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HCBA General Meeting Information:
Next meeting: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
We hope to see you at our upcoming general meeting at Howard County Fairgrounds Dining Hall on the second Tuesday of each month. Our meeting will start at 7:00 PM.
We'll have our regular HCBA business update, and don't forget to come to our pre-meeting open discussion and Q&A that starts at 6:30 PM.
We are looking forward to seeing you!
The April 14, 2026 meeting will start at 7:00 PM.
This meeting will be in person and simulcast.
Our March guest speaker will be Dr. Carol Fassbinder-Orth, who will share how vibroacoustics - the use of the sounds and substrate-borne vibrations bees produce - and how it can be used as an innovative tool for assessing honey bee health.
About our presenter:
Dr. Carol Fassbinder-Orth grew up on a commercial honey bee farm managing 2,000 colonies in northeast Iowa. She earned her B.S. in Genetics from Iowa State University (2003) and her Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2008).
Her research integrates machine learning, vibroacoustics, physiological biomarkers, and pathogen profiling to develop predictive, non-invasive tools for assessing bee colony health and longevity. By combining artificial intelligence with field-based ecological data, she aims to shift bee health monitoring from reactive diagnostics to proactive forecasting.
Dr. Fassbinder-Orth has applied these approaches globally, studying European honey bees in New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, French Polynesia, Chile, and the United States; stingless bees in Brazil; and native honey bees in Nepal.