These are great learning opportunities. Please pass on to all.
The Western Apicultural Society is again scheduling regular mini-conferences for the benefit of beekeepers.
For details and registrations go to: www.westernapiculturalsociety.org/
January 23, 6:30 pm: Honeybee Overwintering Thermodynamics
Dr. Scott Debnam, University of Montana
How naturally nesting bees design their cavity and utilize the three products, heat, CO2 & H2O, they produce over the winter. How can we emulate their cavity design in our managed hives to take advantage of these products.
February 13, 4:30 pm: The Benefits of Propolis to Honey Bee Colonies
Dr. Marla Spivak, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
Marla Spivak, Ph.D., is a MacArthur Fellow and Distinguished McKnight University Professor in Entomology in the College of Food, Agricultural and and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She also leads the Spivak Honey Bee Lab.
Spivak’s current research includes studies of the benefits of propolis (tree resins) to the health and immune system of honey bees; the identification and biological activity of honey bee collected resins; the development of “bee lawns”—pollinator habitat in urban landscapes; the use of native forbs by honey bees through identification of collected pollen and decoding bees’ dance language; the health of commercial honey bee colonies and the evaluation of queens' breeders efforts to select stocks for resistance to diseases and mite pests; novel methods to control Varroa mites in honey bee colonies; and surveys of native bees in Minnesota.
March 20, 6:30 pm: Breeding Bees That Bite Mites
Dr. Krispn Given, Purdue University
Krispn Given is recognized as one of the leading international authorities in the fields of honey bee instrumental insemination and honey bee breeding. He is the Apiculture Specialist at Purdue University’s Department of Entomology in West Lafayette Indiana. He oversees Purdue University’s honey bee breeding program, teaching annual queen rearing short courses and managing the honey bee laboratory research and extension activities.
She also teaches instrumental insemination classes each year attracting researchers and bee breeders worldwide.
Krispn was instrumental in developing the internationally known “mite-biter” honey bee strain, where they have demonstrated high-selected bees that chew 50% of the mites that are groomed off their bodies.