BeeSpeakSTL welcomes Dr. Tom Seeley, Horace White Professor in Biology, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, author of "Honeybee Democracy" and "Wisdom of the Hive", and passionate beekeeper to Saint Louis on February 27th, 2016.
Dr. Seeley will speak on a number of fascinating topics including:
• The Hive as a Honey Factory - the inner workings of a honey bee colony so that it collects and processes nectar efficiently, despite tremendous day-to-day differences in nectar availability.
• Honey bees in the Wild - Dr. Seeley shares the story of the wild colonies living in Arnot Forest, outside of Ithaca, NY. We will see how their current genetics reveals what happened to this population of honey bee in the 1990's, when Varroa parasitized the colonies, and see how they are surviving now...without chemical treatments. We will consider what lessons beekeepers can learn from these honey bees living in nature.
• Hive Thirst - Water collection is essential to two parts of the honey bee colony - thermoregulation of the broodness and nutrition of the immature bees. We will look at how a colony controls its collection of water to meet its needs.
Register below or visit BeeSpeakSTL.com for more information.
At present, Dr. Seeley's main research interest is in the area of conservation biology: determining how honey bee colonies living in the wild are able to survive without being treated with pesticides for controlling a deadly ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Understanding how feral honey bee accomplish this will help beekeepers develop sustainable, pesticide-free approaches to beekeeping.
Look for Dr. Seeley's newest book, available May, 2016.
BeeSpeakSTL is proudly sponsored by: