Southern Appalachian Studies Series
Speaker John Skinner on Beekeeping: Past, Present, and Future
Monday, September 26, 7 p.m., Library’s Sharon Lawson Room
John Skinner, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Apiculturist at the University of Tennessee, will discuss how and when honey bees were first introduced to the Americas, describing early tools that first settlers used, hive design and the simple language of beekeeping. This presentation is part of the Blount County Public Library’s Southern Appalachian Studies Series, which includes both speakers and educational programs.
Skinner will cover major advances in bee biology, dance language, and honey bee reproduction. Changes in hives started around 1851 with the movable frame hive, followed by later innovations such as bee gums, board hives and modern hives. Skinner will address colony collapse and decline, developments in beekeeping, and predictions about bee populations and beekeeping over the next fifty years.
Skinner’s work at UTK has included research, teaching and extension for 26 years. His research includes mite pest management, pesticides’ movement in soil and from seed treatments, pollination ecology of native and crop species, plantings for pollinators and developing web-based information about bees and beekeeping.
Currently, Skinner trains extension agents to work with local bee associations throughout Tennessee. He coordinates a Master Beekeeper Program, leads the Bee Health eXtension site and is part of the Bee Informed Partnership and North American Pollinator Protection Campaign to reduce colony losses. He enjoys reading, hiking, fly fishing and tying, singing and foraging.
Photo: Honey Bee © Laures via Depositphotos
Open to the public, this program is sponsored by the Blount County Public Library, located at 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville. For more information about library programs or services, call the library at 982-0981 or visit the Web site at www.blounttn.org/197.
