Talk Description: In this presentation, we will discuss the different properties of honey and the pollen therein, and how to identify floral origin and sugar composition in honey. We will then delve into the results from a grant funded by the Specialty Crops Block Program from the Texas Department of Agriculture, which the Rangel research program and the Texas Beekeepers Association received a few years back, to explore the floral origins of honey samples collected by beekeepers that participate in the Real Texas Honey program.

Bio: Born in Colombia, Juliana obtained a B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution in 2004 from the University of California, San Diego. In 2010 she obtained a Ph. D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. She was an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 2010 to 2013 at North Carolina State University. In January 2013, Juliana became Assistant Professor of Apiculture in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, TX. She was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 2018 and Professor in 2023. Her research program focuses on the biological and environmental factors that affect the reproductive quality of honey bees, the behavioral ecology and population genetics of feral honey bee colonies, and the quality and diversity of honey bee nutrition in a changing landscape. She is an active member of the Texas Beekeepers Association and has been invited to speak at dozens of scientific conferences and beekeeping association meetings across the USA and internationally. She teaches the courses Honey Bee Biology, Introduction to Beekeeping, and Professional Grant and Contract Writing. Since 2014 she has been the coach of TAMU’s undergraduate and graduate teams of the Entomology Games at the branch and national games of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), earning first and second place nationally four years in a row. She is the 2023-2024 President of ESA’s Southwestern Branch and is the past elected chair of the National ESA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She previously served as the elected chair of her department’s Faculty Advisory Committee and has been part of several committees at the departmental, college, and university levels. Most recently, she received the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching from the Southwestern Branch of the ESA. In 2021 she received the James I. Hambleton Memorial Award, which was established by the Eastern Apicultural Society of North America to recognize research excellence in apiculture. She also received the 2020 John G. Thomas Award for Meritorious Service from the Texas Beekeepers Association for her contributions to the apiculture industry in the state. She received the 2019 Dean’s award for Excellence in Diversity and the 2016 Dean’s award for Excellence in Early Career Research from TAMU’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. She also received the 2018 Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring award from the Entomology Graduate Student Association. She was 2014 President and 2013 Vice-President of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists.