Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium Annual Conference
September 30 - October 1, 2023 • Hybrid Course (In Person at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine & Online) • Offering 12 AAVSB RACE Approved CE Credits
The Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium (HBVC) is made up of students and professionals from all segments of veterinary medicine and animal science who care about bees and beekeeping.
As of January 2017, if a beekeeper needs to administer antibiotics to their honey bees, they are required to have a prescription or feed directive from a licensed veterinarian. Part of our mission at HBVC is to provide an avenue for beekeepers to locate a veterinarian that is willing to work with bees.
The 2023 HBVC Conference will feature both basic and advanced lectures that will cover a wide variety of honey bee related topics. You can view the full schedule below. You can choose to either attend in person at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine or participate online via Zoom. There will also be two optional lab sessions on Sunday – “Introduction to Hive Inspections” for beginners, and “Honey Bee Anatomy and Diagnostics” for advanced attendees.
Attendees are also encouraged to participate in social events during the conference. There will be a complimentary Meet & Greet at the Hilton Garden Inn on Friday evening (September 29th) from 6:30PM-8:30PM. Light appetizers will be provided and there will be a cash bar. There will also be a BBQ dinner on Saturday evening at the NCSU CVM for attendees from 5:00PM-7:00PM. The dinner is included in your registration fee. You will have the option to purchase a guest dinner during registration.
Questions about the conference or registration? Contact ceregistration@ncsu.edu.
Conference Schedule – Saturday, September 30th
| TIME | TITLE & SPEAKER | TRACK (Beginnner or Advanced) | ROOM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-8:00a | Check-In | Lobby | |
| 8-8:20a | Welcome - Dr. Brittney Kyle | B112 | |
| 8:20-9:20a | KEYNOTE: The Honey Bee Dance Language and Collective Decision-Making - Dr. David Peck | B112 | |
| 9:20-9:30a | An Update on Yellow-Legged Hornets - Dr. Lewis Bartlett | B112 | |
| 9:30-9:45a | BREAK | ||
| 9:45-10:35a | An Introduction to Honey Bees & Beekeeping - Dr. Amy Franklin | Beg. | B112 |
| 9:45-10:35a | What's In Your Honey? Sugars, Pesticides, Wax, and Pollen Compositions in Honey - Dr. Larry Millet | Adv. | C120 |
| 10:35-11:25a | Varroa Destructor - History, Biology, and Year-Round Monitoring and Management - Dr. David Peck | Beg. | B112 |
| 10:35-11:25a | The Problems and Promises of Darwinian Beekeeping - Dr. Lewis Bartlett | Adv. | C120 |
| 11:25a-12:15p | Microscopic Problems Can Be A Big Deal - Nancy Ruppert | Beg. | B112 |
| 11:25-11:50a | Adverse Health Impacts on Honey Bee Colonies from a Pesticide Contaminated Environment & Resources - Rogan Tokach | Adv. | C120 |
| 11:50a-12:15p | Making Nucs to Overwinter - Basic Principles and Methods - Dr. David Peck | Adv. | C120 |
| 12:15-1:15p | LUNCH | ||
| 1:15-2:05p | How to Read a Frame - Shirley Harris | Beg. | B112 |
| 1:15-2:05p | All About Queens - Queen Biology and Essential Queen Rearing Techniques - Dr. David Peck | Adv. | C120 |
| 2:05-2:55p | Applied Frontiers in Parasite Control in Beekeeping - Dr. Lewis Bartlett | Beg. | B112 |
| 2:05-2:55p | Novel Hive Structures for Treatment-Free Sustainable Beekeeping and for Pollination Services in Small Scale Agriculture Settings - Dr. Larry Millet | Adv. | C120 |
| 2:55-3:10p | BREAK | ||
| 3:10-4p | Working with Beekeepers - Dr. Marley Iredale | Beg. | B112 |
| 3:10-4p | The Buzz on Bee Toxicology - Dr. Karyn Bischoff | Adv. | C120 |
| 4-4:50p | An Overview of Varroa Mite Treatments and the Challenges of Managing Amitraz Resistant Mites in Honey Bee Colonies - Rogan Tokach | Beg. | B112 |
| 4-4:50p | Small Hive Beetles - Using Biology to Improve Control - Dr. David Peck | Adv. | C120 |
| 5-7:00p | BBQ Dinner on the Lawn | ||
Conference Schedule – Sunday, October 1st
| TIME | TITLE & SPEAKER | ROOM |
|---|---|---|
| 7-8:00a | Check-In | Lobby |
| 8a-12:15p | Advanced Lab Session - Honey Bee Anatomy and Diagnostics - Dr. Marley Iredale | NCDA&CS Beneficial Insects Lab |
