HAS 2026 – Conference Overview

Heartland Apicultural Society 2026 Conference
May 30-31, 2026
East Lansing, Michigan

The Heartland Apicultural Society is thrilled to announce the return of its in-person conference in 2026! Join us in East Lansing, Michigan, on the beautiful campus of Michigan State University for an engaging and informative conference.

Featured speakers

  • Jeff Harris, Ph.D., Mississippi State University
  • Reed Johnson, Ph.D., The Ohio State University
  • Jennifer Tsuruda, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Robyn Underwood, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Breakout sessions

The conference will include several indoor breakout sessions, including swarm catching, nutrition, colony splits, trees for bees, and more!

Apiary workshops (no pre-registration required)

Join in-hive workshops covering colony inspections, finding queens, varroa mites, making nucs, splits, and more!

All apiary workshops can be submitted to Great Plains Master Beekeeping for field experience hours.

Laboratory workshops (pre-registration is required)

Honey Bee Anatomy & Dissection Workshop
Led by Dr. Zachary Huang, this hands-on workshop explores honey bee anatomy through a guided presentations, live dissection demonstration, and the opportunity to dissect your own specimen using a microscope. Participants will receive individual coaching, with time for questions. (Offered twice; adult supervision required for minors.)

Bacterial Disease Microscopy Workshop
Dr. Peter Fowler leads this diagnostic lab focused on identifying honey bee bacterial diseases. Participants will examine pathogens responsible for American and European foulbrood and practice the Hanging Drop microscopy technique.

Acknowledgments

This program is supported by donations to Michigan State University Extension.

Thank you to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for securing funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Michigan State University to implement strategies in the Managed Pollinator Protection Plan.

This work is supported by the Crop Protection and Pest Management Program [grant no 2024-70006-43569] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.