December 8 – NVBA Meeting - Ryan Williamson – “Let There Be Mites! Can We Breed for Varroa Resistance Without Heavy Losses”

When:             8 December  2026

                        6:30 - 8:30 PM

Let There Be Mites! Can We Breed for Varroa Resistance Without Heavy Losses

Ryan Williamson of Sourwood Farm is a second-generation beekeeper running a full-time bee farm with his family in Earlysville, Virginia.  Ryan manages a stationary operation of ~350 colonies, producing high-quality honey, candles, nucs, and queens. Working mostly solo, Ryan has a proclivity to tinker, often experimenting with new approaches to improve genetics, managment techniques, and equipment. Ryan enjoys sharing his practical insights, DIY solutions, and lessons learned from his hands-on experience via social media, YouTube and talks.

Ryan will speak on how bees naturally control varroa mites and then present data from his multi-year experience breeding for those traits.

6:30PM Open Question Time

7:00PM Speaker 

This will be an online Zoom meeting

Register for Meeting