| 8-10:15a | Beginner Lab Session #1 - Introduction to Hive Inspections - Nancy Ruppert & Shirley Harris | Outside of CVM Library |
| 8-9:00a | Industrial Bees - Understanding Crowding and Epidemics in Apiaries - Dr. Lewis Bartlett | B112 |
| 9-10:00a | Impact of Global Climate Change on Pollinators - Dr. Terry Ryan Kane | B112 |
| 10-10:15a | BREAK | |
| 10:15a-12:15p | Beginner Lab Session #2 - Introduction to Hive Inspections - Nancy Ruppert & Shirley Harris | Outside of CVM Library |
| 10:15-11:15a | An Introduction to Mini-Livestock: Farmed Insect Welfare - Dr. Meghan Barrett | B112 |
| 11:15a-12:15p | Tropilaelaps Mites: What Threat Do They Pose, and How Can We Monitor and Manage for Them - Rogan Tokach | B112 |
| 12:15-1:15p | LUNCH | |
| 1:15-2:30p | Panel Discussion with Dr. Amy Franklin, Dr. David Peck, Dr. Lewis Bartlett, and Nancy Ruppert | B112 |
Lab Session Descriptions
- Beginner Lab – Introduction to Hive Inspections: Designed to help participants acquire the basic knowledge and skills to: safely and efficiently inspect a honey bee colony; identify healthy norms and unhealthy pathology during colony inspection; collect and analyze samples, and use in-the-field testing to enhance diagnostic skills; formulate diagnostic conclusions and related plans of action. Participants will be encouraged to handle bees and hive components to maximize the hands-on value of this lab. Instructors have a total of over thirty years of beekeeping experience, with some of that time serving as apiary inspectors for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
- Advanced Lab – Anatomy, Dissection, and Diagnostics: This lab will provide detailed instruction in the anatomy and physiology of the honey bee with hands-on dissection, as well as opportunities to perform common diagnostic techniques such as a microscopic review of fecal samples to detect Nosema sp. and amoeba, lateral-flow tests to detect AFB and EFB, and an alcohol wash to monitor Varroa levels.
Speakers
- Meghan Barrett, PhD – Founding Director, Insect Welfare Research Society
- Lewis Bartlett, PhD – University of Georgia Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases
- Karyn Bischoff, DVM, MS, DABVT – Veterinary Toxicologist, Cornell Animal Health Diagnostic Center
- Amy Franklin, MS, DVM – CEO and President, Farms for Orphans
- Shirley Harris – Apiary Inspector, NCDA&CS
- Marley Iredale, MS, DVM, DACVP – NorthWest ZooPath
- Terry Ryan Kane, MS, DVM – Founder, A2 Bee Vet
- Larry Millet, PhD – Research Scientist, University of Tennessee Knoxville Center for Environmental Biotechnology
- David Peck, PhD – Director of Research & Education, Betterbee
- Nancy Ruppert – Apiary Manager, Beez Needz
- Rogan Tokach – Doctoral Graduate Student Researcher, Auburn University Bee Laboratory
Location & Lodging
The conference will take place at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, located at 1060 William Moore Drive in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The conference has a block of hotel rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn located at 3912 Arrow Drive in Raleigh. The hotel is approximately 10 minutes from the CVM campus. To reserve a room at the conference rate ($159 +tax per night), click here or contact the hotel directly at (919) 703-2525 and reference the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium. The deadline to reserve a room in the block is Thursday, September 7th.
Registration
The registration fees are as follows:
- HBVC Member (In Person or Online) – $325
- Non-Member (In Person or Online) – $375
- Student (In Person or Online) – $150
- Beginner Lab Session – $175
- Advanced Lab Session – $300
The registration fees include breakfast and lunch each day, a Meet & Greet session at the Hilton Garden Inn on Friday evening (light appetizers and a cash bar), a BBQ dinner on Saturday evening, and up to 12 AAVSB RACE approved continuing education credits for veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
If you are interested in sponsoring the 2023 HBVC Conference, please contact the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Office of Continuing Education at ceregistration@ncsu.edu.