March 9, 2011
DAVIS--MacArthur Fellowship recipient Marla Spivak, professor of apiculture at the University of Minnesota, will give two presentations on Saturday, March 19 at the fifth annual Bee Symposium, a benefit for bees.
The all-day event, sponsored by Beekind, takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Sebastopol Veterans’ Memorial Hall, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol.
This year's theme is "Medicine from the Hive."
Spivak will speak on “Socialized Medicine in Honey Bee Colonies” in the morning and “Bee Health and Breeding” in the afternoon.
Spivak is the Distinguished McKnight Professor and Extension specialist in apiculture at the University of Minnesota. She developed the Minnesota Hygienic Line. Her current research is investigating the benefits of propolis to bees. Last year she was named a recipient of the $500,000 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as a "genius award."
UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty and staff have participated in the Bee Symposium for the past several years. They include Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen; native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology; and bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey.
Spivak studied with Thorp and other volunteer instructors at the 2010 The Bee Course, Portal, Ariz. The annual workshop is offered for conservation biologists, pollination ecologists and other biologists who want to gain greater knowledge of the systematics and biology of bees. Spivak has also done research with Mussen and Cobey.
Two other speakers are billed at the March 19 event. Acupuncturist Frederique Keller of Apitherapy for Health and president of the American Apitherapy Society, will speak on “Medicinal Use of Raw Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly, Bee Bread and Beeswax” in the morning. In the afternoon, her topic is: “Bee Venom Therapy: Historical Perspective into Modern Applications.” A native of Paris, she now lives in Northport, N.Y
Retired physician Ron Fessenden of Colorado Spring, Co.,, author of “The Honey Revolution: Restoring the Health of Future Generations” and other books on honey, will speak on “The Revolutionary Effects of Honey on Human Metabolism” in the morning. In the afternoon he will share “How to Sleep Your Way to Better Health with Honey.”
A small group of bee folks who want to share their knowledge and promote enthusiasm about and for the bees organized the conference, said Katia Vincent of Beekind, Sebastopol.
Tickets to the Bee Symposium are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees and Partners for Sustainable Pollination.
For more information contact Katia Vincent at beekind@beekind.com.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894