Chris Oster started volunteering at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (HBREL) while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. After graduating, he worked for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services where he inspected beehives for a year and a half. Oster is currently HBREL’s Lab Manager, assisting every facet of the lab’s research, extension, and education mission.
“Whether it’s helping with extension like getting observation hives ready, purchasing chemicals to be used in research, or helping set up experiments, I do anything to take a little bit of weight off of the researchers or other lab staff's work load." - Chris Oster
Two of his current projects include building a honey house, a sanitary space where honey can be processed and bottled, and curating a honey bee and beekeeping museum. As the lab manager, he expedites these projects by contacting vendors and getting quotes on materials.
According to Oster, honey bees are different from many of the other species studied in UF’s Department of Entomology and Nematology. Honey bees need ample space and bountiful nectar sources to stay healthy, and entomologists need lots of space and tools to study the bees. HBREL is one of the largest labs with ten full-time and eight part-time employees.
The laboratory space is set up with four separate islands, each with two benches, where researchers can process samples without interfering with one another. Additionally, there are four auxiliary rooms including a fume hood for ventilation when working with potentially harmful chemicals, and two molecular rooms used for sterile genetic processing. Between the main building and the lab’s workshop there are two apiaries where around 40 beehives are kept.
Due to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations that require royal jelly, a honey bee product fed to larvae and queen bees, to be stored in a special containment facility, one auxiliary room is dedicated to research on royal jelly. Another is used for storing samples and incubators. “That room is on its own backup power source,” said Oster. “It’s got three ultra-low minus 80-degree freezers, five incubators, two chest freezers, three regular kitchen refrigerators, refrigerator freezers, and a flammable storage refrigerator.”
Oster’s advice to anyone who is interested in hands-on beekeeping is to contact a beekeeper or local bee club, and he said to never approach bees if you see a hive in nature. We can help local bee populations by following the label when applying pesticides, planting native pollinator plants, and calling a beekeeper before pest control if you see a hive where it does not belong.
Oster found his passion after taking an interest in honey bees and volunteering while in college. “If you find something that you think is going to be interesting to you and you have a resource for that, go ask and see if you can volunteer at whatever that may be, a lab or a nursing home or whatever it is,” said Oster. Open-mindedness, willingness to pursue his interests, and volunteerism at HBREL certainly impacted Oster’s career path.
As the Lab Manager, Oster now plays one of the most important roles at HBREL. He facilitates the research, extension, and education missions sought by every member of the HBREL thanks to his coordination.
Learn more about Chris and HBREL at https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/honey-bee/
Photos provided by:
- Dr. Jamie Loizzo
- Geena Hill
- UF/IFAS Photo Database
Photo essay written and created by: Lucas Anrecio, University of Florida, Department of Agricultural Education and Communication