Michael Holmes is a behavioural ecologist who has worked on numerous aspects of honey bee biology throughout his career. Michael received his PhD from the University of Sydney in 2014, during which he studied reproductive parasitism in the Asian honey bee Apis cerana. He has since worked in a variety of roles in industry and research, including pollination biology and biosecurity.

Currently, Michael works at the Australian National University as the project manager for the Australian Honey Bee Colony Loss Survey. This nationwide survey will gather data about the factors driving colony losses, both varroa-related and otherwise, to allow industry to assess the impacts of varroa on Australian beekeeping businesses.