All Hail the Queen

But look closer and you realize this place is dedicated to one very important insect: bees. There’s a whiteboard with a honeybee schedule for inspecting local hives, as well as a paper chart that lists “International Queen Marking Colors.” A “Bee Crossing” sign hangs near the power tools, and fuzzy plastic bees are suspended from the ceiling. Above the whiteboard is a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein that reads “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research.”

Clearly, Geoff Wiliams, associate professor in the Entomology and Plant Pathology Department and director of the new Auburn Bee Center, and his team know what they are doing. In April the Board of Trustees upgraded the Bee Lab to Bee Center, which combines research, extension and education to advance innovative solutions for native and honeybee management and conservation.

The center’s new designation allows for much greater interdisciplinary research, outreach and student experiences. They’ve hired Assistant Extension Professor Selina Bruckner and Assistant Research Professor Anthony Abbate and collaborated with other faculty from the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

“We have the people and equipment to do our work. Now we just need to improve the space. It will happen.”

They can now provide more undergraduate student experiences at the center, as well as share resources like trucks and equipment among the center’s core members and with one of their key partners—the USDA ARS Stoneville Pollinator Health unit. And Williams has great plans to expand the Center’s main building and grounds beyond its current state. “We have the people and equipment to do our work. Now we just need to improve the space. It will happen.”

Record-breaking Losses

One of the most visible and impactful projects the center does is the annual U.S. Beekeeping Survey, which surveys more than 3,000 family and commercial beekeepers on colony health. The 2023-2024 survey revealed U.S. beekeepers lost an estimated 55.1% of their managed bee colonies—the highest on record.

Williams says habitat loss, extreme weather and the ominously named parasite called “varroa destructor” are likely culprits.

Bees are such a vital part of our food chain, pollinating everything from blueberries and almonds to beautiful flowers in the wild. What can we do to protect them going forward?

“Plant bee-friendly flowers in your yard,” said Williams. “Try to reduce your use of chemicals, if possible. Being a little bit more considerate of the environment, I think, would go a real long way. Bees are a great marker of how the environment is doing.”

“Being a little bit more considerate of the environment, I think, would go a real long way. Bees are a great marker of how the environment is doing.”

The Bee Center’s outreach is visible not only through its partnership with Alabama Extension and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, but also through the selling of bee-themed hats, shirts and the well-known AU-Bees honey. Partnerships like the one with the Collegiate Hotel (and their signature All Bees Margarita) keep the center’s work top of mind. The money brought in through these sales helps provide equipment and pay for student workers.

From Bears to Bees

Williams says that bees are popular in part because they’re so important to our everyday life. “Our work is connected to the importance of bees in general. That natural sweetener, homegrown food pollination of all these specialty crops like almonds and blueberries, cucumbers, watermelons—all those things are really bee dependent.”

Take an audio tour of the Bee Center’s bees with Geoff Williams.

By Todd Deery ’90