The Buzz on Campus

MSU supports bees and protects pollinators.

Through research, demonstrations, training sessions and presentations, MSU Extension and the Department of Entomology support pollinator health, protection and education to everyone from home gardeners to professional beekeepers and veterinarians. And since roughly 50% of the Michigan fruit and vegetable industries depend on pollination, the work honeybees do adds up to a value of more than $1 billion every year. That’s a big job for a small animal—and MSU is proud to be part of the colony.

A group gathers around a bee box during a Heroes to Hives presentation, a unique MSU Extension program that helps address financial and personal wellness of veterans through professional training centered around beekeeping.

Meghan Milbrath, assistant professor in the Department of Entomology. The Milbrath lab studies risk factors that affect the health of honey bees and other pollinators.

Participants engage with bees during a hands-on workshop in June 2023.

Students tend to bees in the MSU Apiary without protective clothing. Date unknown.

Learn more at pollinators.msu.edu

Photos: Ana Heck | Sarah Grassel | Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections