Silas Bossert [PI]

I am an evolutionary biologist specialized in the biology of bees. Simply put, I can get excited about pretty much any aspects of native bee biology and evolution.

I am currently an Assistant Professor at Washington State University, collecting bees in the Pacific Northwest. Before I moved to the Palouse, I was a predoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the lab of Seán Brady and I hold a PhD in Entomology from Cornell University, where I studied the natural history of bees and plants in Bryan Danforth's lab..

My current favorite bee is Macronomia clavisetis. Giant legs!

Cristina García Cordon [graduate student, MS]

I’m a master’s student in Entomology at WSU. I'm originally from Guatemala, where I completed my BS in Biology and studied orchid bee diversity and ecology. I’m broadly interested in bee biodiversity in the Neotropics and want to help fill in the knowledge gaps in Meso- and Central America. My research focus on the systematics of crepuscular bees from Guatemala.  My favorite bees are probably from the genus Nomia or Eufriesea, because of their iridescent and metallic colors.

Hannah Cook [graduate student, PhD]

I am a PhD student interested in phylogenomics, genome evolution, and bee diversity. I received my BS from the University of Rochester in 2021 where I previously studied climate adaptation and parasitic manipulation of social wasps. Since joining WSU in the fall of 2022, I have been researching the evolution of repetitive DNA in bees, rophitine bee systematics, and evaluating methods used in phylogenomic reconstruction. My current favorite bee is Xylocopa violacea because of its huge genome.

Tatiana Bush [graduate student, PhD]

I am from southern California where I completed my BS in entomology and plant biology and MS in entomology at UC Riverside focused on heteropteran systematics. My love of insects started at a young age; however, my interest in Hymenoptera did not start until working with parasitic Hymenoptera in undergraduate studies. For my PhD, I am interested in host plants, divergence dating, and ancestral characters through time and how diversification is driven.

Aidan Hersh [graduate student, MS]

I am a master's student with a general interest in native bees. My master's research focuses on the pollinator fauna of the threatened plant species Silene spaldingii (Spalding's Catchfly). I began pursuing an entomology career after I started practicing macrophotography in 2020, a sharp turn in my career path after majoring in anthropology and minoring in astronomy. I am also a board member at the Washington Native Bee Society and an instructor with the Washington Bee Atlas, two organizations that are working towards the conservation of Washington's many native bee species. Outside of entomology, I generally spend my time photographing insects, watching hockey and soccer, and advocating for renter protections/rights. Favorite bees: Megachile!

Elizabeth Murray [next door PI]

Elizabeth is the PI of the Murray Lab down the hallway and co-advisor to Tatiana, Hannah, and Aidan. She is also the director of WSU’s entomology museum, the M. T. James Entomological Collection.

Lexi Menth [graduate student, MS, Murray Lab]

I am second year master's student co-advised by Drs. Elizabeth Murray and Richard Zack, and currently working on an insect diversity survey located on Fairchild Air Force Base west of Spokane. We are assessing how spaces that are set aside as habitat, such as this study site, contribute to the conservation of biological diversity. My focus is on pollinators, particularly bees and moths.

I earned my Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Washington, where I studied crow vocal communication.