MISSOULA – The University of Montana will be abuzz with two conferences for those interested in bees and beekeeping Wednesday through Saturday, Sept. 17-20.
The two events – the 37th Annual Western Apicultural Society Conference and the second International Conference on Hive and Honeybee Monitoring – will be held on the third floor of the University Center in the Ballroom and the UC Theater.
“I expect this to be the biggest bee conference in Montana in the past decade,” said Jerry Bromenshenk, a UM bee researcher and WAS president. “It will be ideal for local clubs and local beekeepers, and we have an incredible four-day lineup of speakers. We will get into the absolute cutting-edge of beekeeping technology.”
Subjects will include topics such as bees and climate change, using acoustic scanning to detect hive exposure to pesticides and critical issues facing bees and beekeeping.
Bee expert Eric Mussen of the University of California, Davis, will present a keynote address Thursday titled “Changes in Beekeeping Over Three Decades.” A second keynote by G. Philip Hughes of the Whitehouse Writers Group will be held Friday and is titled “Let Me Tell You ’Bout the Birds and the Bees: Neonic Pesticides and the Prospects for Future Life on Planet Earth.”
Twenty-one concurrent short courses ranging from candle making to queen rearing will be available Saturday morning.
Conference registration costs $175 for all four days, $65 for one day and $15 to $30 per day for students. Attending four short courses costs $30. Vendor spots range from $15 to $40. For a full conference schedule or to register, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/was2/.
The conferences are being held in conjunction with the first annual Missoula Honey Harvest Festival, a free, community event that will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, on the UM Oval. That event is open to all, and families are invited to bring the whole hive.