Busy with bees

Dewey Caron has transported queen bees from the lowlands to the mountain peaks in Bolivia, to see how the insects respond at different altitudes. The entomologist has watched as Africanized bees ferociously attacked his gloved hand. He has conducted beekeeping workshops, in Spanish, in a number of Latin American countries. And, he has spent countless hours in the UD apiary, studying the ecology and behavior of the insect he most admires, the common honeybee.

Caron's enthusiasm for his job is palpable. He spends most hours of most days consumed in his work. With the exception of his roles as a husband and father, he says, he happily defines himself by his job--which, for the last 22 years, has been extension entomologist and professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. His apiculture research in such areas as bee mites and Africanized bees has brought him national and international acclaim.

Caron says he long ago made peace with the fact that his job consumes him. "I've never acquired a hobby like collecting stamps or coins, because I'm afraid I would approach it with the same intensity as I do bees and conservation," he says.

Although he's intense, the nature of Caron's work ensures that his passion is not narrowly focused. His job responsibilities are equal parts research, teaching and extension, and he is quick to call himself a teacher, first and foremost.

"One of the things I like best about this College and this University is that teaching still counts here," he says. "People are promoted because they are good teachers, because they connect with students. Research matters, but teaching does as well."

Caron has won a number of teaching awards over the years. He says that, although it's "very nice to receive recognition from your students and peers," accolades aren't what motivate him in the classroom. "The students energize me," he explains. "They challenge me and keep me on my toes. My job is to get them to learn despite everything else that might be going on in their lives.

"The nature of what I do has changed over the years. These days, it's more about helping students learn how to access knowledge instead of filling their heads with facts. I think it's a change for the better."

Caron would like to see his students just as satisfied with their ultimate career choices as he is with his own. To that end, his spring semester beekeeping course includes a project called "Real World." Students are required to share their knowledge with the community in some way, whether by giving talks at area elementary schools or working side by side with local beekeepers.

Caron himself frequently interacts with beekeepers, both for what he can teach them and for the practical knowledge he picks up from them to keep his research on track.

Around campus, Caron has been dubbed "the bee guy" for his extensive study of apiculture, including pollination ecology; the biology of queen replacement; and honeybees and their pests, predators and diseases. He loves to talk about the important role that honeybees play in modern agriculture, as indispensable pollinators of more than 100 fruits and vegetables.

Just one glance at Caron's office confirms that the man is fascinated with bees. There's a "bee crossing" sign propped on a bookcase, a toy honeybee perched on a cabinet and another pipe-cleaner honeybee dangling over his computer. In the warmer months, a huge container of honey, fresh from the UD apiary, sits ready for sampling by anyone who wants to enjoy it.

But, Caron points out that his research, as well as his teaching and extension work, goes far beyond apiculture alone.

As a committed environmentalist, his interests include integrated pest management (IPM), which prevents or suppresses pests through an emphasis on mechanical and physical controls. With IPM, pesticides are used only when necessary and only according to established guidelines and treatment thresholds.

In his extension work with home gardeners, Caron gets involved in the identification, biology and control of household and landscape pests. Youth entomology, primarily in school settings, also is a component of his extension work.

Caron, who turns 60 this year, has begun to envision what life will be like when he decides to step down from his University duties. He won't retire in any conventional sense of the word, he says, but could see himself involved in entomology-related development projects in other countries. He already has taken part in such work with a number of organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development. As part of a UD agreement with the agency, Caron has traveled to the University of Panama to help that institution use U.S. Cooperative Extension System as a model for its own outreach efforts.

"My international work is particularly rewarding," he says. "The needs are so great, and the impact that you make is direct and immediate. You can see the change that you have made."

Closer to home, Caron has seen an undergraduate decide to become an entomologist because of his influence, a group of Boy Scouts change how they think about conservation after hearing him talk and a local beekeeping business flourish thanks to his advice. All these types of occurrences, he says, give him great satisfaction by showing that the job he loves also can make a difference in the lives of others.

--Margo McDonough, AS '86, '95M