughout the Commonwealth. In the field and in class, I am committed to bringing the principles of integrated pest management to beekeeping, as well as working with the public to re-emphasize the importance of pollinators in agriculture and sustainable ecosystems.  I also maintain Virginia Tech’s research and teaching apiaries and am looking forward to expanding the impact of Apiculture Extension throughout Virginia and the surrounding states. For more information on our Apiculture Extension program, and how it fits in with Bee research here on campus, please follow the Bee Group at VT on Facebook.

Education / Experience

  • B.S.     (2008),  Fisheries and Wildlife Science, North Carolina State University
  • M.S.   (2012),  Entomology, Virginia Tech
  • Ph.D. (2016),  Entomology, Virginia Tech

Certifications

  • Learning Experience Design, Virginia Tech, Mastery of Online Teaching
  • Virginia Tech, Preparing the Future Professoriate

Professional Memberships

  • Entomological Society of America
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Virginia Academy of Science
  • Virginia Entomological Society

Teaching

  • ENT. 2004 Insects and Human Society, Spring and Fall
  • ENT. 2254 Bees and Beekeeping
  • ENT. 2264 Bees and Beekeeping Laboratory
  • Guest lectures in several other entomology classes including:
  • ENT 4254 Insect Pest Management (Undergraduate; every spring)
  • ENT 4264 Pesticide Usage (Undergraduate; every spring)

Extension Activities and Non-Scholarly Presentations

  • In Hive Diagnostics, presented to Tazewell County's Winter Honey Festival
  • Feeding Basics, What, When, and Why, presented to Tazewell County's Winter Honey Festival
  • Advantages of Making Splits, presented to Tazewell County's Winter Honey Festival
  • Protection of Honey Bees: Consideration of Honey Bees During Aerial Pesticide Application, presented to Summit Helicopter Commercial Applicator Recertification Course
  • Langstroth and Long-Box Langstroth Hives, presented to Coalfield Beekeepers Conference
  • Hive Diagnostics, presented to Coalfield Beekeepers Conference
  • Advantages of Making Splits, presented to Coalfield Beekeepers Conference
  • The Bee Group @ Virginia Tech and Protecting Pollinators in Virginia IPM, presented to Prince William Regional Beekeeper Association
  • The Honey Bee: Basic Bee Biology, presented to The Beekeepers at Virginia Tech Meeting
  • An Introduction to the Bee Group @ Virginia Tech and a Look into Protecting Pollinators in Integrated Pest Management, presented to Colonial Beekeepers Association Meeting
  • Landscaping for Bee & Bird Health, presented to Blacksburg Sustainability Week Pecha Kucha Night
  • Importance of Honey Bees and Pollinators in Pumpkin Production, presented to Virginia Pumpkin Growers Association Field Day
  • Langstroth & Long Box Hives, presented to 2018 Eastern Apicultural Society Conference
  • Protecting Bees from Pesticides: Beekeeper Interventions, presented to 2018 Eastern Apicultural Society Conference
  • Backyard Bees and Inside the Hive, presented to Montgomery County Town and Country 4-H Club
  • Bees and Identification, presented to New River Chapter of The Virginia Native Plant Society Meeting
  • Integrating Pest Management Into Virginia Beekeeping, presented to Beginning Beekeeping Course
  • Backyard Pollinators and Beekeeping, presented to Science on Tap
  • Integrating Pollinator Protection into Pest Management: An Example from Virginia Cucurbit Production, presented to West Virginia Beekeepers Association 2018 Spring Conference
  • West Virginia Beekeepers Association Invited Speaker Panel Discussion, presented to West Virginia Beekeepers Association 2018 Spring Conference
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Retired Faculty Breakfast
  • Bees and Beekeeping Demonstration and Q&A, presented to New River Community College Family Day
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to Northern Piedmont 2018 Winter Vegetable School
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to Hampton Roads Fruit & Vegetable Conference
  • Integrating Pollinators, presented to 2018 Richmond Area Vegetable Conference
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to 2018 Southeast Virginia Vegetable Production Meeting
  • Bees, Honey, and Pesticide Risk in Virginia, presented to Virginia Cooperative Extension Winter Conference
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to Southeast Virginia Field Crop Conference
  • Integrating Pest Management Into Virginia Beekeeping, presented to Ashland Beekeepers Association Meeting
  • Pollinator Protection, presented to Virginia Cooperative Extension Private Pesticide Applicator Re-certification Class
  • Integrating Pollinators & Pest Management, presented to Virginia Crop Production Association Crops Summit
  • IPM Lecture: Pollination and Pest Management
  • 2018 Hokie BugCamp (4 hrs, 23 Youth)
  • 2018 Mini Hokie BugCamp (8 hrs, 17 Youth)
  • 2018 Southeast Virginia Vegetable Production Meeting
  • Virginia cucurbit production: a look into integrated pest management and risk in honey bees
  • Third Thursday's with Specialists - Entomology
  • Integrating pest management in Virginia cucurbit production: and example for Virginia beekeepers
  • Integrated pest management exploration in Virginia cucurbit production and honey bee risk qualification
  • A look into integrated pest management in Virginia cucurbit production
  • Managing Mites
  • Qualifying insecticide risk to bees in the integrated pest management of cucurbit production in Virginia
  • Challenging problems and common misconceptions in modern beekeeping
  • Integrating pest and pollinator management in cucurbit production
  • 2017 Virginia Pesticide Safety Educators Webinar (< or = 70 VCE Agents)
  • Focus on pollinators
  • Honey bees and integrated pest management
  • Integrating pollinators into vegetable production in Virginia
  • Buzzing around CALS
  • Protecting honey bees in integrated pest management
  • Cucurbit IPM and bees
  • Honey bee biology and physiology
  • Hive construction and beekeeping safety
  • Did you hear the buzz?
  • How do bees make honey?
  • Planning for pollinators in crop production
  • Why do they spray anyway? Qualifying risk in honeybees
  • Honey Bee Management and Pollinator Protection in Virginia

Publications

  • Roth, M., Gross, A., & Wilson, J. (2019). Examining Varroa destructor populations while screening for acaricide resistance in three geographic regions of Virginia. In Entomological Society of America. St. Louis, MO.
  • Roth, M., Gross, A., & Wilson, J. (2019). Methods for managing Varroa mites. In Entomological Society of America. St. Louis, MO.
  • Roth, M., Wilson, J., Carlier, P., Li, H., & Gross, A. (2019). Exploration of novel control tactics for Aethina tumida. In Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
  • Roth, M., Wilson, J., & Gross, A. (2019). Sampling Varroa destructor and screening for acaricide resistance. Poster session presented at the meeting of Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
  • Roth, M., Wilson, J., Carlier, P., Li, H., & Gross, A. (2019). Investigating novel control tactics for the management of Aethina tumida. In Southern Appalachian Honeybee Research Consortium (SAHRC). Charlotte, NC.
  • Wilson, J. M., Anderson, T. D., & Kuhar, T. P. (2019). Sublethal Effects of the Insecticide Pyrifluquinazon on the European Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of economic entomology, 112(3), 1050-1054. doi:10.1093/jee/toz014
  • Roth, M., Carlier, P., Li, H., Wilson, J. M., & Gross, A. D. (2018). Investigating the control of Aethina tumida through pharmacological characterization of known and novel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. In Entomological Society of America.
  • Roth, M., wilson, J. M., & Gross, A. D. (2018). Determining Varroa destructor acaricide resistance and the success of Integrated Pest Management techniques in Apis mellifera colonies of Virginia. In Entomological Society of America. Vancouver, BC, CA.
  • Blevins, P., Wilson, J., & Tignor, K. (2018). Queen Rearing Workshop for Beekeepers. Abingdon, VA.
  • Roth, M., Wilson, J. M., & Gross, A. D. (2018). Characterization of Aethina tumida acetylcholinesterase (AChE) pharmacology: Search for novel AChE inhibitors. In Eastern Branch Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. Annapolis, MD. Retrieved from https://esa.confex.com/esa/2018eb/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/129487
  • Kuhar, T., Wilson, J., Stark, K., Rideout, S., McGee, A., Flanagan, R., . . . Andruczyk, M. (2018). 2018 Hampton Roads Fruit & Vegetable Meeting. 2752 Battlefield Blvd. Chesapeake, VA 23322.
  • Maxey Nay, L., Arancibia, R., Christian, R., Langston, D., Kuhar, T., & Wilson, J. (2018). 2018 Richmond Area Vegetable Conference.
  • Holshouser, D., Frame, W., Batten, W., Wilson, J., Harper, R., Lawrence, C., . . . Flanagan, R. (2018). Southeast Virginia Field Crop Conference 2018. In Southeast Virginia Field Crop Conference. Chesapeake, VA.
  • Kuhar, T. P., Weber, D., Wallingford, A., Dimeglio, A., Wilson, J. M., & Bush, H. (2017). Current research on three major heteropteran pests attacking vegetables in the mid-Atlantic U.S.. In Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, November 5 - 8, 2017, Denver, CO..
