Protecting bees: NJ high school student Katie Culbert named ‘honey queen’ for developing way to save pollinators from pests [Video]

TOMS RIVER, New Jersey (WABC) — There’s a lot of buzz around a high school student from New Jersey fighting to save the world’s greatest pollinators: bees.

18-year-old Katie Culbert from Toms River thinks she found a way to protect bees from varroa mite, one of the most destructive pests. The bugs feed on bee larvae, causing deformed wings and bodies.

Culbert is now researching how mist diffusion of certain essential oils may be able to stun the mites without harming bees.

“This continuous-release system had an efficacy of over 97%, which is really promising and exciting,” Culbert said.

Culbert was recently crowned the “Honey Queen,” acting as a spokesperson for the New Jersey Beekeepers Association.

The group says her work is so important because bees alone pollinate 80% of all flowering plants, including 130 types of fruits and vegetable.

But bee populations are rapidly declining.

Nearly 90% of the American bumble bee population has been wiped out in the last 20 …