BuzzFest 2024
October 12, 2024
Convention Location: Journey Church
20020 Hampton Drive, Gretna, NE 68028
Come join us for a day full of learning, beekeeping fellowship and lots of fun
BuzzFest 2024, Omaha Bee Club’s Annual Convention, is a day packed full of learning options for all experience levels - from a Master Beekeeper to considering becoming a beekeeper. The day is set up with multiple learning opportunities. Each learning opportunity is an hour long with time in-between each session to visit with vendors or other attendees or just take a break. A catered lunch option (additional fee), a vendor showcase, a silent auction, and great fellowship with other bee lovers.
To register click this link Shop.OmahaBeeClub.com
Nationally Recognized Keynote Speaker
Krispn Given
Krispn Given is the Senior Apiculture Specialist in the Department of Entomology at Purdue University. He started keeping bees at the age of nine working with his father who introduced him to the world of honey bees, later he purchased his fist automobile selling comb honey. Today he is recognized as one of the leading international authorities in the fields of instrumental insemination and honey bee breeding. He started breeding bees 29 years ago conducting research with 100-300 colonies looking for solutions to improve honey bee health through the use of selective breeding paradigms. He oversees the honey bee breeding program at Purdue University, in addition to managing the honey bee laboratory’s extension and student research activities. He teaches two advanced courses each year, one in queen rearing and instrumental insemination attracting students worldwide wanting to learn the specialized techniques. His current research is focused on identifying, selecting and enhancing honey bee stock that express increased levels of behavioral resistance to the varroa mite. He was instrumental in the pioneering work developing the “Indiana Mite-biter” honey bee strain, where they demonstrated bees that groom themselves free of mites also bite more mites when groomed off the adult bees. It is a heritable trait that is beneficial to beekeepers, resulting in less winter mortality. The primary mechanism of defense is the ability to groom themselves free of varroa mites and bite them. He was also involved in several research projects the last twenty years at Purdue, he is an author and co-author of numerous publications, books, including scientific and trade journal articles. His work led him to help design innovative instrumental insemination devises made in America. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work. In 2023 he received the prestigious Rodger A. Morse Outstanding Teaching Extension Regulatory Award, which was established by the Eastern Apicultural Society of North America to recognize excellence in teaching and research. He is a past president of the Heartland Honey Bee Breeders Cooperative.