David Tarpy

Bio

Education

BS, Biology, Hobart College (1993)
MS, Biology, Bucknell University (1995)
Ph.D, Entomology, University of California, Davis (2000)

Research Interests

Our lab studies the behavioral ecology of insect societies, with a primary focus on the proximate and ultimate mechanisms of honey bee queen behavior. In doing so, we attempt to address questions of basic science that have practical relevance. Our approach is to integrate a general understanding of bee biology to help improve overall colony health and productivity; in an era when the honey bee population is being severely impacted by any number of factors, we feel that it is necessary to become more proactive in asking questions that address not just basic (long-term) or applied (short-term) questions, but both.

We currently have five main research paradigms in the lab:

1. Polyandry and resultant intracolony genetic biodiversity that multiple mating confers, particularly in the behavioral mechanisms that govern polyandry and the adaptive benefits to the colony
2. Molecular and pollinator ecology, studying how honey bees fit into the greater community of pollinators and urban and agroecosystems
3. Oxidative stress and social immunity, exploring the physiological and behavioral mechanisms and consequences of disease and stress
4. Integrated pest management of parasites and pathogens, and
5. The reproductive quality of queens and the genomic, pheromonal, social, and practical consequences of variation in queen reproductive potential.

Our extension program is targeted at disseminating information about honey bees and bee management to the public and beekeeping groups, working with local, state, and national beekeeping associations, and administering novel extension initiatives such as the online Beekeeper Education & Engagement System (BEES) and the NC State Queen & Disease Clinic.

See the publications list from the whole lab.

Publications

• Impact of Two Common Beekeeper-Applied Chemicals on Honey Bee Queen Fecundity and Gut Microbial Communities , Microbial Ecology (2026)
• Morphometric photographs of queen honey bees originating from Canada, the U.S., Australia, Chile, and Italy , Open MIND (2026)
• Morphometric photographs of queen honey bees originating from Canada, the U.S., Australia, Chile, and Italy , Open MIND (2026)
• Elevated virus infection of honey bee queens reduces methyl oleate production and destabilizes colony-level social structure , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025)
• Factors affecting heat resilience of drone honey bees (Apis mellifera) and their sperm , PLOS ONE (2025)
• Honey bee egg composition changes seasonally and after acute maternal virus infection , Scientific Reports (2025)
• Pheromone and morphometric features of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens from around the globe , Research Square (2025)
• Redefining the Geographic Distribution of Two Cryptic Halictus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) Species in the Eastern United States , Ecology and Evolution (2025)
• The gut microbiome differs between hygiene-performing and non-hygiene-performing worker honey bees , Insectes Sociaux (2025)
• Virus infection of honey bee queens alters lipid profiles and indirectly suppresses a retinue pheromone component via reducing ovary mass , bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2025)