"Remote Hive Monitoring" presentation by FRANK LINTON

Want to know what is going on inside your hive, with out opening it? It is no longer a "Schrödinger's cat" scenario. Frank will update us on the latest technologies available to monitor the health and productivity of our colonies using wireless sensors. He installed some of these monitors in MCBA's hives, and will report his most recent findings and what they mean for the rest of our colonies.

Take Aways:
1. You can monitor your colonies remotely.
2. The data is both educational and useful.
3. Prices vary widely.

Frank Linton's Bio:
Frank keeps a few colonies of honey bees near Washington DC. He started keeping bees in glass observation hives in 2005, and published a book to help others enjoy one The Observation Hive Handbook: Studying Honey Bees at Home. He is an EAS-certified master beekeeper and runs three honey bee-related websites: colonymonitoring.com , thebeepeeker.com , beekeepingwithdisabilities.com and hosts the international colony monitoring technology conferences. Frank writes articles for bee magazines and speaks at local, regional, and international bee conferences. He is also an Affiliate Faculty member at Appalachian State University where he works on developing BeeXML, an international standard for the exchange of honey bee and beekeeping data. Frank is on MCBA's board of directors. His latest project is authoring a photo rich book with Phil Frank, "Hive Tour - The Insider's Guide to Honey Bees".

Fun Fact: I have just learned that bee stings are less painful than broken ribs.

"Sentinel Apiary Program" presentation by ERIC MALCOLM

The Sentinel Apiary Program was started by Bee Informed Partnership as a citizen science program. Part education, part data collection; Sentinel aims to gather data from the same colonies throughout the year, informing scientists and researchers of important trends and reason for colony loss.
MCBA provides a partial sponsorship for a limited number of MCBA member-participants to lower the cost barrier so our members can participate in this important program. This also helps us understand what trends in our specific region. We hope additional MCBA members can participate.
This short presentation will explain the Sentinel Apiary Program, and what we're learning from the 3 MCBA member's Sentinel hives: Varroa seasonal trends, Nosema ceranae loads, and more. We'll talk about what those data tell us and how different management activities can help reduce your losses.

Take Aways:
1. Understanding the Sentinel Apiary Program.
2. How you can participate (at a discount!)
3. Specific management guidance based on this hyper local data

Eric Malcolm's Bio:
Eric started his adventures in beekeeping in 2017. Now he owns and operates Backyard Apiaries LLC, an apiary management service that focuses on keeping healthy bees for non-beekeepers. Eric works at the UMD Bee Lab, UMD Bee Squad helping to expand the program, at Bee Informed Partnership, where he coordinates Fundraising, Outreach and Communications, and on developmental projects. Eric is currently MCBA's vice president.

Fun Fact: I have played piano since I was 8 years old. I sing, play a number of wind instruments, and taught myself how to play the ukulele during COVID.