Survival in the beehive
26 June 2026 - 26 June 2026
5:30– :00 pm
Region(s): Wellington
Type(s): presentations
The next Café des Idées, organised by FAST! – France Aotearoa Science, Technology & !nnovation and Alliance Française Wellington, is honoured to host Dr Antoine Felden and Lisette Thévenot for a captivating discussion on the survival of honey bees and the fight against their greatest threat in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Busy bees
Young worker honey bees do various jobs in the hive. When they are older, they go out and collect nectar and pollen – food for other bees and larvae.
Honey bee populations are declining around the world and Aotearoa is no exception. Among the greatest threats they face is the parasitic varroa mite, which is driving colony losses globally and putting increasing pressure on beekeepers here at home. Understanding how varroa and the viruses it spreads weaken bees, how mite populations evolve resistance to current pesticides, and how we can stay ahead of that resistance has never been more urgent.
Female varroa mite
Varroa destructor, a mite that parasitises the honey bee Apis mellifera. This tiny creature has been named as the worst threat to honey bee health worldwide.
In this presentation, we explore the science behind varroa's impact on honey bee health and discuss next-generation pest-control approaches being developed at Te Herenga Waka including RNA-based biopesticides that could give beekeepers more effective tools to control mites and improve hive survival across Aotearoa.
Speakers
Dr Antoine Felden is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. Lisette Thévenot is a Postgraduate Student at Institut Agro Montpellier.
Location: Alliance Française Wellington, 78 Victoria Street, Wellington
Free entry, koha donation.
For more information and to reserve a spot: www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/cafe-des-idees-in-wellington-survival-in-the-beehive-tickets-1990356076604.
Related content
Scroll through the bees or pollination topics for articles, activities and multimedia.
Honey bee heroes is a comprehensive article about honey bee adaptations and behaviours and some of the threats they face.
Learn more about honey bees with the Connected journal articles in The Buzz of Bees.
Learn about these bee pests and the fight to protect bees:
Fighting a little bee mite – varroa mite
RNA interference – could this be another tool in the battle to protect honey bees from varroa mites?
Sniffing out bee disease – American foulbrood disease
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