Welcome to the Back Yard Beekeepers Association

Registration for Bee School 2025 is now open

Bee School 2025 -If you’ve been looking into getting started in beekeeping, you’ll soon realize there is a LOT to learn! Back Yard Beekeepers Association’s Bee School is the best way to get started on the right foot. These in person sessions are taught by Cornell certified Master Beekeeper, Andy Hatt, Eastern Apicultural Society Master Beekeeper, David Blocher, and BYBA workshop presenter, Chris Rountos.

Bee School 2025 is just the first step in BYBA’s commitment to supporting you in your beekeeping journey.

Save the date for these upcoming events

October Annual Meeting – Tuesday, October 29th 7:30 PM – Michael Simone-Finstrom – Battling bees: mite resistance and other traits to promote healthier honey bees

About Us

“The mission of BYBA is to provide our membership with a forum for sharing knowledge and mutual interests in beekeeping, and to educate and promote the benefits of beekeeping to the public.“

Welcome to the Back Yard Beekeepers Association. With over 400 members, our association has grown to become one of the Nation’s largest regional clubs for beekeeping hobbyists. Some of our members are just getting started as beekeepers, and some have enjoyed this hobby for years. All share an interest in the wonderful and remarkable world of the honey bee.

The purpose of the BYBA is to provide our membership with interesting and practical information about honey bees and the “how-to’s” of beekeeping. The club also provides the general public with educational programs about honey bees and the benefits of bees and beekeeping in our communities.
The BYBA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization.

Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom

Battling Bees: Mite resistance and other traits to promote healthier honey bees

While honey bees contend with a number of threats, they have a number of natural defenses to combat them. Varroa mites are still one of the biggest threats to bee health, and using the bees to fight off these parasites and the viruses they vector is one key way to improve bee health and resiliency. We have clear evidence that promoting behavioral traits to fend off parasites and pathogens promotes healthier, stronger colonies in real-world settings. Curent progress to developing and producing mite and virus resistant bees will be discussed along with the promotion of other disease resistance traits in honey bees.

Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom is a Research Molecular Biologist with the USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Unit in Baton Rouge, LA. His research has focused on individual and social mechanisms of disease resistance, including resin/propolis use, hygienic behavior and genetic diversity. His current work aims to add to this line of research by more fully understanding how these traits work in concert in order to promote them within the beekeeping industry and identify components of viral resistance in honey bees.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS MEETING IS IN PERSON AND OUR SPEAKER WILL BE JOINING US LIVE. Please join us at 7 PM to allow time to socialize and chat with other members of the club. Our speaker presentation will begin at 7:30 PM.

Our general membership meetings are held on the last Tuesday of most months at 7:30 PM at the Norfield Church in Weston, CT.
Please see our Calendar of Events for details.

64 Norfield Rd
Weston, CT 06883

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