Local COLOSS North America 2026 - In Person Attendance

What: The event is the first COLOSS North America meeting connecting participants from scientific to beekeeping to veterinarian and agriculture fields across the United States, Canada and Europe. The purpose of this conference is to leverage and exchange knowledge in different fields within the beekeeping sector. The meeting will also help the different groups develop long-term relationships and partnerships. Within the COLOSS, the Bee Nutrition Task Force and BeeScholars Task Force will actively support the conference. Beyond the COLOSS network members, the conference will be supported with leading scientists from Working Group 3 and Working Group 6 of the BeSafeBeeHoney – COST Action CA22105, a European research network dedicated to safeguarding bee health and sustainable beekeeping across member states.

When: June 6-12, 2026
Where: WSU Ensminger Pavilion, Pullman WA, USA

Tentative Agenda:
Coffee breaks will be scheduled at regular intervals each day.

June 5, 2026: Arrival, registration, no formal events scheduled
 
June 6, 2026: 
7:00 – 8:30am Registration
8:30am –12:00pm North American bee research introductions and EU bee research introductions
12:00 – 1:30pm Lunch
1:30 – 2:30pm Panel on bee nutrition 
2:30 – 4:30pm Sponsor speaker talks
4:00 – 5:30pm Tour of WSU Bee Facilities on campus and WSU campus 
5:30 – 7:00pm Evening welcome reception 
 
June 7, 2026: 
7:00 – 8:30am Registration 
8:30am – 12:30pm Bee nutrition and land management 
12:30 – 2:00pm Lunch
2:00 – 5:00pm Abiotic stressors and pollinators
 
June 8, 2026: 
7:00 – 8:30am Registration 
8:30 – 11:00am Pests, parasites and pollinator diseases
11:00am – 12:30pm Honey bee inspection workshop for veterinarians only; free time for networking for others
12:30 – 2:00pm Lunch 
2:00 – 4:00pm Pesticides and pollinators 
4:00 – 5.00pm Policy, extension and education 
5:30 – 7:00pm Evening poster reception 
 
June 9, 2026: 
7:00 – 8:30am Registration 
8:30 – 10:30am Reflect and formalize any additional working groups
10:30am – 12:30pm Hands-on demonstration and learning experiences on campus (artificial insemination training opportunity or vet school tour) – limited space, please sign up 
12:30 – 2:00pm Lunch 
2:00 – 5:00pm Hands-on demonstration and learning experiences on campus (artificial insemination training opportunity or vet school tour) – limited space, please sign up 

Optional tour days and sign-up required as space is limited
June 10, 2026: 
7:00 am Leave Pullman 
9:00am – 12.30pm Visit WSU Bee Program Othello facility and panels and discussions with North American commercial beekeepers and touring of the Othello facilities (migratory beekeeper, honey producer, queen breeder) 
12:30 – 2:00pm Lunch and travel to beekeeping operations
2:00 – 4:30pm Touring of the local beekeeping operations 
4:30 – 5:00pm Leave to return to Pullman
 
June 11, 2026: 
7:00 am Leave Pullman 
8:30 – 9:00am Meet at Othello Bee Facility at 08.30am coffee and snacks with overview of the day for tours to understand about large-scale pollination and honey production in North America; 9:00am – 12:00pm Visit commercial tree fruit cropping systems
12:30 – 01:30pm Lunch
1:30pm – 4:30pm Visit commercial canola and seed cropping systems
4:30 – 5:00pm Leave to return to Pullman
 
June 12, 2026: No formal events planned; Summary panel and reflections, discussions and wrap up the meeting.

 Pricing
•    In-person Attendance $100 
•    In-person add-ons:
+$35 Evening reception on June 6
+$20 Poster reception on June 8
+$25 Commercial Beekeeper Operation Tour* on June 10 (max 50 participants)
+$25 Commercial Grower Operation Tour* on June 11 (max 50 participants)
*Description of tours
During the Commercial Beekeeper Operation Tour, attendees will visit the WSU Bee Program Othello facility, listen to large-scale commercial beekeepers from North America, discuss management practices, get an overview of complexities of large-scale migratory pollination and visit commercial beekeeping operations in Othello.

During the Commercial Grower Operation Tour, attendees will hear from large-scale commercial growers, agronomists and seed producers in North America, discuss pollination contract systems and grower-beekeeper relationships, and tour large scale pollination cropping systems representative of North America.

You will select add-ons to sign up for the field tours, evening reception, and poster reception later in your checkout process right before you are prompted to provide payment information, please proceed all the way through to add these options on to your registration.

Information about lodging options is coming soon.