Kaitlyn Bresnahan ’25
Biology
French

As a junior in high school during the COVID-19 shutdown, Kaitlyn Bresnahan took an online beekeeping course, then added two hives to her family’s small farm in Osterville, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.
That hobby became her research focus. As a Robert H. Walsh Student Research Fellow at Providence College, Kaitlyn received a $4,900 stipend to live on campus during the summer of 2023 and research honeybees with biology professor Rachael Bonoan, Ph.D. Kaitlyn visited hives throughout the state to study the effect of integrated pest management on bee behavior and colony health, hoping to preserve the lives of these important pollinators.
“I love this research because I get to be outside,” Kaitlyn said.
When she arrived at PC for her first year of college, honeybees were far from Kaitlyn’s mind, left at home with the goats she received as a 10th birthday present (choosing them over a cell phone). She applied herself to her courses in biology and the Development of Western Civilization, and to organizations such as SHEPARD, where she serves on the executive board. Only when she mentioned to her brother, Christopher Bresnahan ’23, that Dr. Bonoan would be her temporary advisor did she learn that Dr. Bonoan was a pollinator researcher.
It seemed too good to be true.
“I met with Dr. Bonoan and said, ‘Here are the classes I want to take, can I join your lab?’” Kaitlyn recalled. “It was too late in the year for me to get involved, so Dr. B. had me take samples from my hives at home during the summer. She gave me vials and I kept the samples in my kitchen freezer. In the fall, back on campus, I used the analyzer and found that adult male drones have the largest percentage of nitrogen content.”
To control varroa mites, which weaken and destroy colonies, beekeepers often remove drone larvae from their hives. Drone bees, whose only job is to mate with the queen, are large, take longer to pupate, and are a favorite of varroa mites. When drone larvae are removed before the drones hatch, many mites are removed as well.
Honeybee nutrition also reveals the health of the hive. Kaitlyn examined the carbon and nitrogen content of bees at various life stages. She swabbed pollen from their feet and squeezed them gently so they released the nectar they were carrying back to the hives. The bees were then released unharmed.
The results could allow for more efficient planting of pollinator-friendly plants based on the nutritional needs of a colony, or they could affect how beekeepers do supplemental feedings.
Kaitlyn looks forward to continuing her research and her studies. She is unsure of her future path but knows it will involve science.
“A Ph.D. and teaching is a great option,” Kaitlyn said.
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