24 hour lecture with Professor Adam Hart

The Society of Biology hosted a 24 hour 'Lecturethon' by Professor Adam Hart, celebrating the wonders of ants and bees from 18:00 on Sunday 13th October to 18:00 on Monday 14th October.

Adam is a professor of science communication at the University of Gloucestershire and is currently active in a number of different research areas, including ant communication and the links between colony organisation and disease. He is also actively involved in a number of media projects, including the BBC4 Planet Ant documentary and regular radio appearances.

Events included:

• A public lecture on the flying ant survey results and an introduction to the lives of the social insects.
• A be a bees and ants pub quiz with with Adam as Quiz Master testing our knowledge on the world of the Hymenoptera.
• A demonstration of live honeybees in an observation hive and information on their behaviour and lifecycle, starting at 13:00.

• Our closing event entitled 'can ants and bees teach us anything?' provided links between the lives and interactions of ants and bees in relation to our society. Adam will explore the ways that humans have drawn inspiration from the world of ants and bees to improve our everyday lives. This lecture will also cover honey, the 'golden treasure', including the various types and uses as well as tasting sessions.

Schools Skyped in from across Asia and the UK to watch Adam give lectures about the structure of the hive, how ants forage and solve problems, and pollination and feeding.

Read our blogs on everything surrounding the 'lecturethon', involving the honeybees, army ants, bee hotels, and the Saharan silver ant.

Check out all the photos from the lecturethon including leaf cutter ants and honeybees on Storify.

Still want to 'bee' involved? Go and watch our videos about beekeeping and the results of the Flying Ant Survey on our ustream channel.