Chet Bhatta

Courses Taught

• BIOL 131 - Ecology and Adaptation
• BIOL 300 - Pathophysiology
• BIOL 310 -  Human Structure & Function I
• BIOL 311 - Human Structure & Function II
• BIOL 312 - Research Methodology
• BIOL 375 - Medical Entomology
• BIOL 491/492 - Independent Research
• BIOL 493 - Apprentice Teaching

About

Scientific Areas of Interest
Insect Ecology, Pollinator Biology, Ethnobiology, Melittology, Apiculture, Conservation Biology, Human Anatomy, and Cadaver Dissection

Research Interests
My research interests focus on insect ecology, natural history of pollinators, and human dimensions of biological conservation. I would also like to combine molecular systematics with the study of social arthropods, particularly in the population biology and biogeography. More specifically, my work examines taxonomy, behavioral ecology, and plant-pollinators interactions with a special focus on native bees, honeybees, and stingless bees. I am always intrigued by global introduction of the European honeybees and its potential impact on native bees and their native ecosystem. I would also love to engage in outreach activities with high school students and citizen scientists to spread the message on importance of native bees and their role on food security and environmental sustainability. My current research students are working on bee community assemblages, molecular characterization of Nepalese honey bees, and Nosema spp. parasitism in bumblebees of Roanoke and New River Valley. Some of my past students worked on palynology and anti-microbial properties of bee-hive products: pollen, honey, and propolis. I am also interested to offer general entomology summer courses with the intent of teaching local insect fauna to Biology undergraduate students at Radford. Undergraduate students who are interested in the above-mentioned areas are encouraged to contact me to discuss further to establish their directed study or independent research project (via BIOL 491/492). Students are also welcome to participate in on-going projects at the Bhatta Lab throughout the year including the summer months.

In future, I would like to develop a field-based research course, where Radford University students travel to the Himalayan ecosystem in South Asia, explore the most diversified and multifarious ecosystem and conduct the research projects with global impact.

Recent Publications

• Charanakumar, Bhatta, C. P., Chandrashekhar, J.S. (In Press). Current status of meliponiculture and its cultural importance in the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Apicultural Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.2115270
• Kitnya, N., Prabhudev, M. V., Bhatta, C., Otis, G. 2020. Geographical distribution of the giant honey bee Apis laboriosa Smith, 1871 (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Zookeys, 951, 67-81. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iez032
• Bhatta, C., Gongalez, V., Smith, D. 2020. Traditional uses and relative cultural importance of Tetragonula iridipennis (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini). Journal of Melittology, 97, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.vi97.13620
• Bhatta, C., Smith, D., Reddy, M. S. 2020. Varroa jacobsoni and V. destructor on hill and plains strains of Apis cerana in southern India. Apidologie, 51, 391-394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-019-00723-7
• Perichon, S., Bhatta, C. 2020. La tradition de la cueillette du miel est-elle un frein au développement de l'apiculture dans l'Aire de Conservation de l'Annapurna (Népal)? Revue d’ethnoécologie, 16, 1-33. https://doi.org/10.4000/ethnoecologie.5675
• Bhatta, C. P., Gonzalez, V., Simoes, M., Mayes, D., Smith, D. 2019. Niche modelling, traditional uses, and nest architecture of stingless bees in Nepal. Journal of Apicultural Research, 58(4), 501-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2019.1614729
• Perichon, S., Bhatta, C. 2019. Honey Gathering (Apis laboriosa) and Beekeeping (A. cerana) in the Annapurna Conservation Area. Bee world, 96(3), 69-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772X.2019.1604298
• Mayes, D., C., Bhatta, C. P., Brown, J. Christopher, Shi, D., Smith, D. 2019. Body Size Influences Stingless Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Communities Across a Range of Deforestation Levels in Rondônia, Brazil. Journal of Insect Science, 19(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iez032
• Brown, J.C., Mayes, D. and Bhatta, C. 2016. Observations of the African Honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata in deforested and forested locations across Rondonia, Brazil. Insectes Sociaux. 63 (4): 603-607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0506-y