http://www.mdbeekeepers.org/meetings.html

MSBA Spring 2013 Meeting to Feature Author and Entomologist Dr. Gene Kritsky
Date: June 15, 2013, University of Maryland/College Park, Plant Sciences Building Auditorium

Dr Gene Kritsky is Professor and Chair of Biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph, Adjunct Curator at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and Editor-in-Chief of American Entomologist. He received his PhD in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 1977, his MS in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 1976, and his BA in Biology from Indiana University in 1974.

In his recent book, The Quest for the Perfect Hive, Dr. Kritsky offers a concise, beautifully illustrated history of beekeeping, tracing the evolution of hive design from ancient Egypt to the present. Not simply a descriptive account, the book suggests that beekeeping’s long history may in fact contain clues to help beekeepers fight the decline in honey bee numbers. Kritsky guides us through the progression from early mud-based horizontal hives to the ascent of the simple straw skep (the inverted basket which has been in use for over 1,500 years), from hive design’s Golden Age in Victorian England up through the present. He discusses what worked, what did not, and what we have forgotten about past hives that might help counter the menace to beekeeping today.

MSBA Meetings are Free and the Public is Welcome