Author Profile

Tovah Kashetsky

I’m a PhD student at the university of Ottawa studying the behaviour and cognition of solitary bees. Specifically, I’ve researched how associative learning abilities differ amongst solitary bees, if solitary cavity-nesting bees are attracted to closely related bees while choosing where to nest and their anti-parasite defenses, and how pollen preferences of individual bees change overtime. I first became interested in solitary bees when I learned about them during my Master’s, where I was studying collective decision-making in ants. The shift to studying solitary bees has helped me become more connected to wildlife, appreciate the intricacies of the nature around me, and feel like my expertise can be used to help conserve these fascinating, imperative little creatures.