Saturday, October 19, 2013
Location: The Italian Heritage Center
40 Westland Avenue
Portland, ME 04102 [ map ]
Current MSBA Membership is required to attend the Annual Meeting
Confirmed Speakers:
- Dr. Deborah Delaney, Assistant Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware
- Kirk Webster, Champlain Valley Bees & Queens of Middlebury, Vermont
- Tony Jadczak, Maine State Apiarist
The 2013 Annual Meeting and Conference of the Maine Beekeepers Association will be hosted by the Cumberland County Beekeepers.
Deborah Delaney
Dr. Deborah Delaney
I started my higher education career as a Fine Art major. I began drawing and painting insects which led me to drop out of art school and pursue a degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Fine Art and Entomology. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from Oregon State University. I took some time away from school for two years and worked for the U.S. Forest Service on Beetle studies, while, at the same time, expanding my home apiary to about 70 colonies. I interned with commercial queen breeders during my spring months and learned some of the industry techniques such as grafting, how to run mating nucs and make nucs for retail. In the summer of 2000 I started my graduate studies at Oregon State University in Environmental Science. My project looked at the affects of Coumaphos on drone honey bee sperm production and viability. In 2003 I started my doctorate in Entomology at Washington State University looking at the genetic diversity of commercial honey bee populations in the United States. My work to date is an extension of my doctoral work with an emphasis on unmanaged honey bee populations. Currently I have four graduate students; working on various aspects of pollinator health and productivity
Kirk Webster has owned and operated Champlain Valley Bees & Queens in Middlebury Vermont since 1986. The apiary has been completely treatment-free since 2002 and is well known for producing strong Russian queens and nucs as well as honey. Kirk describes his philosophy of beekeeping as “working directly with the bees and other living things, so that I can make a quiet living as a farmer, and remain as much as possible in continuous association with Nature.” In 2005 he became “convinced that varroa mites and commercial beekeeping could co-exist without intervention, and that even an out-of-balance parasite like varroa still shares the same best purpose with all other pests and diseases: to clearly show where our methods are unbalanced or poorly adapted; and the path back to balance, stability, resilience and health”.
Kirk Webster, Beekeeper
Tentative Program Schedule
8:00 – 9:00 Registration and Coffee
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome from MSBA President,
9:15 – 10:15 Speaker
10:15 – 10:30 Break
10:30 – 11:30 Speaker
11:30 – 12:00 MSBA Business
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch [vegetarian options available; indicate preference upon registering]
12:45 – 2:00 Speaker
2:00 – 2:15 Break
2:15 – 3:30 Speaker
3:30 – 4:00 Raffle and Close
Raffles & Tickets Over 100 raffle items to benefit the MSBA: a complete hive, magazine subscriptions, books, tools, bees, queens, candles, maple syrup, crafts, baked goods, gardening supplies…! You are invited to bring an item for the raffle table (not necessarily bee-related). Pre-registrants each receive one free raffle ticket at the registration table, with more available for purchase.
Vendors Various vendors will be selling their wares: beekeeping equipment, bee-themed gifts and clothing, honey soda, and more!
Accommodations The Comfort Inn near the Portland Jetport is offering discounted rooms and shuttle service if a minimum of 10 rooms are reserved for participants of this event.
