Dr. Thomas Seeley

Nature-based beekeeping

Nature-based beekeeping is an approach to beekeeping that aims to provide managed honey bee colonies with living conditions that are as close as possible to those of wild honey bee colonies. The goal is to harmonize our beekeeping methods with the natural history of Apis mellifera, and thus allow the bees to make full use of the toolkit of adaptations that they have evolved over the last 30 million years.

I will review ways in which the living conditions of honey bees differ between wild and managed colonies. I will also show how we can pursue beekeeping in a way that is centered less on treating a bee colony as a honey factory and more on nurturing the lives of the bees.  The fundamental question is "What can I give to the bees?" rather than "What can I take from the bees?"

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Thomas D. Seeley, biologist and writer, is the Horace White Professor in Biology Emeritus at Cornell University, where he is a member of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. 

            From 1980 to 2020, he taught courses on animal behavior and conducted research on the behavior, social life, and ecology of honey bees.  Besides being a honey bee biologist, Tom is also an avid beekeeper.  He began keeping bees when he was a high school student, in Ithaca, New York, in the late 1960s. 

            His scientific work is summarized in six books:  Honeybee Ecology (1985), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995), Honeybee Democracy (2010), Following the Wild Bees (2016), The Lives of Bees (2019), and Piping Hot Bees & Boisterous Buzz-runners (2024).   In recognition of his scientific discoveries, he has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences.  He has also received various scientific honors, including a Gold Medal for Best Science Book (The Wisdom of the Hive) at Apimondia in 1997 (Antwerp).  He writes: "These honors are gratifying, but for me the most important 'prizes' by far are the discoveries that I have made about the natural lives and inner workings of honey bee colonies."   

PLEASE NOTE: THIS MEETING IS IN PERSON AND OUR SPEAKER WILL BE JOINING US VIA ZOOM.  Please join us at 7 PM to allow time to socialize and chat with other members of the club.  Our speaker presentation will begin at 7:30 PM.

We will have some copies of Dr. Seeley's new book, "Piping Hot Bees & Boisterous Buzz-Runners", for sale at the meeting.  If you would like to purchase a copy ahead of time, you may use the discount code PHBEES when ordering from Princeton University Press