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April 2025 – Didcot Cafe Scientifique – John Broadbent, The Science of the Honey Bee
15th April 2025 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Tuesday 15th April 2025 | Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot | 7.30pm – 9pm
John Broadbent, The Science of the Honey Bee
Although we share some similarities in sight, smell and touch, honey bees have evolved these and other senses beyond human capabilities. These optimisations are vital in helping it find, collect and store food as well as successfully reproducing the colony.
This is not a talk on beekeeping (although questions on this are welcome at the end) but instead covers:
- How bees see, including measuring distance and angle for navigation
- How bees communicate the source and quality of food and potential nesting sites
- How intelligent are honey bees? Counting and the ‘Travelling salesman’ problem
- The role of epigenetics on queen and worker development
- A final section on the threat of the Asian Hornet
Biography
After completing a career in the RAF as a Navigator and in Flight Test, John retired in 2015 and became a beekeeper in 2016. He is Vice Chair of the local Vale & Downland Beekeeping Association, as well as the Education lead. After 7 theory and 3 practical exams, he is now a British Beekeeping Association Qualified Beekeeper as well as a ‘Basic’ assessor and exam tutor. He is quite passionate about beekeeping!