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
During each quarterly symposium, guests dive into issues integral to Honey Bee Watch. This year features our work reclassifying wild Apis mellifera as Endangered in the EU, tree-beekeeping around the world, taking actionable steps towards free-living honey bee conservation, and an opportunity for you to "Ask the Experts." Speakers share their expertise and experiences, participate in a panel discussion, then answer your questions. Our symposia are open to all and free, but we kindly ask that you donate whatever you can to help us continue making the series accessible to everyone. 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 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.
Honey Bee Watch was invited by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and University of Mons (BE) to reassess the Red List status of wild honey bees in Europe. After two years, our Task Force concluded that Apis mellifera’s previous Data Deficient designation should be updated to Endangered in the European Union. Due to insufficient data for the rest of the continent, though, the species remains Data Deficient in pan-Europe, thus necessitating further research, especially in the Balkans, Baltic region, Scandinavia, and Western Russia.
Three guests will delve into the ins and outs of the project: Denis Michez begins by introducing the Red List of Threatened Species. Arrigo Moro contextualizes the process, challenges, and reasoning behind our team’s reassessment. Benjamin Rutschmann discusses the research paper he co-authored with Patrick Kohl, which served as the basis for the Endangered classification. A panel discussion on the implications for conservation follows with all the other speakers, then an audience Q&A closes the event.
Whereas historians and archeologists seem to know a lot about the general origins and early practices of “standard” beekeeping, less is known about the ancient craft of tree-beekeeping, typically a much less intensive and invasive form of bee-tending. Whether the bees live in natural cavities, are housed within human-made hollows carved out of trees or logs, or sculpted out of other materials and then hung horizontally in trees or strapped vertically to them, a wide array of hive types and management styles exists within the field of arboreal apiculture.
We’ll meet experts from Asia, Europe, and Africa, who will contextualize their region’s historical, cultural, ecological, and practical tree-beekeeping characteristics, as well as share personal experiences and observations. Glimpses into this diverse, traditional practice—which has persisted for thousands of years—may provide fresh inspiration to bee lovers around the world.
As a “Part 2” to the March symposium about our work with IUCN, we continue exploring the implications of reclassifying wild Apis mellifera as Endangered in EU27, this time focusing on steps that can be taken towards educating stakeholders, building relationships with policymakers, developing conservation strategies together, and eventually implementing policy change for the betterment of free-living honey bees.
We’ll discuss an array of topics: the myriad ways a nonprofit can enter politics and navigate its complexities, the similarities and differences between national and international situations, what resources ought to be amassed for success, and how individuals in our fledgling free-living honey bee community—like you—can get involved in this promising, yet arduous, journey.
The date and guest speakers will be announced shortly. Stay tuned….
To further engage our community and make Honey Bee Watch truly more accessible, we’re experimenting with a new concept: providing you with a special opportunity to interact directly with a handful of experts, of whom you can ask pressing questions on a variety of topics. After our guests introduce themselves and their projects, we’ll open the floor to your inquiring minds. Questions can also be submitted in advance for consideration.
Honey Bee Watch’s core team kicks off this new format: Jovana (Board member) studies a variety of bee species and their ecology across urban and agroecosystems, and has led a study on free-living bees in Belgrade, Serbia, for a number of years. Raffaele (Board member) works in sustainable management and breeding to achieve quality beehive products and resilient bees, and is a honey sensory expert and teacher. Arrigo (Science Director and Board member) is a veterinarian, second-generation professional beekeeper, and researcher, focused on honey bee populations that survive Varroa destructor through natural selection.
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.
Featuring Grace McCormack (University of Galway, IE), Joachim de Miranda (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE), Andrzej Oleksa (Kazimierz Wielki University, PL), Alice Pinto (Bragança Polytechnic University, PT), Fabrice Requier (EGCE Lab, UMR CNRS-IRD-University Paris-Saclay, FR)
(Note: yellow highlights link to speakers' video presentations on our YouTube channel.)
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 characteristics we want to highlight and share with the community.
During this session, we'll focus on Africa and its rich nature-based 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.
Featuring Tibeebu Alemu (Indigenous Beekeepers Association of Africa, ET), Janet Lowore (Bees for Development, UK), Jason Runo (Oh'Kay Honey Market, KE)
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.
Featuring Kaylin Kleckner (University of Florida, US), Matúš Pavle (Slovak University of Agriculture at Nitra, SK), Alex Valentine (University of Galway, IE)
While scientific research is essential to come to evidence-based conclusions, what is subsequently done with those findings is what can potentially inform society and lead to (hopefully) positive, beneficial outcomes. For our last symposium in 2025, we hear three stories whereby impassioned ideas, solid science, and visionary action coalesced to push policies to protect the planet and honey bees’ health and habitats.
In Ireland, one of Europe’s last bastions of Apis mellifera mellifera, the Native Irish Honey Bee Society has fought hard to prevent the importation of non-native bees via a political campaign that has gained traction within the Senate and is getting closer to possibly being enacted. In Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, beekeepers facing numerous threats associated with agro-industrial expansion—deforestation, pesticide use, the planting of GMOs (genetically modified organisms)—partnered with researchers and lawyers to push back against perpetrators like Monsanto, eventually leading to legislative victories. And in Ecuador (plus other places around the world), the Rights of Nature are being defended and enshrined into law by activists such as those at the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights.
Featuring Mari Margil (Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, US), Loretta Neary (Native Irish Honey Bee Society, IE), Eric Vides Borrell (ECOSUR, MX)
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, US), Joe Ibbertson (Boughton Estate Honeybee Conservation, UK), Prof. Thomas Seeley (Cornell University, US), Michael Joshin Thiele (Apis Arborea, US)
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, US), Mick Verspuij (Boomtreebees, IE), Barbara Zadjel (Warsaw University of Life Sciences, PL)
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, AU), Jamie Strange (Ohio State University, US), Marija Tanasković (University of Belgrade, RS)
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, DE), Nathalie Steinhauer (Oregon State University, US), Adelaide Valentini (Resilient Bee Project, IT)
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, RS), Dr. Grace McCormack (Galway Honey Bee Research Centre, University of Galway, IE), Filipe Salbany (Blenheim Estate, UK), Prof. Thomas Seeley (Cornell University, US)
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, LU), Paolo Fontana (Edmund Mach Foundation, IT), Noa Simón Delso (BeeLife, BE)
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, SE), Patrick Kohl (University of Würzburg, DE), Fabrice Requier (University of Paris-Saclay, FR), Michael Joshin Thiele (Apis Arborea, US)
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.
At the moment we're not hosting Café events, but if you'd like to be informed of any in the future, subscribe to our mailing list below.
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.
Project Director: Steve Rogenstein
Science Director: Arrigo Moro
Inquiries: honeybeewatch.info@gmail.com
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