Please join us March 7th, 2026 beginning at 8:00am(est) (may change) for a live and interactive conference featuring dynamic and exciting speakers. Registered attendees will receive one year of group membership to the Sustainable Beekeepers Guild of Michigan which includes a complimentary six-month digital subscription to the Natural Bee Husbandry magazine, access to conference recordings, American Bee Journal/Bee Culture subscription Discounts, discounts on beekeeping suppliers and much more!
Featured Speakers
Speakers, titles, and speaker times are subject to change. Attendees will have access to recordings so attendance for the entire day is not required.
Featured Speakers
KEYNOTE: Occurrence of and selection for resistance against Varroa destructor in Apis mellifera. 8:30 AM
In this presentation you will hear a data-driven overview of which measurable traits actually matter when breeding honey bees for Varroa resistance. Drawing on a four-year, multi-country evaluation of nearly 500 colonies, the session will explain why summer adult-bee infestation levels are one of the strongest predictors of resistance, why traits like hygienic behavior and recapping are helpful but only moderately consistent, and why suppressed mite reproduction (SMR) assays often fails to hold up in real-world apiaries. Attendees will learn how to create a more effective, evidence-based path toward locally adapted, mite-resistant stock.
Dr. Ralph Büchler is one of Europe’s most respected honey bee researchers and a leading voice in breeding for Varroa-resistant stock. Recently retired from the renowned Bee Institute Kirchhain in Germany, Dr. Büchler spent decades advancing practical, data-driven breeding methods that improve colony health, resilience, and productivity. Today he continues to contribute to major international projects aimed at achieving commercially viable Varroa-resistant bees. Dr. Büchler’s blend of scientific rigor and on-the-ground beekeeping experience makes his insights indispensable for anyone working to build sustainable, locally adapted honey-bee populations.
Four Years on the Front Line: Australia’s Race to Breed Varroa-Resilient Honey Bees TIME TBD
Corinne Jordan is a hands-on bee breeder from Queensland, Australia, who has spent the past four years developing Varroa-resilient lines in one of the world’s newest Varroa-positive regions. Working in a subtropical climate with year-round brood, she focuses on hygienic behavior, uncapping patterns, and mite reproduction traits. Corinne collaborates with researchers and industry to build practical, field-tested breeding tools for Australia’s rapidly changing beekeeping landscape
In this talk, Corinne Jordan shares four years of hands-on work developing hygienic and Varroa-resilient lines in Australia’s subtropical climate, where rapid brood turnover and high re-infestation pressure reveal real-world genetic performance. She presents practical insights from UBeeO testing, VSH behavior, mite reproduction assays, and drone-based selection — offering a clear picture of how resistance traits are emerging in Australia’s newly invaded landscape.
Drone Congregation Areas: What We Think We Know… and What We Don’t TIME TBD
Critically, we still have almost no direct data on where queens mate, only based on where we’ve chosen to look. For decades, beekeepers have been told a simple story: drones leave the hive, fly to a location in the sky called a Drone Congregation Area (DCA), and wait there for queens to arrive. Drawing on nearly 50 years of collaborative research with Dr. Orley “Chip” Taylor and others, Dr. Gard Otis revisits that story and shows that the real picture is far more complex—and far more interesting.
Dr. Gard Otis is an entomologist who is best known for his activities with honey bees. After graduating from Duke University (B.S., Zoology, 1973), he attended the University of Kansas where, under the supervision of Orley “Chip” Taylor, he studied the ecology of rain forest butterflies and population dynamics of Africanized honey bees (PhD, Ecology, 1980). In 1981, they collaborated on studies of the mating behavior of honey bees in Venezuela. Since joining the University of Guelph in 1982, he studied the biology of tracheal mites, bred bees resistant to them, has been involved in research on all fourteen species of honey bees, and led a highly successful beekeeping development project in Vietnam.
How Do Varroa and Viruses Undermine Workers, Drones, and Queens? TIME TBD
Varroa destructor and the viruses it vectors destabilize honey bee populations, capable of large scale losses. This talk delves into how feeding by mites and subsequent viral infections cause bee loss at the individual level. We explore the seasonality of parasitism, and why we still have an epidemic of deformed wing virus in our honey bee populations.
