All speakers will present via zoom, so everyone will also have the option of attending via zoom if you do not wish to attend in person.  Anyone attending in person will be required to wear a face mask if required by CDC. No drinks or snacks will be provided, but you may bring something for yourself.

Mini Presentation: Beekeeper personality factors and hive management behavior.

Gregory P. Shelley, Ph.D. is the chair of the psychology department and professor of psychology at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.  His general area of research is in personality and social decision making.  Dr. Shelley became a backyard beekeeper 5 years ago and holds a master beekeeping certificate from the University of Montana.  Since becoming a beekeeper, he has been interested in understanding how characteristics of the individual beekeeper (e.g., their personality and approaches to social decision making) might be related to the way in which they keep bees.  Dr. Shelley is working on a variety of projects with entomologists from Penn State University and Purdue University to understand beekeeper attitudes and behavior.

Brief description:  The study identified aspects of beekeeper personality and social value orientation that were related to how the beekeeper manages their colonies, primarily the use of in-hive chemicals to manage mites.

Main Topic: Thermoregulation and Ventilation

Bill Hesbach is a Connecticut native with a background in engineering.

He's an Eastern Apicultural Society Certified Master Beekeeper, a graduate of the University of Montana's master beekeeping program, and the Connecticut Beekeepers Association president.

Bill also operates a sideline bee business called Wing Dance Apiary in Cheshire, CT., that produces a crop of artisanal raw honey and other natural hive products.

Bill teaches bee biology and various beekeeping methods at meetings hosted by regional beekeeping clubs. Bill is an active member of the Eastern Apicultural Society, where he is part of the Master Beekeeper Certification program. Bill is a regular guest speaker at national beekeeping seminars and was presented the Distinguished Speaker Award at the 2019 EAS conference.

His special interests in beekeeping include bee biology and flight and the connection between local flora and bee behavior. He's a published author, and his articles on beekeeping appear in Bee Culture, Bee Craft, and The American Bee Journal.

Brief Description: This talk starts with how bees control the internal hive temperature using thermoregulation and what effect that has on the colony. Then we discuss convection flows inside a colony as a precursor to understanding ventilation. In the final segment, I introduce the concept of a condensing colony versus the more common practice of adding ventilation. When finished, you will better understand what role ventilation plays in a natural hive environment, where the bees control all the hive gases.