Guild Monthly Meeting – Mark and Milan

This month we have three speakers you won’t find anywhere else!

Milan Williams and Tifanny Turrentine PHD from Lankenau High School will present Milan’s research on the antimicrobial properties of Philadelphia Honey. Under Tifanny’s supervision Milan tested local honeys for their ability to kill bacteria following a protocol developed by Ferat Ozturk from UTexas. She compared our local honeys including Spotted Lanternfly Honeydew to Manuka and other well known anti-microbial honey.

Mark will be presenting on how honeybees communicate using sound and vibration. This presentation explores the hidden language of honeybees – how they use sound and vibration to communicate within the hive. Blending core honeybee biology with behavioral insights, it explains how bees perceive their world not just through sight and scent, but through finely tuned sensitivity to vibration. The talk breaks down key communication methods, including the famous waggle dance, showing how bees transmit information about food sources through movement, timing, and subtle acoustic cues. It also introduces what sound actually is – vibrational energy moving through a medium – and how bees interpret these signals through their bodies and specialized sensory organs. Together, these elements reveal a sophisticated, largely invisible communication system that keeps the colony functioning as a unified whole.

Mark is a Philadelphia-based beekeeper in his 11th year of practice and the founder of Anna Bee’s Honey, an urban apiary located in a four-acre community garden in South Philadelphia. Through hands-on education and immersive experiences, Anna Bee’s Honey raises awareness about the importance of bees while helping people build a deeper connection to nature in the city. The apiary produces 100% pure raw honey and a range of hive products, including candles, lip balm, raw pollen, and beeswax luminaries, and offers workshops, presentations, and a “Be a Beekeeper for a Day” experience. Mark serves on the board of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild, helps teach the Guild’s introductory beekeeping class, and supports events. 

We meet at 7pm at St. James School. 🐝