Last week was EAS 2023, or the Eastern Apicultural Society‘s 2003 Short Course & Conference. The annual conference is in a different state every year. This year in Massachusetts and next year is in Maryland. The first two days is the short course, with talks and workshops on microscopy, queen rearing, honey show judging, and other topics; the final three days is the conference, with keynote speakers and the latest in beekeeping and research from some of the best in the nation.

The theme this year was Past, Present, and Beeyond.

Below are pictures from each of the keynote speakers. The past was represented by Tammy Horn Potter, author of the fabulous book Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation. She talked about the past, one quote I like was “We live the 17th century every day, and we don’t even think about it.”

The second day keynote (the present) was Dr Judy Wu-Smart, who shared her experience dealing with pesticide waste in Nebraska. Turns out it is not very well regulated and she lost dozens of colonies before Federal authorities started to pay attention.

The future talk on Friday was from Dr. Sam Ramsey, who spoke of his research into Varroa and other mites that could impact honey bees in the future.

Overall it was a great conference, and I look forward to next year’s session in Maryland. It runs from August 5 through 9 in 2024 in Ellicott City, Maryland if you would like to join us.

May you prosper and find honey.