  • Wilson, J. M., & Kuhar, T. P. (2017). A Survey of the Species of Squash Bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae) Egg Parasitoids in Virginia and Their Distribution. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY, 110(6), 2727-2730. doi:10.1093/jee/tox276
  • Wilson, J., Anderson, T., & Kuhar, T. P. (2017). Exploring IPM in Virginia cucurbit production.. In 88th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, March 18 - 21, 2017, Newport, RI..
  • Wilson, J. M. (2017). Protecting Honeybees pp.1-45 - 1-48. In: 2017 Pest Management Guide for horticultural and forest crops: Va. Coop. Ext Pub..
  • Wilson, J. M. (2017). Protecting Honey Bees. pp1-33 - 1-36. In: 2017 Pest Management Guide for Home Grounds and Animals: Va. Coop. Ext Pub. 456-018. Latimer, J. G. and D. Close, Content Coordinators..
  • Wilson, J. M. (2017). Protecting Honey Bees. pp1-45 - 1-48. In: 2017 Pest Management Guide for Field Crops. Va. Coop. Ext Pub. 456-016. Flessner, M. and C. W. Cahoon, Content Coordinators..
  • Pfeiffer, D. G., Bergh, J. C., Wilson, J. M., Frank, D. L., Hooks, C. R. R., Sherif, S., . . . Parkhurst, J. (2017). 2017 Spray Bulletin for Commercial Tree Fruit Growers. Va. Coop. Ext. Serv. Publ. 456-419 (456-419). Retrieved from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-419/456-419-PDF.pdf
  • Doughty, H. B., Wilson, J. M., Schultz, P. B., & Kuhar, T. P. (2016). Squash Bug (Hemiptera: Coreidae): Biology and Management in Cucurbitaceous Crops. JOURNAL OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, 7(1), 8 pages. doi:10.1093/jipm/pmv024
  • Kuhar, T. P. ., & Wilson, J. M. (2015). Benefits of an Insecticide Seed Treatment for Pumpkin Production in Virginia (ENTO-174). Virginia Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-174/ENTO-174-PDF.pdf
  • Wilson, J. M., Lafon, N. W., Kreitlow, K. L., Brewster, C. C., & Fell, R. D. (2014). Comparing Growth of Pork- and Venison-Reared Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) for the Application of Forensic Entomology to Wildlife Poaching. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY, 51(5), 1067-1072. doi:10.1603/ME14012
  • Wilson, J. M., Day, E. R., & Kuhar, T. P. . (2014). Striped Cucumber Beetle (ENTO-61NP). Virginia Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-61/ENTO-61-pdf.pdf
  • Doughty, H., Wilson, J. M., & Kuhar, T. P. . (2014). Squash Bug (ENTO-64NP). Virginia Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-64/ENTO-64-pdf.pdf
  • Schurch, R., Zwirner, K., Yambrick, B. J., Pirault, T., Wilson, J. M., & Couvillon, M. J. (2019). Dismantling Babel: creation of a universal calibration for honey bee waggle dance decoding. ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 150, 139-145. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.016
  • Couvillon, M. J., Schuerch, R., & Wilson, J. (n.d.). The BeeGroup at VT. Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/BeeGroupatVT/?ref=bookmarks