What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 9:30am - 4pm Thursday 9:30am - 4pm Friday 9:30am - 4pm

UNL Bee Lab

The UNL Bee Lab pursues research questions and extension programs focused on better understanding va

Our lab also focuses on integrating research findings to mitigate stressors and inform sustainable pollinator-friendly policies as well as develop practical applications for integrated pest management in managed bee colonies. Current research projects examine the non-target effects of pesticide exposure on bees in agroecosystems, the impact of landscape enhancements on bee communities, interaction

effects of multiple stressors on bee behavior and colony development, pest control strategies (including management of Varroa mites in honey bee colonies), and resistance management. Through our extension programming, we work closely with beekeepers, growers, various industries, and small businesses, gardeners, and nature enthusiasts to develop best management practices and educate about the importance of pollinators and ecosystem diversity.

09/02/2026

We are so, so excited to announce that registration is now open for our 2026 Mead Making Workshop! Join the UNL Bee Lab and local mead makers to learn the art of mead making.

Workshop fees include lunch and everything you need to make your very first gallon of mead. Featuring an in-depth lecture, hands-on mead making, a bottling demonstration, and honey tasting, come along for the fascinating journey of "bee to bottle".

The workshop will conclude with a mead tasting, where instructor Jeremy Goehring will introduce participants to the world of competitive mead making and mead judging.

Seats are limited to 28 registrants! Secure your spot today with the link below! Sign up closes October 21st!

https://ssp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bBi4Wuhu8YPjm98

07/24/2026

Beekeepers, check out this incredible opportunity from the One Hive Foundation!

The 2027 One Hive Travel Grant provides up to $1,500 for beekeepers to travel to the American Beekeeping Federation Annual Conference in Galveston Texas. Beekeepers will attend the workshop "Bee-Friendly Policy and Advocacy Training for Beekeepers" presented by Dr. Judy Wu-Smart of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bee Lab.

Grant funds may be used for airfare, hotel, and other travel-related expenses. Recipients will also receive complimentary registration the ABF conference where they can hear current research and tools of the industry.

07/19/2026

That's it for our Missouri Grand APHIS Run! We visited 16 different apiaries over 5 days, traveling 1705 miles to do so. We inspected 129 hives for pests, disease, and queen status.

These United States Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Honey Bee Health Surveys aim to examine the state of the United State's honey bee industry. We monitor for existing pests and diseases, as well as monitor the spread of potential new threats.

Thank you to all the wonderful beekeepers we met who trusted us and welcomed us into their apiaries. We truly love meeting and connecting with you all, it's one of our favorite aspects of this project.

We also had a great time seeing the views of Missouri as we drove along. We loved the scenery! Thanks for a great time Missouri, and we'll be back in a bit!

07/18/2026

Last Thursday, UNL Bee Lab master's student Paige Myers and UNL Bee Lab technician Emma Knezevic had the wonderful opportunity to speak with students of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (OLLI at UNL). Together we explored the sociality of managed and wild bees. We learned how they communicate, go about their lives, and a bit of their evolutionary history. These students had the best questions, and we enjoyed getting to meet everyone! Thank you so much for having us OLLI!

07/17/2026

Yesterday was a beautiful day for bee tours at ! We got into the hives, saw the bees at work, and explored elements of beekeeping. Back at the lab, we extracted honey, seeing how this delicious substance gets from comb to bottle.

Kimmel Orchard and Vineyard Bee Tours are extra special as they are highly individualized to attendees. With plenty of hands-on opportunities, up close encounters with bees, and personalized dialogues with beekeepers and bee researchers, our tours are informative and engaging for all ages.

Head over to https://forms.gle/Aj81x4NDkbnGtkJH9 today to sign up for a Bee Tour or Honey Extracting Tour at Kimmel Orchard and Vineyard!

07/10/2026

In June Dr. Judy Wu-Smart and graduate research assistant Paige Myers had the opportunity to present and learn at the 2026 International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health, and Policy.

Paige presented a poster displaying her study on bee communities in different garden designs across UNL campuses. Dr. Wu-Smart gave a talk entitled "Pollinator Losses and One Health Risks from Pesticide treated Seed Waste Disposal". This talk featured some of the work done by the One Health team investigating the situation in Mead, NE. One Health is a system of thinking that looks at various measures of health-animal, plant, air, water, soil, human- as interconnected and complex.

This conference was a wonderful opportunity for networking with scientists studying pollinators from around the world. Dr. Wu-Smart and Paige had such a good time meeting with new and known pollinator researchers.

Dr. Wu-Smart and Paige got to connect with Shianne Lindsay, former UNL Bee Lab masters student, and current Cornell Ph.D. candidate. Good to see you Shianne! Shianne gave a talk on her current work improving pollinator friendly practices in apple orchards across New York.

What a great time for research, connection, and collaboration!

07/08/2026

And that's a wrap on the Kansas Grand APHIS Run! We traveled over 991 miles over the course of 4 days, conducting 12 honey bee health surveys and getting into 96 hives. What an adventure it was!

One of our favorite aspects of the APHIS project is getting to go out and meet so many beekeepers at their operations. We'd like to thank all of our wonderful participants for trusting us and welcoming us into their apiaries.

The United States Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) serves to examine the state of the United States' many agricultural industries. The Honey Bee Health Surveys involve visually inspecting hives for pests, diseases, and queen status. Samples of live and dead bees are then sent back to USDA labs for further testing.

This trip our excitement came about in the form of meeting a beekeeping turtle! This ornate box turtle was found so close to the hives, we almost tripped over it! We gently moved it a few feet away during our inspection.

Kansas we had a busy yet very good few days with you! We'll be back later July to finish off our Kansas APHIS inspections.

06/25/2026

It's a Pollinator Party!!!!

We had a blast at the 2026 Pollinator Party at Schramm Education Center. Thank you to for hosting such a great event! Thank you to everyone who came out and talked bees, observed our honey and bumble bee hive as well as our pinned bees, made a seed ball, or took part in our honey extraction demonstration. Celebrating these important critters is one of our favorite things we get to do here at the lab, and we couldn't do it without you!

06/24/2026

Tuesday the UNL Bee Lab had the privilege to join at for their Camp Catron Creatives camp.

Girl scouts learned about the diversity of insects and the importance of pollinators. Scouts viewed live and preserved insects before crafting their own pollinator themed keychains and necklaces to serve as daily reminders of the importance of pollinators. These keychains and necklaces ask scouts to consider pollinators when making everyday choices such as what foods to purchase and what plants to plant in their gardens. Scouts then went on a pollinator garden walk with Kimmel Orchard and UNL Bee Lab staff, learning about the important relationships plants and insects have, while seeing these incredible organisms in action.

We love collaborating with our partners Kimmel Orchard and Girl Scouts, and are grateful for the opportunity to have an impact on these scouts. What a wonderful opportunity for STEM and art to converge!

Address

Entomology Hall, 1700 E Campus Mall
Lincoln, NE
68583

Opening Hours

Wednesday	9:30am - 4pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4pm
Friday	9:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+14024728378

Website

http://entomology.unl.edu/bee-lab

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