By Regina Rhoa
The 49th Apimondia was held in Copenhagen, Denmark from September 23-27, 2025. The conference was cohosted by 3 Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In addition to the 4 days conference, several side trips were conducted to visit apiaries in all 3 countries. he conference attendees consisted of 9000 attendees from 124 countries. United States had about 250 attendees. A photo was taken of anyone who showed up for the US photo.
The lectures included topics on Bee Biology, Bee Health, Apitherapy, Beekeeping in Rural Development, Bee Products, Pesticides, Value Chain, Pathogens, Beekeeping Economy, Technology, Nutrition, Bridging Research and Practice, Disease, Varroa, Tropilaelaps, Landscape, Honey Fraud, Pollination, Global Honey, Climate Change and Viruses.
Most of the lectures were 15 minutes with some topics being 30 minutes. The lectures were very science heavy, but Apimondia is working on adding more practical beekeeping lectures.
Some of the known US and Canadian speakers was Robyn Underwood, Kaira Wagoner, Cameron Jack, Dan Aurell, Jeff Pettis, Juliana Rangel, Julia Mahood, Amy Vu, Gard Otis, Ramesh Sagili, Megan Milbrath, Marina Machese and Etienne Tardif. Though they did not give any talks, Dewey Caron and Kamon Reynolds attended. With 9000 participants, I am sure more known people attended, but you were lucky if you saw someone once.
In addition, there was a poster area where students/scientists could provide updates on their research projects. Our own Robyn Underwood from Penn State had a poster on the medicinal benefits of Lanternfly honey and MSBA Treasurer Lisa Marie Ghezzi offered a poster on her survey considering the use of varroa-resistant queens.
The first ever Global Honey Bar included a tasting bar where you could sample almost 200 honeys from around the world. The honey gave us the energy to get through the 9 hours of lectures per day.
The vendor area included approximately 100 vendors from all around the globe. Though there wasn’t a lot of items for sale, the participants could see what equipment was for sale around the world. This is the first time I have seen a bee bread machine to separate bee bread from the comb. Propolis containing products were a highlight due to the Apitherapy track. I bought a bottle of propolis tincture due to a painful mouth sore which healed in less than 24 hours after application. I am now a big fan.
It was great to see old friends and to meet new ones. Apimondia did a great job with logistics, and you rarely experienced a hitch.
Apimondia is held every 2 years and hosted by a different member country. 2027 Apimondia will be hosted in Dubai, Saudi Arabia. The 2029 host was announced at the closing ceremony and was awarded to Germany which will be held in the city of Leipzig. I hope to see you there!
Maryland's own Dr. Jeff Pettis is the President of Apimondia.