Photo Courtesy of  Melanie Kirby

Melanie Kirby

Keynote Speaker

BIO: The bees found Melanie Kirby 28 years ago and continue to teach her about land stewardship, food systems, and diverse world views on conservation and outreach. She co-founded Zia Queenbees Farm & Field Institute located in the southern Rocky Mountains. Melanie is the founder of the Adaptive Bee Breeders Alliance- a coast-to-coast network of bee breeders and scientists. Melanie was recently appointed to the inaugural Pollinator Subcommittee of the National Ag Research, Extension Education, and Economics Advisory Board. She also works as the Extension Educator for the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe running a tribal beekeeping program and conducting pollinator ecology research.

Presentations:

Connecting the Crowns: Building Comb Between the Field and the Lab

This presentation shares info on the Adaptive Bee Breeders Alliance collaborations between breeders and scientists and the short and long-term objectives.

Synergy of Selection: How Epigenetics Shapes Bees & Stewardship

This presentation focuses on how the environment affects genetics and how it can be a tool for breeding, rearing, and sharing.

Photo courtesy of Jean Baker

Jean Baker

BIO: Jean Baker is a life long gardener who has an Advanced Master Gardener certificate from MSU. She has been a member of Lakeshore Garden Masters in Muskegon for many years. Jean also has been a beekeeper for 4 years and is an active member of Muskegon Area Beekeepers. She has done extensive research on which plants are most helpful for bees, especially those that bloom in early spring and late fall.

Presentation:

Bees and Blooms

If you are interested in finding out about a variety of plants that will help your bees be more successful, this is the presentation for you. I have done extensive research on pollinator plants and also have made many observations of plants for bees at my property of 3 acres. I especially focus on early spring plants and late fall plants to provide resources for bees. I have slides of many flowering plants, shrubs, and trees.

Photo courtesy of Pamela Carter

Pam Carter

Honey Judge

BIO: Pamela Carter is a certified Senior Honey Judge and serves on the American Honey Show Training Council. She is secretary for the Illinois State Beekeepers Association and Chairman of the Illinois State Honey Show. Pamela has judged state and national honey shows including Hive Life and the North American Honey Bee Expo. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Education and a Master’s degree from Roosevelt University in Educational Administration. Pamela lives in Antioch, Illinois with her husband of 40+ years. She manages Pam’s Patch Apiary. Pamela’s Bees won the creamed honey category in the 2024 International Best Tasting Honey competition which is held annually at the Center for Honeybee Research, in Asheville, North Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Mike Conner

Mike Connor

BIO: Mike Connor is a Certified Arborist, Nursery Grower, and an experienced Beekeeper. He grew up on an orchard and Christmas tree farm in Southwest Michigan and purchased his first hive of bees when he was 12 years old. He is in a unique position to understand the relationships between plants, trees, and bees.

A graduate of Cornerstone University, with post-graduate studies at MSU, Mike became a Branch Manager of a national Bee Supply manufacturer, Dadant and Sons, in 1977. At Dadants he received a practical education in beekeeping from some of the best beekeepers in the world. He left Dadants in 1985 to start his own tree Nursery and operate 200 hives of his own.

Including a 7-year commitment as a Municipal Arborist and Park Superintendent, Mike has spent his entire career growing and caring for plants, trees, and bees. He is a co-founder of the Grand Rapids Area Bee Club.

Presentation:

What Our Bees Foraged in 2024

This will be a discussion about what bees foraged on regionally throughout Michigan. What plants/trees were significant and what were not this year. What surprises did we see?

Kirk Jones

BIO: Kirk Jones started keeping bees 45 years ago after he and his wife Sharon, bought 2 beehives for their organic vegetable garden in northern Michigan. These humble beginnings blossomed into a multi-faceted enterprise that includes beekeeping, a full product line manufacturing facility, and a mead/brewery production facility complete with a restaurant as an agritourism destination.

Presentation:

Beekeeping Journeys: A Lifetime of Sweet Opportunities

Kirk Jones' journey into beekeeping began as a simple fascination with honey bees during his youth. Intrigued by their intricate colonies and essential role in nature, he started with just a few hives in his backyard. His hobby soon blossomed into a passion, and over the years, he dedicated himself to learning the art of beekeeping. As his skills grew, so did his hives, eventually expanding into a thriving business.

