May 24, 2024Terra Vera welcomes honeybee expert to its team
Agriculture technology company Terra Vera has welcomed Jeff Pettis, PhD., a renowned entomologist who specializes in apiculture and honeybee health, to its team as an advisor and industry consultant.
The appointment of Pettis coincides with Terra Vera’s expanding research and initiatives to preserve bee colonies. The company recently published two field studies on the efficacy of its amino acid-based solutions in promoting bee health and reducing colony collapse.
In his role as a consultant for Terra Vera, Pettis will assist with the development and expansion of the company’s suite of products to optimize bee health and protect against common threats to bees and other pollinators, such as parasites, pesticide poisoning, poor nutrition and disease.
“I’ve dedicated my entire career to studying honey bees and identifying viable solutions to address the various threats to their health and survival,” said Pettis. “Until Terra Vera, I had yet to come across a transformative technology that can dramatically improve colony health and survival rates both safely and sustainably – something that is not only crucially important to beekeepers, but also invaluable to the wellbeing of our ecosystems and global food security. I am impressed with the organic nature of the Terra Vera product, as we need more organic options to use in beekeeping.”
As a research scientist and consultant at Pettis and Associates LLC, Pettis has focused his area of expertise on improving colony health by limiting the impact of pests, diseases and pesticides on honey bees. Pettis has worked with both the EPA and FDA to bring new products through the registration process for bees and beekeepers.
Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Pettis served as the research leader of the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. His research areas include IPM techniques to reduce the impacts of parasitic mites and disease, effects of pesticides, pathogens and temperature on queen health and longevity, host-parasite relationships and bee behavior.
“It is an honor to have someone as highly esteemed and knowledgeable in bee health and preservation as Jeff Pettis on the Terra Vera team,” said Carlos Perea, CEO and Co-Founder of Terra Vera. “Our company was founded on the mission to provide scalable agricultural solutions to minimize loss while optimizing yield in ways that are cost-effective, eco-friendly and safe for bees and other essential pollinators needed to sustain global food supplies and the at-risk ecosystems we rely on.”
For more information about Terra Vera, its technology and services, please visit terravera.com.
