Agricultural and Life Sciences (IFAS)
Mallinger Lab
Led by Rachel Mallinger · Entomology and Nematology
What we study
The Mallinger Lab studies plant-pollinator interactions and pollinator community ecology in various ecosystems, using fieldwork and experiments to improve pollination and conservation efforts.
What working here is like
- Fieldwork
- Computational
- Other insects
- Plants
- Coding required
- Project
- 1
- Papers
- 5
What we're looking for
“We typically have openings for undergraduate students. Students are involved in the lab's research as paid hourly research assistants, and can also conduct independent research for academic credit.”
Current projects
Seasonal plant-pollinator interaction networks in the UF Teaching Garden
Researchers map how pollinators visit plants in a university garden during spring and fall. They find that spring interactions are more connected and diverse, with honey bees visiting most crops and some wild bees visiting blueberry, pepper, and tomato.
From the Spring 2025 UF Undergraduate Research Symposium · abstract book, p. 482
Summaries are written by AI in plain language from public symposium abstracts and may be imperfect.
Recent papers, explained
- Organic management enhances wild bee richness but does not consistently improve crop pollination in apple orchards
2026 · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment
- Do Buzz‐Pollinating Bumble Bees Facilitate Honey Bee Pollination in Southern Highbush Blueberry Through Increasing Pollen Release?
2026 · Ecology and Evolution
Tests if bumble bees help honey bees pollinate blueberries.
Show 3 more papersShow fewer
- Solitary ground-nesting bees: opportunities and challenges for crop pollination management
2026 · Current Opinion in Insect Science
- Plant origin and irrigation influence floral resource value and pollinator attraction to ornamental plants
2026 · PeerJ
Studies how irrigation and plant origin affect floral traits.
- Cross-pollination Improves Fruit Quantity and Quality Across Northern and Southern Highbush Blueberry Cultivars
2026 · HortScience
Tests whether cross-pollination improves blueberry fruit quality.
Plain-language summaries are AI-written and reviewed by us; check the paper for details.
How to reach out
Rachel Mallinger hasn't set up this page yet. Their UF Scholars profile lists their publications.