World renowned animal behaviorist, Thomas D. Seeley will address his latest interest, Darwinian Beekeeping, during the 4th Annual Bee Symposium at UC Davis, March 3rd. Presented by both the Honey and Pollination Center as well as the Department of Entomology and Nematology, this year’s program will focus on issues and interests of backyard beekeepers.

Dr. Seeley, the Horace White Professor in Biology at Cornell University, teaches in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. Seeley does research on the behavior, social life, and ecology of honey bees. Seeley’s unique view of the world of bees and what they have to teach us, has drawn him many avid followers over the past years. He is the author of Honeybee Democracy (2010), and is currently working on a book titled Honey Bees in the Wild.  Dr. Seeley will address the ways in which the living conditions of honey bees differ between wild and managed colonies and how we can pursue beekeeping on nurturing the lives of honey bees.

The goal of the Bee symposium is to present up-to-date apicultural research for the back yard beekeeper. Danielle Downey, Director of Project Apis m., will talk about helping bees from the laboratory back to the landscape and how that research will impact every day beekeeping operations.

For those beekeepers who want to know more about how honey tastes and how they might market their honey more creatively, Amina Harris, Director of the Honey and Pollination Center will offer an educational honey tasting.

This year will have a focus on pollinator friendly gardening with presentations by internationally known gardener Kate Frey, an advocate for pollinators and pollinator gardens and gold medalist at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, and by Christine Casey, manager of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. In addition, the day long program will close with a reception in the garden and docent led tours.

Other Program Highlights

Graduate Student Research Poster Competition: Learn from the top graduate student entomologists from UC Davis and UC Berkeley and other universities when they present their research during the lunchtime poster session.

This year’s lightning round includes five-minute Powepoints about top bar beekeeping, insemination of honey bees, and women in beekeeping. A question and answer period will follow a total of five presentations.

Vendors and educational exhibits will line the corridors of the UC Davis Conference Center with beekeeping equipment, honey tastings, cool t-shirts and bee clubs. The UC Bookstore will be on site selling bee and honey-related books with author book signings by Professor Seeley and Kate Frey.

UC Davis has been ranked No. 1 nationally for its Department of Entomology and Nematology, and continues to lead the way in agricultural innovation and sustainability, in part through fostering pollinator-related research and conferences, like the Bee Symposium. The Symposium is made possible through sponsors at the Springcreek Foundation, Natural American Foods and the American Beekeeping Federation.

Tickets are $85, which includes breakfast, lunch and the reception. Student tickets are $25 (with valid ID). To register for this event: http://honey.ucdavis.edu/events/2018-bee-symposium before February 28th. Limited spaces will be available at the door. For more information, contact Amina Harris: aharris@ucdavis.edu. For vendor opportunities, contact Liz Luu: Luu@caes.ucdavis.edu.