The white sails of the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center were a beehive of activity Sept. 12 to 18, as nearly 3,000 scientists and beekeepers from around the world converged in Vancouver for a huge international beekeeping congress.
High on their agenda was the exchange of ideas and strategies on how to deal with some of the most urgent problems ever faced by beekeepers.
Four hundred and fifty scientific presentations were made on topics ranging from new methods of mite control and selective breeding of bees for resistance to parasites to beekeeping in the global market and the scientific basis of apitherapy (the medical use of hive products).
A trade-show component of the event consisted of a huge display of apiarian products and beekeeping equipment. Scores of stands displayed everything from the latest hives, bee suits, stainless-steel extractors and wax melters to bee venom, beauty creams made with royal jelly and propolis chewing gum.
Organized by the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations, the biennial event, called Apimondia, was first held in Brussels, Belgium, in 1897.