Prof. Dr. Özge Özden, Dean of the Near East University Faculty of Agriculture, and Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Salih Gücel presented two scientific studies on Cyprus’s bee fauna and the history of beekeeping at EurBee11, held in Bologna, Italy.
Ranked among the world’s top 500 universities, Near East University was represented at the 11th European Conference of Apidology (EurBee11). At the conference, Near East University Faculty of Agriculture Dean Prof. Dr. Özge Özden and Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Salih Gücel shared research outcomes regarding Cyprus’s bee fauna and the history of beekeeping with the international scientific community.
EurBee11, held in Bologna, Italy, brought together over 540 researchers from 50 countries. Key topics on the conference agenda included the role of bees in ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity, as well as climate change, genetic diversity, bee health, technology, agroecology, and beekeeping policies. Throughout the congress, 196 oral presentations and 296 poster presentations were delivered. Prof. Dr. Özge Özden, representing Near East University, gave an oral presentation titled “The Fauna of Wild Bees in Cyprus” as part of a collaborative scientific study conducted with Hacettepe University, Istanbul University, the University of Mons, and the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) of Italy.
Additionally, Prof. Dr. Özden, together with Prof. Dr. Salih Gücel, presented a poster titled “The History of Beekeeping in Cyprus.” The study, which examines the historical development of beekeeping in Cyprus, presented scientific data on the region’s beekeeping history while also paving the way for new research and project collaborations. Prof. Dr. Özden presented a paper titled “Contributions to the Wild Bee Fauna of Cyprus” at the conference, sharing research findings regarding the island’s wild bee diversity. This paper marked one of the first scientific outputs of a collaborative study conducted by various universities and research institutions.
Current topics in bee science were addressed!
As part of EurBee11, Prof. Dr. Özden co-coordinated a symposium titled “Interactions Between Managed and Wild Bees” alongside Gennaro Di Prisco. The symposium explored various aspects of the relationships between managed and wild bees, evaluating topics such as the impact of honey bees on wild bees, plant-pollinator interactions, bee density, and the risk of pathogen transmission to wild bee populations. Prof. Dr. Özden also served as a session chair for two other symposia during the conference. The EurBee11 scientific program covered a wide range of topics, including bee health and welfare, genetic diversity, microbiome and nutrition, climate change, agroecology, technological applications, and the decline of bee populations.