New beekeeping society buzzing at Roanoke

Tyler Quigley '15 knew he liked science, but while reading a book in an Honors class, "The Future of Life" by Edward O. Wilson, he became even more intrigued. As a biology major, Quigley was interested in many areas of science. But when he was introduced to the field of social insects and honeybees, something clicked for him. 

Quigley has taken his interest in honeybees to a new level on Roanoke's campus. Quigley, along with several other Roanoke friends, started the College's first Beekeeping Society in the fall of 2014. To generate interest, Quigley announced the society' s founding when Howland Blackiston '73 visited Roanoke College last September to speak on the importance of honeybees. Blackiston, author of "Beekeeping for Dummies," is a honeybee enthusiast.

Other student founders of the Beekeeping Society include Kasiani Beja, Alejandro Menjivar, Jeremy Peavey, Melissa Eckert and Tiffany Cassidy.

With the interest created at the talk and throughout campus, the society has steadily grown, and Roanoke's Student Government Association officially recognized it as an organization in early February. The vision Quigley has for the society is to "foster an appreciation for nature on campus" and create dedicated members to care for the living creature, he said.  
 
There is more to the society than just beekeeping. Members, which total between 15 and 20 people, begin each meeting with tea and honey. They also have the opportunity to participate in writing exercises and didactics having to do with the impact of honeybees in all fields. 

The Beekeeping Society meets every Monday at 9 p.m. Quigley said he is happy with the organization's progress and its plans to continue to grow. 

This includes bringing beehives to campus. 

The society received its first set of honeybees last Saturday. The members also traveled to Luray, Va., to meet with Daniel Waters '12, who taught them how to install honeybees into the hives. From there, the members traveled back to campus and installed the hives at two locations. 

One is on Roanoke's campus, in a lot at the corner of Hawthorn Road and High Street. The other hive will live at the Salem home of Dr. Jon Cawley, an environmental studies professor at Roanoke. 

Eventually the society would like to harvest enough honey from bees to place a bottle in the campus Commons and also sell it in the College's bookstore and at the Salem Famers Market. 

Quigley plans to continue learning about honeybees. In the fall, he will attend Arizona State University's Ph.D. program in Animal Behavior, specifically studying honeybees. 

"I would like to travel and study animal behavior in as many places around the world as possible, but I would eventually like to settle down and teach at the college level," Quigley said.

Published April 1, 2015

-By Gabby Gery '17