Thursday May 19th
7:00 PM

Penn State Extension of Allegheny County
400 North Lexington Street, 3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15208-2585
(Please check-in at the security office)

Please also note that this event is for paid members of Burgh Bees only, and seating is limited.  To find out more about membership, please click here or visit the ‘membership’ tab above.  If you are not a member, you can either become a member via the membership page, or you can pay at the door.

RSVP is required to attend, so please visit our EventBrite Page for this event in order to get your ticket for attendance.

Topic: Colony Natural History

Speaker: Dewey M. Caron (via live videoconference)
Emeritus Professor, University of Delaware
Affiliate Professor, Oregon State University

Abstract:
The key to successful bee stewardship is a working understanding of two important cycles — the life cycle of the workers and the annual seasonal cycle of the bee colony. Looking into a colony we review the life cycle and check that all is progressing normally for workers — if drones and queens are being reared, we are provided with some additional “clues” as to what is happening. Concentrating on the key features of the annual cycle, anticipating versus simply reacting to developments in the colony, can vastly improve annual harvest and/or enjoyment of your bees.  I will discuss the life and annual cycle of a bee colony and the current bee loss epidemic. Small-scale urban beekeepers may hold, I believe, the key to helping to understand such losses and, along with pollination fees for honey bee rental to growers needing bee pollination, the economic future of the entire bee industry.

Biography:
Dr. Caron has authored 5 books, numerous book chapters, over 70 scientific publications, and over 300 popular articles on bees and insects.  In previous service, he has been Board member, President, Foundation chairman and Chairman of the Board of the Eastern Apiculture Society (EAS).  In 2012, he will serve as co-program chair of the Eastern Apiculture Society (EAS) conference at the University of Vermont.  He is also the immediate past president of Western Apiculture Society (WAS).  Dr. Caron has a MS in Ecology from the University of Tennessee and a PhD in Entomology from Cornell University.