Beverly Smith info

Hello, to whomever is reading this. My humble beginnings were in West Point, MS and I have lived in MS all of my life within one hour's drive of my hometown. Upon graduating high school I entered college with hopes of completing a degree in commercial art. Getting pregnant my third year side-tracked me just a little bit, but my son was a little blessing. Eleven years and three children later, I re-entered college, but this time in educational biology. After completing that degree as well as my master's degree in secondary education, I taught middle and high school for a few years. But I wanted something different in my life, so I re-entered college again. I was seeking a master's degree in Agricultural Pest Management, but in 2000, I changed to a master's degree in entomology. I am completing that degree now, while working full-time as Director of the Larry Box Conservation Center (http://130.18.140.19/noxubee/homepage/) located on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. I love my job because I have the best of both worlds, the outdoors and teaching.

My entomological research project is a faunistic survey of the native bees of the Black Belt Prairie in MS. I did not survey the entire Black Belt Prairie region, but instead selected several primary prairie relics in Oktibbeha County and surrounding counties. I collected over 7,000 bees and identified most of them to species. Determinations were confirmed by specialists for accuracy. I went to Kansas University to work with world renowned bee taxonomists Dr. Charles Michener and Dr. Michael Engel in July of 2003. Additionally, Dr. Wally LaBerge identified all of the andrenids (due to the complexity involved in identifications of that family), Dr. Rob Brooks identified some of the bees in the Halictidae family, and Dr. Terry Griswold identified and confirmed the megachilids. I feel very fortunate to have worked with some of the famous guru's of the bee world!

I am very busy working on my bees, being a full-time director, finding time to exercise, being with my children and grandchildren, as well as having a private life. My private life? Well, I guess that is why they call it private, huh?

Beverly Smith M.S. in Entomology
Entomology & Plant Pathology Dept. Mississippi State University, Box 9775 Mississippi State, 39762-9775 TEL (662) 325-2989 FAX (662) 325-8837 email: bsmith@entomology.msstate.edu Major Professor: Richard L. Brown and Gerald T. Baker	Director Larry Box Conservation Center 2637 Bluff Lake Road Brooksville, MS 39739 Phone: (662) 615-4171 Fax: (662) 615-4890 e-mail: bsmith@starkville.k12.ms.us web address: http://130.18.140.19/noxubee/homepage/

Collecting bees on the boardwalk at Week's Bay Estuary in Baldwin County, Alabama with fellow collectors Terry Schiefer, Joe MacGown, and David Pollock (the guy walking away).
Hello, to whomever is reading this. My humble beginnings were in West Point, MS and I have lived in MS all of my life within one hour's drive of my hometown. Upon graduating high school I entered college with hopes of completing a degree in commercial art. Getting pregnant my third year side-tracked me just a little bit, but my son was a little blessing. Eleven years and three children later, I re-entered college, but this time in educational biology. After completing that degree as well as my master's degree in secondary education, I taught middle and high school for a few years. But I wanted something different in my life, so I re-entered college again. I was seeking a master's degree in Agricultural Pest Management, but in 2000, I changed to a master's degree in entomology. I am completing that degree now, while working full-time as Director of the Larry Box Conservation Center (http://130.18.140.19/noxubee/homepage/) located on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. I love my job because I have the best of both worlds, the outdoors and teaching. My entomological research project is a faunistic survey of the native bees of the Black Belt Prairie in MS. I did not survey the entire Black Belt Prairie region, but instead selected several primary prairie relics in Oktibbeha County and surrounding counties. I collected over 7,000 bees and identified most of them to species. Determinations were confirmed by specialists for accuracy. I went to Kansas University to work with world renowned bee taxonomists Dr. Charles Michener and Dr. Michael Engel in July of 2003. Additionally, Dr. Wally LaBerge identified all of the andrenids (due to the complexity involved in identifications of that family), Dr. Rob Brooks identified some of the bees in the Halictidae family, and Dr. Terry Griswold identified and confirmed the megachilids. I feel very fortunate to have worked with some of the famous guru's of the bee world! I am very busy working on my bees, being a full-time director, finding time to exercise, being with my children and grandchildren, as well as having a private life. My private life? Well, I guess that is why they call it private, huh?
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