To build this envisioned international coalition — and invite you into it — we offer regular online and occasional in-person events to bring us all together around the theme of free-living honey bees.
Symposia Series
Each quarterly symposium features guests diving into issues integral to Honey Bee Watch, this year including the new Biodiversa+ FREE-B study, African traditions and techniques, partners' latest research, plus policy-related topics affecting certain countries. Speakers share their expertise and experiences, participate in a panel discussion, then answer your questions. Free and open to all. To sign up, select which events you'd like to attend in this online registration form. Sessions will be recorded and videos sent to all registrants.
One-Off Events
Periodically we will organize live events, whereby attendees can visit unique free-living bee sites, participate in hands-on workshops, and/or attend conferences and lectures. Stay tuned for more information.
2025 SYMPOSIA SERIES
#1 — Biodiversa+ Grant: The Who, What, Where, When, Why & How of FREE-B
Thursday, 20 March (17–19h CET // 16–18h GMT // 12–2pm EDT // 9–11am PDT)
Honey Bee Watch was integral in assembling a consortium from France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden that applied for — and was recently awarded — an EU Biodiversa+ grant. For three years, the teams will extensively research free-living honey bee populations, including locating new nest sites, monitoring quarterly (and in some cases every fortnight), sampling from choice colonies, sequencing genomes, and testing for pests and pathogens in comparison to nearby managed apiaries.
We’ll hear about the project’s principal research questions, methodology, envisioned outcomes, deliverables, applications, and implications. A departure from our usual symposium format, we'll begin with an overview of FREE-B, followed by an informative panel discussion with the five Principal Investigators: Grace McCormack (IE), Joachim Rodrigues de Miranda (SE), Andrzej Oleksa (PL), Alice Pinto (PT), and Fabrice Requier (FR).
GALWAY HONEY BEE RESEARCH CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY, IE
Grace is the Department Head and a Professor of Zoology at University of Galway. She also leads the Galway Honey Bee Research Centre with a team of PhD students and post-docs. Her interests lie in evolutionary biology and, particularly, in using molecular data to understand how organisms are related to each other and the impacts this may have on conservation and the evolution of organismal traits. Grace has been beekeeping for 10 years and currently manages 15 colonies. She became interested in free-living colonies in 2015, and has been investigating their survival, diversity, and distribution ever since. She is interested in both the conservation of Apis mellifera mellifera and the resilience of untreated bees to Varroa and other challenges introduced by humans. GHBRC
SWEDISH UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (SLU), SE
Joachim is an associate professor of entomology, specializing in insect health, especially the pathogens and diseases of beneficial insects. His primary interest is the viruses that infect bees: their transmission, epidemiology, evolution, and adaptive ecology, and how these are affected by internal and external factors, from long-term landscape-level changes in bee habitat and ecology to rapid virus population-genetic dynamic fluxes and evolution in controlled laboratory settings. SLU profile
KAZIMIERZ WIELKI UNIVERSITY, PL
Andrzej is a scientist specializing in the ecology of insects associated with tree hollows. His research combines molecular tools, morphometrics, and ecological analyses to investigate biodiversity, population structure, and the conservation of saproxylic insects, including honey bees. His work has enhanced the understanding of genetic introgression in honey bees, host preferences of hermit beetles, and the ecological role of rural avenues as refuges and corridors for vulnerable species. Andrzej has contributed to studies on honey bee subspecies discrimination, population genetics, and conservation strategies. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, he aims to advance knowledge of insect–plant interactions as well as to support effective conservation initiatives in fragmented landscapes. ResearchGate profile
MOUNTAIN RESEARCH CENTER (CIMO), POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF BRAGANÇA, PT
Alice developed a keen interest in honey bees during her PhD research, while studying a fascinating feral population living in oak tree cavities on a wildlife refuge in Texas, US. For her dissertation she examined the genetic changes in this population undergoing Africanization. Currently, her main research interests involve uncovering the processes, both natural and human-mediated, that shape extant genetic diversity patterns in honey bee populations, with a particular focus on understanding the basis of local adaptation in different subspecies. CIMO
SR. RESEARCHER, EGCE LAB & UMR CNRS-IRD-UNIVERSITÉ PARIS-SACLAY, FR
Fabrice is a senior researcher with an interest in agroecology and pollinator ecology. His research focuses on pollinator responses to changes in landscape structure, exposures to agrochemicals, and pressures from (invasive) biotic factors, and the subsequent implications for biological conservation and ecosystem services. For this he generally combines the use of lab experiments, field monitoring, and modeling techniques, and has a growing interest in inclusive socio-ecological approaches. His work is oriented towards applied perspectives, including the development of decision-support tools for informing environmental policies and stakeholders. IRD
#2 — Africa: Traditions & Techniques from the Continent
Thursday, 19 June (18–20h EAT // 17–19h CEST // 16–18h BST // 11am–1pm EDT // 8–10am PDT)
In order to be truly global, Honey Bee Watch is making a concerted effort to identify — and invite into the study — scientists, experts, and beekeepers from Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. During this exploration, we've been exposed to a variety of bee-related observations and beekeeping practices, whose cultural, historic, environmental, and biological differences we want to highlight and share with the community.
