Data-Driven Best Practices for Small Apiaries
This talk covers a three-year study testing data-based best management practices for small apiaries. Based on years of Bee Informed Partnership survey data, four management practices were found to be correlated with reduced winter colony loss. Dr. Kulhanek used these practices in real apiaries over a three-year period to test their effect on Varroa loads, and colony health and survival. This talk will cover which practices seemed to have the biggest impact on the bees.
Integrated Pest Management for Varroa – Novel Approaches from the WSU Bee Program
The Washington State University Bee Program has several ongoing projects looking into novel ways to manage Varroa populations. This presentation covers topics ranging from trials on a new Varroa treatment to using indoor storage of colonies to manage Varroa. These various projects are designed to meet needs of beekeepers, ranging from hobbyist to commercial.
Kelly Kulhanek has a BS in Molecular Environmental Biology from UC Berkeley. She completed her PhD in Entomology in Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp’s Bee Lab at the University of Maryland. During her PhD she worked with the Bee Informed Partnership to study beekeeping management practices, colony health and survival. She joined the Washington State University Bee Program as a postdoctoral researcher in 2020, and recently began a new role as Assistant Professor of Pollinator Research and Extension. She plans to build a program based on regular communication with stakeholders, and to address needs such as locally specific best practices for bee management and crop pollination, and extension programs that will put the latest research into the hands of stakeholders.