The establishment of the Parma Cocoon testing lab has been one of my most
important service accomplishments as Pollination Ecologist at UI. Growers
bring or send us samples of loose bee cells from their fields. The grower
associations purchased a cabinet x-ray machine that we use to x-ray the cell
samples. On the x-ray we can detect live and diseased larvae, parasites,
predators, etc. We provide the grower with a printed record of our findings,
which he can use to estimate how many bees he has for the coming season, and
how many he needs to purchase. (Read about sampling
loose cell and calculating live bees)
