Bee the Solution

Help Make The Vision a Reality

North Carolina’s specialty crops depend on honey bees and other pollinators to thrive. In the past few years, loss of habitats, invasive pests and chemical technology have affected the viability of honey bees in North Carolina. Apiculture research is critical to understand how these environmental changes impact honey bees and agriculture.

The North Carolina State Beekeepers Association (NCSBA) – in cooperation with the State of North Carolina, NC State University and the North Carolina Beekeeping community – is committed to establishing a honey bee research program like no other in the United States. An initial gift established the NCSBA Faculty Award in Apiculture. “Bee” a part of the solution and grow the NCSBA Faculty Award in Apiculture to a distinguished professorship. Help establish an endowed honey bee research program like no other in the United States and advance honey bee health for generations to come.

$700,852.42
Many bees make little work.
Help us grow the Faculty Award to a Distinguished Professorship

Help us reach $1 Million

Fund the First U.S. Faculty Award in Apiculture

The North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Faculty Award in Apiculture will create a permanent position at NC State for apiculture research, ensuring the apiculture program — and its important research on honey bees — continues in perpetuity. The goal is to raise enough money for an endowed professorship, in conjunction with a soon-to-be-constructed, first-class Apiculture Field Lab, that will enable the NC State Apiculture program to better compete for larger, more prestigious research grant awards. In addition, it will help to consistently attract top-level faculty and skilled research associates to the program.

The North Carolina State Beekeepers Faculty Award in Apiculture will be the first of its kind in the U.S. — a professorship specifically created for honey bee research that will help ensure honey bee health for generations to come.

Apiculture Research Impact

In an era when the honey bee population is being severely impacted by any number of factors, we feel that it is incumbent upon the honey bee scientific community to become more proactive in asking both long-term and short-term questions.

Keep the Bees Buzzing

In this episode of Farms, Food and You, learn about honey bee health, the honey bee’s role in agriculture, and NC State’s bee research and outreach programs.

Listen

Homegrown: The Buzz Around Apiculture Research

From pollinating plants and growing our food to nurturing ecosystems and supporting entire industries, honey bees have a vital impact on our everyday lives. Watch the latest episode of Homegrown to see what all the buzz is about.

Watch now 

Healthy Hives, Healthy Lives

The NC State apiculture program works through Extension to help North Carolina beekeepers with hive health. In the winter of 2006, a distressing phenomenon began to make headlines. Beekeepers across the country were reporting troubling losses of their honey bee hives.

Read more 

Bee Friendly All Summer

Did you know that bees, bats, butterflies and hummingbirds help to pollinate 75% of the world’s food crops? In fact, honey bees are the most important insect pollinator for crops grown in North Carolina.

Why honey bees are important in NC 

Making a Beeline for RDU Airport

It’s not every day that a swarm of bees interrupts airport arrivals and departures. NC State’s Tom Kwak – a beekeeper – knew the airport bees were in a precarious location and worked to move them safely.

Bees catch a ride a safety 

Secret Lives of Honey Bees

Research at NC State and the University of British Columbia shows that there are trade-offs between sperm viability and the expression of a protein involved in the insect’s immune response.

Scientific look at the birds and the bees 

Vaccination for Bees Doesn’t Sting

David Tarpy, professor and Extension specialist in apiculture, explains the science behind a new vaccine that targets a bacterial disease called American foulbrood and what it could mean for beekeepers.

Read about this new vaccine 

Apiculture at NC State

The NC State apiculture program serves the needs of the university and the general public through research on honey bee biology, teaching programs and Extension services that apply our research knowledge to help beekeepers in successful bee management.

Professor and Extension apiculture specialist David Tarpy (right) is a leading expert on honey bees. Tarpy leads BEES, an online resource for beginner and advanced beekeepers.

Catch up on the latest buzz

Thank you for helping us grow the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Faculty Award in Apiculture to a Distinguished Professorship. Funds supporting the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Faculty Award in Apiculture are collected and managed are collected and managed by The Endowment Fund of NC State University, tax id-56-6000756. You will receive an official receipt for your donation.