During this session, we'll focus on Africa and its rich apicultural traditions and techniques. From horizontal hives dangling from tree canopies to thousands of colonies found freely living in trees, cliff sides, and holes in the ground; from Apis mellifera scutellata’s propensity to frequently swarm to how beekeeping helps people escape poverty — three guests from around the continent tell stories of their personal and professional pursuits, as well as convey the importance of valuing and celebrating indigenous wisdom and practices.
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT, UK
Janet’s interaction with free-living bees started in the forests of Tanzania and Malawi, where she worked as a forester in the 1990s and early 2000s. Africa’s forests are full of honey bees, both living wild and in beehives made from natural, locally collected materials such as logs, bark, vines, grass, and bamboo. Janet started work with the international beekeeping charity Bees for Development in 2005, and over the last 20 years has worked in more than ten African countries, completed her PhD on forest beekeeping in Zambia, and delivers trainings and designs projects on nature-based beekeeping. Apis mellifera are indigenous to Africa, with large wild populations thriving in many habitats, thus providing a resource for local people to create sustainable livelihoods in harmony with nature. African beekeepers usually manage their bees from the outside — not the inside — by tending to the external conditions which support honey bee populations, as opposed to internal colony manipulations. Janet keeps bees in her garden and woodland in Herefordshire, UK. Bees for Development
FOUNDER, OH'KAY HONEY MARKET, KE
Jason (aka El-Nyuki, Swahili for "The Bee") is a beekeeper, beekeeping consultant, comedian, and Level One-certified Honey Sommelier from Italy’s National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. Trained under Kenya’s top beekeepers and an alumnus of the National Beekeeping Institute, he combines both traditional practices with modern innovation and presently serves as the National Secretary of the Apiculture Platform of Kenya. His beekeeping work has been featured by CNN, BBC, Citizen TV, and Standard Media Group. As a global advocate for sustainable apiculture, Jason has also worked with farmers and organizations across Kenya, the UAE, Nepal, and Uganda. In 2024, he collaborated with Nepal’s Gurung tribe (Mad Honey hunters) on the documentary Asante Nyuki, directed by wildlife filmmaker Pauline Kyalo and produced by the University of the West of England Bristol. A licensed drone pilot and photographer, he documents beekeeping traditions, while also hosting Kenya’s largest improv comedy show, Because You Said So! Jason's Instagram
#3 — The Latest Buzz: Current Research from Honey Bee Watch Partners
Thursday, 18 September (17–19h CEST // 16–18h BST // 11am–1pm EDT // 8–10am PDT)
Come along a cross-continental journey featuring cutting-edge bee research, when three PhD students specializing in free-living honey bees share their university projects and latest data on wild populations in Africa, Europe, and North America.
Kaylin Kleckner (under Jamie Ellis) describes fieldwork on South Africa’s Apis mellifera scutellata and A.m. capensis populations, their characteristic behaviors, and nesting ecologies. Matúš Pavle (under Róbert Chlebo) researches the factors affecting co-existence between free-living and managed bee colonies, comparing viral loads, population genetics, and the impacts of environment. Alex Valentine (under Grace McCormack) oversees data collection on an eight-year study in Ireland (and parts of the UK) and will share findings on the island’s A.m. mellifera populations: pest, pathogen, pesticide loads; genomic markers; and more.
PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, US
Kaylin is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. Through a collaboration with Rhodes University, she conducts field research with wild and unmanaged honey bees in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She used bee-lining techniques to locate 130 nest sites in order to study the bees’ nesting ecology, population structure, and disease dynamics. Long term, she aims to inform local land management decisions and pollinator conservation initiatives throughout Africa. Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab
PHD STUDENT, SLOVAK UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE IN NITRA, SK
Matúš worked for several years in the media as a journalist and in management before moving into the computer technology sector in 1999. For almost 20 years, he has been running a family-owned business that specializes in printing project documentation for architects, designers, and construction companies. In 2017, he began searching for and observing free-living honey bees throughout Slovakia, and has published a dozen articles about his findings in popular beekeeping magazines in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In 2021, he graduated from an Adaptive Forestry program, and, since 2024, has been pursuing a PhD at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, focused on the factors affecting coexistence between free-living and farmed honey bee colonies. SUA
PHD STUDENT, GALWAY HONEY BEE RESEARCH CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY, IE
Alex is a PhD candidate at the University of Galway, investigating the diversity and adaptation of honey bees in Ireland. Funded by the Science Foundation Ireland as a part of the Outside the Box project, she has spent the last three years working at and with the Galway Honey Bee Research Centre (GHBRC) to sample, test, and analyze data from more than 200 free-living nest sites throughout the country and within the United Kingdom. The most recent publication from GHBRC documented for the first time in Ireland that the native dark honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) possesses distinct adaptations to its native environment, and thus, is worthy of legal protection. GHBRC
#4 — Policy Pushes: Banning Imports, Repealing Detrimental Laws, Conserving Populations
Thursday, 18 December (17–19h CET // 16–18h GMT // 11am–1pm EST // 8–10am PST)
Description to come...
2024 SYMPOSIA SERIES
Bee-lining: Modern-day Makeover of an Age-Old Craft (21 March)
Bee-lining involves searching for bees and patiently following foragers back to their natural homes. While centuries old, this craft’s utility has become less effective in modern times, with dwindling habitat and an explosion of managed apiaries abutting swaths of forests and woodlands. To increase the success of one’s hunt, researchers have honed their bee-spying and -tracking skills and developed new techniques to reveal where bees live, some of which our guests shared.
This event was co-presented by the Arboreal Apiculture Salon.
Featuring Cheyanna Bone (Apis Arborea), Joe Ibbertson (Boughton Estate Honeybee Conservation), Prof. Thomas Seeley (Cornell University), Michael Joshin Thiele (Apis Arborea).
(Note: yellow highlights link to speakers' video presentations on our YouTube channel.)
Tree Cavities: Homes and Biomes for Bees & Other Organisms (20 June)
Studying free-living honey bees often brings researchers deep into forests to monitor colonies in their natural habitat. Observations of tree cavities have revealed interesting findings, including new occupants and/or unexpected co-habitants, such as woodpeckers, owls, squirrels, other insects, fungi, and more.
What do we know about these dynamically rich nest spaces? What can we learn about interspecies interactions within tree cavities? How can an intersectional, multidisciplinary scientific approach among researchers from varying specialties widen our understanding of free-living bee biology and behavior? Three experts from different fields explored these topics and more.
Featuring Kevin Smith (USDA Forest Service), Mick Verspuij (Boomtreebees), Barbara Zadjel (Warsaw University of Life Sciences).
Are Wild Honey Bees Wild Bees Too? (26 September)
It was once widely believed that wild-living honey bees went extinct long ago. Even though there’s proof of their existence, some still believe that they’re only feral escapees from managed hives' swarms. In light of these and similar (mis)conceptions, coupled with recent studies positing that managed honey bees compete with wild bees (aka non-Apis mellifera species, often solitary and native), there’s a prevailing opinion that honey bees living on their own may not deserve conservation or even our attention. Although Honey Bee Watch strongly disagrees, we welcomed a panel of experts to transparently discuss contemporary (and sometimes controversial) research, past myths, and present realities surrounding “wild honey bees” and their place within natural ecosystems.
Featuring Kit Prendergast (Curtin University), Jamie Strange (Ohio State University), Marija Tanasković (University of Belgrade).
Spreading Buzz: Communicating & Recruiting for Citizen Science (19 December)
It was once widely believed that wild-living honey bees went extinct long ago. Even though there’s proof of their existence, some still believe that they’re only feral escapees from managed hives' swarms. In light of these and similar (mis)conceptions, coupled with recent studies positing that managed honey bees compete with wild bees (aka non-Apis mellifera species, often solitary and native), there’s a prevailing opinion that honey bees living on their own may not deserve conservation or even our attention. Although Honey Bee Watch strongly disagrees, we welcomed a panel of experts to transparently discuss contemporary (and sometimes controversial) research, past myths, and present realities surrounding “wild honey bees” and their place within natural ecosystems.
