Julia Bowsher

Professor and Chair

Faculty

Biological Sciences

Julia Bowsher smiling confidently

Areas of Study & Research

Julia investigates how stress during development affects adult performance, with a focus on bees. Her work spans the fields of physiology, evolution, and development and uses molecular and bioinformatic techniques. She works on solitary bees and honey bees.

Courses Taught

BIOL 100L Non-Majors Biology Lab

BIOL 359 Evolution

BIOL 482/682 Developmental Biology

BIOL 859 Evolution

Previous Work

Julia has been awarded over $8 million dollars in grants and has published over 30 peer review publications. Julia enjoys working with students and has mentored over 50 undergraduates and 11 graduate students in research.

Current Grants

Effects of pollinator plantings and nutrition on pollinators across ecological, organismal, and molecular levels. US Army. Role: Co-PI

Insults for free: the roles of metamorphosis and dormancy in aging dynamics. National Science Foundation. Role: PI

Awards & Honors

2023 Ambassador Excellence Award, College of Arts and Sciences, NDSU

2021 Fred Waldron Research Award, NDSU

2019 Excellence in Research Award, College of Science and Mathematics, NDSU

2019 NDSU Inspiring Teacher

2019 Apple Polisher Award, NDSU

2013 Apple Polisher Award, NDSU

Professional Associations

Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (member since 2009)

Entomological Society of America (member since 2015)

Education

  • PhD, Biological Sciences, Duke University, 2007
  • Masters, Zoology, University of Canterbury, NZ, 2000
  • BS, Ecology and Evolution, Yale University, 1999

Publications

Rinehart, J. D., S. E. Nash, K. J. Foster, J. P. Rinehart, J. H. Bowsher (2025). Photoperiod during nest construction influences diapause status in the alfalfa leafcutting bee (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saaf029

Brar, G., L. Ngor, Q. S. McFrederick, A. S. Torson, A. Rajamohan, J. Rinehart, P. Singh, J. H. Bowsher (2025). High abundance of Lactobacilli in the gut microbiome of honey bees during winter. Scientific Reports. 15, 7409 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90763-0

Szejner-Sigal, A. B. J. Heidinger, A. C. Kucera, J. D. Kittilson, A. S. Torson, J. P. Rinehart, G. D. Yocum, J. H. Bowsher, K. J. Greenlee (2025). Hypoxia extends lifespan but does not influence cellular measures of aging in a solitary bee (Megachile rotundata). Journal of Experimental Biology. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.250500

Szejner-Sigal, A, J. P. Rinehart, J. H. Bowsher, K. J. Greenlee (2025). Senescence and early-life performance as predictors of lifespan in a solitary bee. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B Series. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2637

Singh, P., A. Rajamohan, S. A. Waybright, M. E. Dillon, S. M. Ferrenberg, J. P. Rinehart, J. H. Bowsher (2024). Diapause, pollen ball incidence, and overwintering energetics in the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata. Front. Bee Sci., vol 2: https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2024.1454790

Brar, G., M. Floden, Q. McFrederick, A. Rajamohan, G. Yocum, and J. H. Bowsher (2024). Environmentally acquired gut-associated bacteria are not critical for growth and survival in a solitary bee, Megachile rotundata. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 90(9):e0207623. doi: 10.1128/aem.02076-23.

Grula, C.C., J. D. Rinehart, A. Anacleto, J. D. Kittilson, B. J. Heidinger, K. J. Greenlee, J. P. Rinehart, J. H. Bowsher (2024). Telomere length increases following quiescence in two solitary bee species. Scientific Reports, 14:11208

Torson, A. S.; G. D. Yocum; J. H. Bowsher (2024). Molecular mechanisms and tradeoffs underlying fluctuating thermal regimes during low temperature storage. Current Opinion in Insect Science. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2024.101160. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38215877

Melicher, D., A. S. Torson, G. D. Yocum, J. Bosch, W. P. Kemp, J. H. Bowsher, J. P. Rinehart. (2024). Metabolic and transcriptomic characterization of summer and winter dormancy in the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104074. Epub 2024 Jan 14. PMID: 38228213

Rinehart, J. D., C. C Grula, J. P. Rinehart, J. H Bowsher (2024) Nesting cavity diameter has implications for management of the alfalfa leafcutting bee (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 117, Issue 1, Pages 127–135, https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad207