Save the date for these upcoming events
New Bee Fundamentals/Special Topics – Tuesday 7/16 @ 6:30 via Zoom
Please join us on the third Tuesday for a timely discussion and answers to your questions! Beginning and veteran beekeepers are encouraged to attend, learn, and share your wisdom.
This is a monthly Q & A session held virtually. Join us to ask your questions or just listen & learn! All experience levels welcome to join us for both sessions.
New Bee Fundamentals – 6:30 – 7:30 PM ~ Special Topics – 7:30 – 8:30 PM
July Regular Meeting – Dr. Thomas Seeley – Nature-based Beekeeping – Tuesday, 7/30 @ 7:30 PM
Nature-based beekeeping is an approach to beekeeping that aims to provide managed honey bee colonies with living conditions that are as close as possible to those of wild honey bee colonies. The goal is to harmonize our beekeeping methods with the natural history of Apis mellifera, and thus allow the bees to make full use of the toolkit of adaptations that they have evolved over the last 30 million years.
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 BYBA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization.
Dr. Thomas Seeley
Nature-based Beekeeping
Nature-based beekeeping is an approach to beekeeping that aims to provide managed honey bee colonies with living conditions that are as close as possible to those of wild honey bee colonies. The goal is to harmonize our beekeeping methods with the natural history of Apis mellifera, and thus allow the bees to make full use of the toolkit of adaptations that they have evolved over the last 30 million years.
I will review ways in which the living conditions of honey bees differ between wild and managed colonies. I will also show how we can pursue beekeeping in a way that is centered less on treating a bee colony as a honey factory and more on nurturing the lives of the bees. The fundamental question is “What can I give to the bees?” rather than “What can I take from the bees?”
Thomas D. Seeley, biologist and writer, is the Horace White Professor in Biology Emeritus at Cornell University, where he is a member of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior.
From 1980 to 2020, he taught courses on animal behavior and conducted research on the behavior, social life, and ecology of honey bees. Besides being a honey bee biologist, Tom is also an avid beekeeper. He began keeping bees when he was a high school student, in Ithaca, New York, in the late 1960s.
His scientific work is summarized in six books: Honeybee Ecology (1985), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995), Honeybee Democracy (2010), Following the Wild Bees (2016), The Lives of Bees (2019), and Piping Hot Bees & Boisterous Buzz-runners (2024). In recognition of his scientific discoveries, he has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences. He has also received various scientific honors, including a Gold Medal for Best Science Book (The Wisdom of the Hive) at Apimondia in 1997 (Antwerp). He writes: “These honors are gratifying, but for me the most important ‘prizes’ by far are the discoveries that I have made about the natural lives and inner workings of honey bee colonies.”
PLEASE NOTE: THIS MEETING IS IN PERSON AND OUR SPEAKER WILL BE HERE 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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