Alcorn State University Extension Program holds Beginning Beekeepers Workshop

Alcorn State University Extension Program holds Beginning Beekeepers Workshop

Alcorn State University Extension Program holds Beginning Beekeepers Workshop

Over 40 people participated in the Alcorn State University Extension Program (ASUEP) Beginning Beekeeper’s Workshop held recently at the Pike County Extension Office in Magnolia, Mississippi.

For three hours, Dr. Jeff Harris instructed the participants on the biology of honey bees and offered tips on beehive maintenance, bee care, and proper beekeeper safety. Dr. Harris, a member of the extension-research apicultural team at Mississippi State University, moved to Mississippi last year after working for 15 years as a bee breeder with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Honey Bee Breeding Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is best known for his work with developing lines of honey bees that express high levels of Varroa sensitive hygienic (VSH) behavior. Dr. Harris has been keeping bees for over 40 years.

According to Audrey Wilson, ASUEP agriculture educator and workshop facilitator, due to the overall response to the workshop, another workshop is being planned for next spring. The workshop will be a two-day event to allow the beekeepers the hands-on training they want to acquire.

For more information on this event and other upcoming beekeeper’s events, please contact Audrey Wilson, at 601-783-5321 or [email protected] .

During the workshop.