Kirk transitioned to beekeeping full-time, supplying local honey to his community while also providing vital pollination services to fruit farmers and almond growers. His operation became known for its quality, and soon, his honey and beeswax products were distributed across multiple states.

From raw honey to specialty beeswax candles, Kirk created a full line of honey-based products that gained widespread recognition.

Not content to stop there, Kirk's curiosity led him to explore the ancient art of mead making, a natural extension of his work with honey. He honed his craft and established a successful meadery, producing a variety of meads that quickly became popular. The meadery began distributing to multiple states, earning a reputation for its unique and high-quality beverages.

In recent years, Kirk's meadery has become an agritourism destination in Beulah, Michigan. Thousands of visitors now flock to his farm each year to see the bees, tour the meadery, and experience the rich tradition of mead making. Kirk’s journey from a hobbyist beekeeper to a successful business owner and mead producer is a testament to his passion, dedication, and the thriving world of honey and bees.

Sharon Jones

BIO: Trained in the well trodden tradition of a Melissae, Sharon is a Bee Mistress with over 45 years of experience, loving and learning from the bees. Sharon and husband Kirk raise queen bees on their Florida Ranch in the winter. Sharon is a frame drummer artist who studied with the late Layne Redmond as a bee Priestess and founder of the Beekeepress Apprenticeship Program, a seven month training in the feminine approach to building relationships with our beloved bees. She is president of the Benzie Bee Guild and is currently studying Apitherapy and Herbalism and resides in Beautiful Benzie County.

Presentation:

Journey to the Sacred Hive

Clearly these are transformational times full of upheaval and the plight of the honey bee is distressing to all. Now is the time to Remember our Divinity, Rebuild our community Hive- Nurturing our Earth home and one another. Joining in the tantric dance between flow-er and bee weaves the sacred web of golden threads that protects and heals us and our mother earth.

In this introductory workshop we will explore our sacred relationship and connection with “Apis Mellifera” and how honeybees embody sacred geometry within themselves and their hive as do humans. Building on this ancient alliance we will remember our abilities to hear the messages of the hive. Through story, ritual, drumming and guided meditation, this session will provide you with tools and understanding to be of service to our sweet bee’s in a way that is authentic and mindful of the divine Sacred Feminine.

Photo courtesy of Bill Mauer

Bill Mauer

BIO: Married and beekeeping partner to Ann with 3 young adults. Farm raised in Michigan and still work on the farm as needed. Running tractors and combine mostly. Daily job now as a mechanic for the city wrenching on police cars, loaders and anything else the city needs fixing. We started with bees in 2016 with 10 hives and now run about 40 every summer. We sell nucs in the spring and queens locally. Active in our local beekeeping group and annual Beginners Bee School. Hobbies include making mead and talking about bees.

Presentation:

Using 4 Frame Boxes in a 10 Frame Apiary.

Micheal Palmer made 4 frame nucs popular, but 4 frame boxes have multiple uses beyond nucs. This will be a discussion of how we use 4 frame boxes within our apiary. From splitting to overwintering colonies, it is easier when you can manipulate your bees easily, and with purpose.

Photo Courtesy of  Dr. Meghan Milbrath

Dr. Meghan Milbrath

BIO: Dr. Meghan Milbrath is an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at MSU, where she studies honey bee diseases, focusing on transmission risk and treatment. Dr. Milbrath is also a beekeeper - she began working bees over 25 years ago as a hobby, and since 2011, has run The Sand Hill Apiary, a small livestock and queen rearing operation in Munith, Michigan. She studied biology at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and received degrees in public health from Tulane University and the University of Michigan, where she focused on environmental health sciences and disease transmission risk. Meghan worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University, studying nosema disease and in the honey bee lab at Swedish Agricultural University.

Presentation:

What Do You Need to Know About Bacterial Diseases?

How do you diagnose honey bee bacterial diseases? Are they reportable? I have to burn all my equipment? Where do I get antibiotics if I need them? If you have questions about honey bee bacterial diseases, this talk has the answers. We will discuss how to identify and diagnose American foulbrood and European foulbrood, and will cover all of your treatment options for both honey bee diseases. We will cover what we know about disinfection and prevention and how to keep your bees safe from disease.

