This is a shameless plug at self-promotion simply by association with the famous!!!! 

Dr Samuel Ramsay recently presented at the NSW Apiarists Association Annual Conference in Sydney earlier this year. While being a dynamic and entertaining speaker at a conference attended by boring old beekeepers like myself is not a particularly taxing challenge, Dr Ramsay brought the Conference to life. He is one of those charismatic and energised individuals you would expect to present at TedX talks – not at the NSWAA AGM. I suspect they will be keen to have him back to present his latest research.

I have been fascinated by his research on mites – not only varroa but also tropilaelaps – the next great mite challenge in Australia. I first noticed Dr Ramsay as one of the subject matter experts in the film “The Pollinators”, an excellent documentary on the struggles of beekeepers in the United States.

His most widely known contribution to understanding varroa was his discovery that the mites actually fed on the bees fat bodies (their equivalent of our liver) and not their hemolymph, the equivalent of blood in insects. 

As a subscriber to National Geographic Magazine, I recently discovered Dr Ramsey is also one of the magazine’s “Explorers“. National Geographic describes its explorers as:

“…exceptional individuals in their fields who receive funding and support from the Society to illuminate and protect our world through their work in science, exploration, education, and storytelling. 

They are driven by something bigger than themselves. They see the difference between the world as it is and as it could be, and they make a choice to do something about it with courage and conviction.”

If you have the opportunity to meet Dr Ramsay, you will agree that he definitely fits this mould. 

You can find more online information on Dr Ramsey here