JANICE & JOHN G. THOMAS '59 HONEY BEE FACILITY

A plan to fund, construct, and equip a permanent honey bee research/educational facility located at the Texas A&M Riverside Campus, College Station.

Honey bees play a critical role in nature and agriculture.  They serve as vital pollinators in gardens, landscapes and for native plants and crops.  Honey bees are essential in sustaining biological diversity across the widely varied plant communities in the Lone Star state.  Honey bees support a thriving beekeeping industry in Texas while providing countless hours of joy, relaxation and learning experience for hobby beekeepers.  In Texas, bees contribute over $500 million annually to agriculture through crop pollination.  They have been long recognized as models insects in science and public education.  Honey bees, one of our most valuable natural resources, are under constant threat from diseases and parasites.  Additionally, there is an increased demand for bee-pollinated crops.  The honey bee biology program at Texas A&M seeks to address these problems and needs through research and education.

THE VISION:

The Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University and the Texas Beekeepers Association formed a successful partnership to establish a honey bee research program.   The initiation of the honey bee biology program addresses the department's vision of excellence in teaching, research, and outreach education by providing students and the community an opportunity to study the fascinating social structure, behavior and culture of bees.

The program activities are to conduct critical basic and applied honey bee research.   Targeted areas include pollination biology in agricultural and natural landscapes, mechanisms of disease and parasite resistance, and the distribution and frequency of Africanized honey bee genes in Texas.  The goals of the program are to contribute new knowledge, tools and, solutions that will sustain, expand, and enhance the beekeeping industry, natural and urban landscapes and, strengthen the educational environment in Texas.

The Honey Bee Laboratory: A Research and Education Environment:

The vision of the honey bee research and education program depends on constructing and equipping THE HONEY BEE LABORATORY.  This facility is pivotal in supporting research and education efforts.  It will support a range of research projects and serve as a teaching laboratory for students, professional, and amateur beekeepers.  A full range of colony-handling and honey processing activities will be available in this state of the art facility.  The Laboratory will be located on the Riverside Campus of Texas A&M in College Station. 

Construction is now complete.  The building was dedicated on February 20, 2010 and scientists have occupied the facility.  Funding is still needed to purchase state-of -the-art lab instruments which will be housed in this advanced research facility.

To see photos of the dedication, click here.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Since 2004, beekeepers across the United States have reported massive die-offs of their honey bees. This phenomena is now called CCD (Colony Collapse Disorder).  The symptom is that a healthy hive of 50,000 bees becomes an empty hive almost overnight - with no dead bodies in or around the hive.  They are just GONE.   Five years later, in 2009, this blight has not abated and it has now spread to the feral (wild) honey bees.  All over the country people are noticing that "there are no honey bees" in their gardens anymore.  Similar occurrences are being report all over the world both in feral and domestic honey bee populations.  Research which is ongoing has revealed that the causes are, apparently, many and are very complicated, reaching down to the genetic level.  Albert Einstein once stated that "When the honey bee disappears, mankind will not be far behind."   Unfortunately, there are only a few research facilities in the whole country equipped to study the honey bee and help it in its plight.  If you would like to help fund this brand new research center at Texas A&M, please send donations to: