About The Beekeeper

Wayne Spoo is the beekeeper that oversees all the operations at Hat Creek Hives. Wayne received his BS degree in Veterinary Science in 1987 and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. He went on to become board certified in human and veterinary toxicology and spent most of his professional life working in academia, private industry and spent several years in the US Army. He currently works as an environmental toxicologist.

Wayne became interested in honeybees shortly after the FDA issued its 2017 revision of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) that, for the first time, included honey bees as food producing animals. This required veterinarians to become involved in the diagnosis and treatment of honey bee diseases when requiring the use of medically important antibiotics. Unfortunately, veterinarians in the US receive little if any training in honey bee medicine during their formal veterinary schooling years. An opportunity to enter a new area of veterinary medicine was intriguing and a new-found passion for the honey bee was born.

Wayne started formally working with bees in 2020, became a NC certified beekeeper in 2021, a journeyman beekeeper in 2023 and became a NC Certified Honey Producer the same year. He runs an average of 12-16 hives at 3 locations in the western Winston-Salem and Pfafftown area of Forsyth County, NC, He is a member of the NC Beekeepers Association, the Forsyth County Beekeepers Association and the Honey Bee Veterinary Coalition. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Apiary Medicine at the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine where he teaches honey bee veterinary medicine to veterinary students.