Honey bees are challenged with declining colony numbers, generally called ‘Colony Collapse Syndrome’ (CCS). This issue is certainly a syndrome because it is due to a range of threats, including parasitic mites, exposure to agricultural chemicals and various viruses, among other things. We posed the hypothesis the CCS could also be due to declining nutritional qualities, which may relate to digestive physiology. Because there is no information on honey bee lipid nutrition and digestion, we characterized a digestive phospholipase A2 in honey bee midguts. In this paper, I will report on some of our findings. With a focus on students, I will also use this report to share thoughts on presenting and writing for international audiences.

• David Stanley(USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, Columbia MO 65203 USA)
• Yi-yun Xu(USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, Columbia MO 65203 USA)