Affectionately known as BeeCon, this FREE, annual event has been organized and hosted by York University researchers since 2010 (except for 2011 and 2013, when none were held). The Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution and Conservation is now the host. BeeCon began as a small, local symposium, aimed at sharing the recent findings of southern Ontario bee researchers. It has since grown tremendously, and we are thrilled to provide this unique opportunity to connect melittologists (bee biologists), industry professionals and other researchers on an international scale!
BeeCon will once again run in 2024 as part of a two-day hybrid event. Thursday, October 17, 2024 will be a virtual-only event hosted on Zoom, while Friday, October 18, 2024 will be both virtual and in-person, hosted at York University in Toronto, Ontario. View the conference page here.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch some of the videos after the event.
There was no cost to register thanks to our sponsors: the Faculties of Science and Environmental and Urban Change and the Office of the VPRI.
Please note that this event was intended to be for researchers actively involved in a field related to bees.
Recordings
Want to view recordings of our past BeeCon or BEEc events? Check out our YouTube channel for recordings from bee researchers across the globe!
Past BeeCon Events:
BeeCon 2023 - Featuring Keynote Speaker Dr. Kevin Matteson
In October 2023 we once again held a hybrid event with one day of virtual talks, and one day of in-person talks. We had registrants attending from all over the globe. Find out more on the conference website
BeeCon 2022 - a Return to Campus
With COVID restrictions easing, in October 2022 we held a hybrid event, with one day of virtual talks and one day of in-person talks. Over 400 people attended in total across both platforms. Find out more at the conference website.
BeeCon 2021 - Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Shalene Jha!
We welcomed bee researchers and interested community members from 25 countries for BeeCon 2021 and expanded the conference into a day and a half to allow for even more researchers to present their work. Find out more about this event & watch recorded talks on the conference website.
BeeCon 2020
Our first virtual BeeCon was attended by nearly 300 people from 19 countries, and featured Dr. Quinn McFrederick from the University of California.
BeeCon 2019
Our keynote speaker, Dr. Ricardo Ayala Barajas from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México joined us!
BeeCon 2018
This year, Dr. Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at Penn State, USA, was our keynote speaker.
Read about it in this YFile story
See the program here
BeeCon 2017
The keynote speaker was Dr. Andrew Barron, from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia who presented “What makes a good forager honey bee?”
Read about it in this YFile story
See the program here
BeeCon 2016
This year’s event featured presentations by colleagues from Brock University, Western University, the Universities of Guelph, Fleming College, and the University of Toronto.
Read about it in this YFile story
See the program here
BeeCon 2015
21 researchers from across Southern Ontario gathered to discuss bees for the fourth in what is now an annual conference!
See the program here
BeeCon 2014
After a skipped year in 2012, BeeCon returned for the third time. Sophie Cardinal joined us to speak on the "Evolution of buzz pollination in bees". There was also a tour of the Packer Lab Insect Collection.
See the program here
BeeCon 2012
After a skipped year in 2011, BeeCon returned for a second time. The goal was to provide a friendly environment for graduate students to present current research from any point in their degree.
See the program here
BeeCon 2010
The very first BeeCon, or "Southern Ontario Universities Bee Researchers Symposium", was organized by students in Dr. Laurence Packer's lab at York University in 2010. They invited fellow students in the bee research field from other universities in Southern Ontario, and a tradition was started.
Do you have a copy of the program? We think it was a trifold brochure. Perhaps you know the date it was held? Let us know if you have more details on this conference.