Avila Scientific-Whitebarrel Winery-Radford University

Honeybee Program
5:30PM, Thursday, February 11, 2016
Center for the Sciences (CS) M73
What: To bee or not to bee? Between 2007 and 2013, more
than 10 million beehives were lost in the United States, which
is twice the normal rate of loss. This can be attributed to
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon that has
eluded scientist for years. Currently, we are on track for a
complete wipeout of bees in the United States. Avila
Scientific, Whitebarrel Winery, and Radford University
have teamed up to save the bees! We are looking for
students from a wide-spectrum of disciplines to participate in a
new program to save the bees. Students will have the
opportunity to earn credits for research or independent study. If you are
interested in any of the following activities, this is the program for you:
Modifying beehive designs to accommodate microclimate sensors, creating
a smart hive to collect data
Building smart hives
Building microclimate sensors
Installing smart hives at Whitebarrel Winery to create a living laboratory
Designing and planting a bee-friendly landscape at bee sanctuary
Developing diagnostics techniques to detect and track pesticides in
beehives
Honey collection and processing
Business of bees- Management and business
analysis of a bee sanctuary
Social media and public communication
strategies
Among many other exciting student-driven
research and business opportunities
Why: Besides the fact that bees are awesome and 1 out of every 3 bites of food can
be attributed to bees; there are many research and business opportunities with bees!
Who: Faculty and Students from across the institution. We have projects for a
variety of majors including biology, physics, computer science, communication, Design,
English, and marketing/business.