Mat Welch

Life inside the beehive

TEDxPerth 2013
October 2013

Talk length:

15:08

Life inside the beehive: Mat Welch at TEDxPerth

Bees are essential to our life, but how much do we know about them? When we see a bee, do we imagine an animal that might harm us, or one that is helping to feed us?

Dr Mat Welch goes inside the beehive to explore what life is like for the honeybee. Using stunning imagery from the "More Than Honey" documentary, Mat discusses how research is starting to understand how to combat the worldwide deterioration of bee colonies.

Mat Welch
Bee Researcher

Dr Mathew Welch is a research fellow at the University of Western Australia. After completing a PhD in childhood leukaemia in 2012, Dr Welch wanted to explore the role of epigenetics in controlling the genome of complex multi-cellular organisms. He turned to honeybees as a unique model organism due to the numerous behavioural and physical differences that can exist between bees which have essentially the same genetic sequence. Dr Welch now works at CIBER, the Centre for Integrative Bee Research at the University of Western Australia, researching honeybee genetics, reproduction and immunity. Dr Welch aims to give an insight into the fascinating world of the honeybee society where no one gives orders and yet everyone obeys.