W.A.S. Conference 2006 — President’s Message

     Just two months from now (now is late May), we will have the 2006 Western Apicultural Conference on 24-27 July at Pea Soup Andersen’s conference center in Buellton, California. This will be the first time in several years that the conference has been held in South California — most appropriately this time in relatively pristine Santa Barbara County.

    Make your motel reservations early at Pea Soup Andersen’s (Best Western) Inn at the low rate of $69 per night. Be sure you specify the Western Apiculture Society conference and reserve your room at the motel before June 20^th — phone (805) 688-3216.

After a Bee Buzz social the first night (Monday) we will have full day of speakers on Tuesday, including Joe Traynor and Frank Eischen (almond pollination), David Kellum (Africanized honey bees), Jim Bach (formic acid use in controlling varroa mites), Dewey Caron (small hive beetles), and Serge Labesque (problems facing beekeepers today).

 On Wednesday morning Adrian Wenner’s talk (odor, learning, and honey bee exploitation of food crops) will be followed by Tanya Pakiw’s contribution (brood pheromone effects on foraging behavior and colony growth), and then a talk by Robbin Thorp (diversity in bees: native bees, exotics, solitaries, cuckoos, and socials).

Wednesday afternoon will be a “free” day, when one can enjoy the Santa Barbara County experience, including an optional “Sideways country” wine-tasting tour – or an independent excursion to the city of Santa Barbara, only 40 miles away on an uncongested freeway.

     Thursday will include another full day of talks and end up with an auction and barbeque at the University of California Sedgwick Reserve. Talks that day will include Tom Glenn (controlled queen mating), Marina Meixner (selection of honey bee lines), Debbie Delaney (genetic diversity of honey bee populations and commercial breeding programs), Diana Sammataro (Tucson USDA lab studies on oxalic acid and sucrocide in controlling varroa mites), as well as a final talk by Harrington Wells (introduction of European honey bees to Pakistan).

That afternoon we will have a short business meeting and awards, followed by a trip to the University of California Sedgwick Reserve for the auction and barbeque (included in the conference fee).

A post conference optional whale watching tour will be available for those who would enjoy seeing the largest animal ever to live on Earth. Blue whales frequent the Santa Barbara Channel that time of year. One can usually see other whales, dolphins, and various marine mammals.

     Check the other web pages for changes and additions to the program (http://beekeeper.dbs.umt.edu/WAS/)