Patrick Robertson

BIO: My name is Patrick Robertson aka the Mad Hive Maker. As a child I always had a passion for bees. I grew up so to speak; and now manage a small apiary I call HIVES ON THE 45TH as I live on the 45th parallel. This winter marks my 5th winter operating Ukrainian and experimental hives here on the old 45th parallel in Northern Michigan.

Presentation:

The Many Configurations of the Langstroth Ecosystem: Presented by the Mad Hive Maker

The presentation will be about how to build horizontal hives using standard Langstroth equipment in a nonstandard way. I will present 5 other hive configurations: Lazutin, Bee Barn, Layens/Ukrainian, Warre and lastly the Levitsky hive frames all made from standard Langstroth equipment.

Photo Courtesy of  Stephanie Slater

Stephanie Slater

Honey Judge

BIO: Stephanie Slater is the owner of Jam Session Honey and Preserves and has been keeping honey bees in Walworth (Wisconsin) for eight years. She serves on the boards of the Walworth County Beekeepers Association, the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, and the American Beekeeping Federation. She is the 2022 Wisconsin Beekeeper of the Year, the 2023 American Honey Show Best of Show winner and an American Honey Show Training Council Certified Honey Judge. You can find Jam Session Honey and Preserves on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jamsessionhoney or www.awardwinninghoney.com.

Photo Courtesy of John Stephens

John Stephens

BIO: John Stephens is half of the workforce of STEPHENS Birds & Bees Homestead, the other half is his wife Mary and, together, they are small, commercial honey producers. John started beekeeping about 17 years ago when Mary was gifted a hive, but he slowly became the primary manager of their colonies. There were good years and bad years of colony survival. 10 years ago was a bad year and the switch to High Density Polstyrene hives was made and the need to buy bees each spring disappeared. John now manages 170-175 production hives, with Mary's help when needed, and overwinters 35-40 nucs. John is a problem-solving kind of guy so, to manage that volume, the switch was made to run all single deep poly hives on 2 way pallets which required him to build his own hive lifting crane for his truck which is also used to lift honey supers during harvest. Together John and Mary extract their entire honey production in their recently licensed honey house. John enjoys teaching kids about honey bees with his observation hive at the farmers market.

Presentation:

Polystyrene Hives and How They are Changing Beekeeping

A discussion about high density polystyrene hives and how their management carries over to wooden hives. It touches on the thoughts of insulated cavities and why the bees benefit.

Benny Troyer

BIO: Benny Troyer is the owner of Benny’s Bees of Marion, Michigan. He sells honey and nucs. In the past, he has also raised and sold queen bees. He has enjoyed beekeeping for around 20 years. He started the Facebook group, “Northern Michigan Beekeepers,” 10 years ago. For his daily job, he owns and manages a construction company. Currently, he is building his family a log home. At most, he has ran 200 hives, but with his limited time, he currently runs, a more doable, 50-70 hives. In the past, he has shipped his bees for pollination to California for almonds, to Florida for oranges, and her in Michigan for blueberries. He has learned ways to problem solve and efficiently care for his bees whether it be for mite treatments, feeding bees or preparing them for nuc sales. He takes great delight in talking with and teaching other beekeepers how to maintain one’s bee hives.

Presentation:

Sustainable Apiary

Are you tired of always having to buy bees to replenish your losses? Do you want to keep that hard-earned money in your own apiary? Join me as I take you through a year in my bee yard and the ways I have made it sustainable. From selling nucs and honey, to raising my own queens, I will discuss the techniques that any beekeeper can use to create their own successful and sustainable apiary.

Photo courtesy of  Dr.  Nate Watson

Dr. Nate Walton

BIO: Nate is the Consumer Horticulture Educator for MSU Extension in Leelanau County and the Master Gardener Coordinator for the Northwest Lower Peninsula. He holds an MS and PhD in entomology from Michigan State University. Nate helps Michigan residents with questions about pollinators, native plants, nuisance insects, and garden pest management.

Presentation: 

Michigan’s Native Bees and Some of the Flowers They Love

Michigan is home to over 450 species of wild bees that pollinate flowering plants in our managed and wild lands. These insects are currently threatened by pesticides, habitat destruction, and climate change. Habitat management and restoration with flowering plants can help support them as they adapt to survive these challenges.