How can we breed better, mite resistant bees? Our August 23 speaker will share some research developments, and this meeting is IN PERSON, not via Zoom. Join us Tuesday, August 23, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 15 Hemlock Avenue, Spruce Pine, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“Bees fight back: Breeding for natural defenses of the hive” is the title of Phoebe Snyder’s presentation. Phoebe recently spoke at the N.C. State Beekeepers Association Summer Meeting to rave reviews, and we were fortunate to book her to speak to our club on short notice.

She will be covering social immune defenses (hygienic behavior and grooming i.e. mite biting), how bees have been bred for these behaviors over the years, common misconceptions, and how beekeepers can use this knowledge in their own hives. She’ll also cover the pheromone-based selection test for mite resistance that she and her business partner Kaira Wagoner have developed and are working on bringing to the market. 

Phoebe is a great speaker who delivers information so that both veteran beekeepers and novices can benefit.

Please join us for this IN PERSON meeting!

A little more about Phoebe: She grew up on a farm in western Maryland and went through her first bee hive in 2015 while studying at Stevenson University.  She quickly became involved in bee research with a honey bee nutrition company collecting data in commercial apiaries, and studying the effects of fungicides on foraging behavior.  She’s also worked for the USDA Bee Research lab in Beltsville, Md. and earned her Master’s Degree Biology at UNC Greensboro. In May 2022, she and Kaira Wagoner co-founded Optera, a company that aims to bring a novel selective breeding tool for mite resistance to market.

There will NOT be a pot -luck dinner at this meeting. As always, the meeting is open to the public.