Dr Bartlett will give updates on the ever-evolving case of Vespa velutina in Savannah, GA including genetic analysis, control and eradication efforts, detection and tracking tactics, collaboration with neighbouring states and bee labs, and plans for future control, eradication, or mitigation. In '23, five colonies were found, all in GA. Over twenty queens were captured in Spring '24. Single instances of individuals were found across the river in SC. Preliminary genetic analysis suggests a single queen from either its native range in south China or from the invasive populations in Korea or Japan. This talk will be a primer on what beekeepers need to know.
DR LEWIS BARTLETT is a professor of honey bee health at the University of Georgia. He has been beekeeping for over 12 years since he started his training in Yorkshire, England, where he was born. He specialises in the biology of parasites and infectious diseases and the health of honey bees. Lewis has trained in York, Cambridge, Exeter, and Falmouth in the UK and in San Francisco California, Athens & Atlanta in GA while in America. His work started in understanding what drives outbreaks of honeybee diseases and has grown to cover everything from nutrition to pesticides in determining the health of honey bees.
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