Dr. Zac Lamas leads the honey bee research laboratory at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, focusing on the hazards that drive colony loss and developing practical management solutions. His groundbreaking work revealed that Varroa destructor primarily targets adult drones not workers as long believed reshaping our understanding of mite behavior and opening new avenues for cost-effective control, including bait-trap development. A PAm-Costco award recipient for his research on Varroa’s vectoring capacity, Zac is a sought-after speaker at bee clubs and conferences. He formerly worked with Michael Palmer at French Hill Apiaries and now operates RockStar Queens, producing high-quality nucs and queens in central Maryland
The Five Pillars of Varroa Resistance TIME TBD
From a breeding perspective, desired traits, such as resistance mechanisms against pathogens or parasites, can be established relatively quickly in honey bees. Through targeted selection and consideration of the specific characteristics of recessive inheritance patterns, the successful scaling and continuation of the desired results is also possible outside of artificial insemination of queens by establishing controlled mating zones.
Lutz Eggert has been a professional beekeeper since 2008, specializing in queen breeding and reproduction. He organizes and manages a Europe-wide network for the selection of his genetic library. He is also an author, leads workshops, and gives lectures. His Weimar needle stamp for determining brood hygiene behavior was awarded the “Best Innovation” prize at Apimondia 2022.
Helping Bees Help Themselves: Prospects for Breeding Solutions to the Varroa Problem TIME TBD
This talk will provide practical insights for breeders and beekeepers seeking sustainable solutions. The varroa mite is still the number one factor associated with colony mortality on the planet. I will give an overview of the hierarchical selection for behavioral resistance to the varroa mite and where we are now with the Indiana Mite-biter strain. Grooming behavior is a heritable trait that is beneficial to beekeepers, resulting in less winter mortality. Perhaps future genomic selection coupled with the current phenotypic selection paradigm will help?
Dr. Krispn Given is an internationally recognized authority in the field of instrumental insemination and honey bee breeding. He has been breeding bees for 30 years, conducting research with 100-300 colonies to improve honey bee health through selective breeding paradigms. He directs the honey bee breeding program at Purdue University and manages the honey bee laboratory’s extension and student research activities.
The Truth about Sticky Boards: Accurate Monitoring for Varroa TIME TBD
This talk compares how accurately sticky-board mite drops reflect total Varroa load versus alcohol or sugar washes. We’ll cover why washes only sample phoretic mites, while drop boards capture whole-colony signals that often track total population more closely. Research from Martin, Branco, and Flores shows that four-day natural drops can reliably correlate with true mite levels when conditions are right. You’ll learn when each method fails, when they align, and how to use both with confidence in real-world management.
Bill Hesbach 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.
Virtual Conference Purpose
SBGMI was founded out of a desire to see an alternative to the permeation of prophylactic and systemic chemical treatment education and practice for mites (Varroa destructor) in modern beekeeping. The simple objective is to equip beekeepers with knowledge to reduce the dependence on these toxic interventions and facilitate sustainable beekeeping that trends toward better bred bees. We strive to ensure our members receive the support, resources, and opportunities needed to prosper along with their bees. This conference serves to bring together those who know, those who want to grow, and those curious about the path toward treatment-free beekeeping and sustainability in their own apiary!
You will learn from beekeepers who are successfully keeping bees in a manner that is within the spirit of the SBGMI Mission. You will also learn about core principles from our speakers on best practices, grow your apiary sustainably while focusing on a better bred bees. This conference will provide you with a new perspective, tools, and inspiration to implement the same into your current practice. Whether you are just starting out or looking to make some changes, these speakers will equip you with new and refreshed tools to better your practice and apiary! Our speakers are of good repute and plan to share their habits and philosophies that have enabled them to replicate success in their own apiaries while striving and achieving sustainability.
(includes annual individual SBGMI membership for new members, access to conference digital recording, 6-month NBH subscription, discounts on ABJ, Bee Culture, Premier Bee Products, ABC Master Academy, Cutler Bee Supply, Napoleon Bee Supply plus more)
Price: $65.00
SBGMI Members Receive $20.00 Discount on registration
ALL TICKET HOLDERS RECEIVE ACCESS TO DIGITAL CONFERENCE RECORDING!