One of our keynote speakers at the fall meeting is Dr. Robyn Underwood. Here’s Linda Tillman’s interview with Robyn:
Dr. Robyn Underwood is the only beekeeper in her family and fell in love with bees thirty years ago at the University of Delaware. She will be speaking at the fall conference. Her keynote talks are: The EPIQ Program: A Unique Approach To Queen Rearing Education and Comparing Honey Bee Colony Management Systems. Here are her interesting answers to the questions I asked her.
1. How did you get started in beekeeping? How long have you kept bees and how many hives do you manage?
I attended the University of Delaware for my bachelor of science degree where I studied entomology and applied ecology. I was lucky to have Dr. Dewey Caron as my academic advisor. He taught an apidologie course, which I took and absolutely loved! The lab portion was 1-4 pm on Friday afternoons in the apiary. I looked forward to it every week. Thus, my love of honey bees began in 1995 (so that is almost 30 years of beekeeping). Fast forward to today and I keep about 120 colonies for honey production and research purposes.
2. Your work seems to be focused on helping grow beekeeping skills by looking at issues that will apply well to beekeeping. What piece of research that you’ve accomplished do you think is of most benefit to the backyard beekeeper?
The research that I think is most impactful for backyard beekeepers is what we call the COMB project (Conventional and Organic Management of Bees). It resulted in two scientific papers (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30626023/ and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-32824-w), a fact sheet (https://extension.psu.edu/an-organic-management-system-for-honey-bees) and an online course (https://extension.psu.edu/beekeeping-102). We documented the benefits of an organic management approach, which gave me the confidence to promote it.
3. I’m very excited about your talk on comparing management systems. I have kept bees since 2006 and have been chemical free the whole time so I’m particularly interested in hearing this talk. What led you to choose this particular subject for a bee talk?
I think this research project is my most beneficial, so I chose it as a talk. I think it’s important to educate beekeepers on the difference between chemical free and organic beekeeping and the results may change some beekeepers’ practices.
4. Your job involves a lot of extension work. What do you like most and least about extension work? And where do you put most of your extension energy – in giving talks to organizations, in schools, in commercial apiaries?
Extension is so much fun. I love it because I get to interact directly with beekeepers. Many of my research projects are the result of conversations with beekeepers where they ask questions that I cannot answer or describe problems that need attention. Another great thing about extension is that the “students” are there to learn, not because they are required to, but because they want to. Beekeepers are amazing lifelong learners. I spend my energy teaching using webinars, giving talks, writing fact sheets, and creating courses. I do attend events for the general public, but that is not my passion. I am less interested in getting more people into beekeeping and more interested in helping existing beekeepers to improve their outcomes.
5. What is the most delightful part of beekeeping for you?
I love pulling up to an apiary and seeing all the flight activity, with bees coming and going, bringing in pollen of various colors.
6. Do you come from a beekeeping family or are you the first in your family to get stung by the beekeeping bug? If the latter is true, how has that been for you?
I am the first in my family. In fact, my mother is terrified of everything with yellow and black stripes and my dad was quite allergic! Last year, I was part of a study of aggressive behavior. I loved calling my mom to tell her I was in the car headed toward the meanest bees around. Ha ha.
I have to say that bees are universally fascinating. I can go to a family gathering (or any gathering, really) and talk about bees endlessly – not because I insist on talking, but because the audience asks question after question.
2024 GBA Fall Conference and UGA Beekeeper Certification Testing
Register today!https://gabeekeeping.com/event-5653638
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