Hello Florida Beekeepers!

I wanted to extent a heart-felt thank you for your support and encouragement over the past few years. After six plus years as a graduate student in the UF Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory, I have completed my doctorate and taken a position as a honey bee researcher in New Zealand. My family and I moved to New Zealand at the beginning of January and I have started work at The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (New Zealand’s equivalent to the USDA).

My doctoral research, regarding the behaviour of bees that are reared in vitro, has been completed and we are in the process of publishing the data. The HBREL extension team will continue to keep you updated as the results become available. I hope to continue investigating the impact of rearing environment on honey bee behaviour and physiology and hopefully even get back into some work at drone congregation areas here in New Zealand.

I have enjoyed our time learning from one another at Bee Colleges, FSBA meetings, and local club meetings. I look forward hopefully to seeing you again in the future!

Happy Beekeeping,

Ashley … ahem Dr. Ashley 🙂

1