Featuring Carolina Doran (European Citizen Science Association), Nathalie Steinhauer (Oregon State University), Adelaide Valentini (Resilient Bee Project).
2023 SYMPOSIA SERIES
The Case for Protocol Standardization: Monitoring (28 June)
This symposium tackled protocols, namely which data points we request citizen scientists and research partners collect when monitoring free-living nests. Intending to become the world’s greatest repository of data on survivors, Honey Bee Watch strives to standardize protocols to a great degree, then share them far and wide in order to ensure parity of data globally. But how do you converge monitoring protocols from projects with different research goals, that have spanned varying time frames, that do or do not involve citizens, and with origins in countries as diverse as Serbia, Ireland, UK, US, and beyond?
Featuring Dr. Jovana Bila Dubaić (University of Belgrade), Dr. Grace McCormack (Galway Honey Bee Research Centre, University of Galway), Filipe Salbany (Blenheim Estate), Prof. Thomas Seeley (Cornell University).
Sharing Is Caring: Unraveling Data Rights & Sharing (28 September)
Citizen science prioritizes collaboration, with scientists relying on the contributions of individuals, who collect essential data for their research. A simple enough concept, but when you scratch the surface, complexities and nuances are quickly revealed.
As a participating Bee Guardian citizen registering qualifying colonies into Honey Bee Watch, would you willingly share the bees' locations, periodic observational details, your name, contact info? As a researcher potentially entering into a global study like ours, what general concerns do you have regarding data rights, data sharing, crediting, publishing, etc.?
Featuring Roger Dammé (Honey Bee Wild), Paolo Fontana (Edmund Mach Foundation), Noa Simón Delso (BeeLife).
"Wild", "Free-Living", "Feral": Definitions for Consistency (13 December)
Honey bees are in a rare category within the animal kingdom, straddling wild and domesticated. In 2014, the IUCN assessed Apis mellifera in Europe, conferring a “data deficient” Red List status due to the difficulty of identifying and discerning wild populations. What defines “wild”? Why is this term so controversial? Does "wild" apply to the colony itself or entire self-sustaining populations too?
If scientists can accept a common definition, will we then be able to accurately reassess their Red List status as well as advance with coordinated conservation efforts internationally? During this talk, our guests talked about the usefulness of standardizing other terms and the benefits of widely distributing such a shared glossary.
Featuring Hannes Bonhoff (Honungsbiföreningen), Patrick Kohl (University of Würzburg), Fabrice Requier (University of Paris-Saclay), Michael Joshin Thiele (Apis Arborea).
During some months in between symposia, we've hosted informal gatherings, whereby bee lovers share real-life experiences with free-living honey bees, whether related to science, personal observations, theory, or practice. These have been free-form "virtual handshake" sessions, a place to hear people's stories, learn about studies around the globe, glean new ideas, make connections, get inspired, and become part of our family of bee experts and enthusiasts.
If you'd like to sign up to give a 10–minute talk during the 2025 season, fill out this Google Form application. We'll review applications and pick up to three talks per event. If you have any questions, email Steve Rogenstein at ambeessadors@gmail.com.
A Day at Blenheim Palace & Estate (2 April 2023)
We organized a special tour of Blenheim Estate, Europe's largest and oldest ancient oak woodlands, in search of bees living in trees. Fifty guests from around the world strolled the grounds, stood in the majestic shadows of 1,000-year-old giants, and learned about them and their bee inhabitants from Filipe Salbany and Francis Gilio.
In less than three years, they have located 76 nest cavities on a small portion of Blenheim's 2,500 acres, a handful of which were espied that day. On an additional adjacent 10,000 acres, they're establishing a Conservation Covenant to protect this unique ecosystem and all the flora and fauna contained within.
Watch the video to learn more. Thanks to COLOSS and Ricola Foundation — Nature & Culture for their financial support.
Contacts
Director (Project): Steve Rogenstein
Director (Science): Arrigo Moro
Director: Keith Browne
Inquiries: honeybeewatch.info@gmail.com
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