Shows
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Special: Preparing for WinterIn this Archive Special from October 2021, we revisit a conversation with the late Kim Flottum and Jim Tew as they discuss the many ways beekeepers prepare colonies for the cold months ahead. From simple windbreaks to traditional tar paper wraps, insulated hive covers, and quilt boxes filled with wood shavings, Jim and Kim explore techniques both old and new. The discussion highlights how winter prep has evolved, offering options for hobbyists with just a few colonies, sideliners with dozens, and commercial beekeepers managing thousands. They share practical advice on keeping colonies warm, ventilated, and dry, while considering...
2025-10-0219 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Replay - Removing Honey with Kim FlottumWhen it comes time to remove honey from your colonies, the job can feel like one of the most physically demanding tasks of the beekeeping season. In this Honey Bee Obscura archive special from September 2022, hosts Kim Flottum and Jim Tew revisit their practical—and often humorous—discussion about getting honey supers off the hives without losing your mind, your back, or your bees. Kim describes his backyard setup, complete with wagons, covers, and a trusty leaf blower, while Jim details his more "insane" approach with multiple colonies, tall grass, and the inevitable swarm of unhappy bees. Toge...
2025-08-0718 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Special: Hive Finishes with KimIn this special archive episode, Honey Bee Obscura revisits a classic conversation with the late Kim Flottum and host Jim Tew, as they explore the best ways to protect and extend the life of hive equipment. Whether you're unpacking new woodenware or maintaining older boxes, the choices you make in finishing your equipment can have a lasting impact on your beekeeping operation. Kim and Jim discuss everything from traditional white latex paint to natural wood finishes, wax dipping, and even the controversial idea of painting the inside of hive boxes. They touch on the practicality of color-coding...
2025-03-0614 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Special: Packages and Nucs with Kim FlottumIn this special archive episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Jim Tew and the late Kim Flottum dive into the age-old debate between starting with packages or nucleus colonies (nucs). Whether you're a beginner beekeeper or looking to expand your apiary, this episode provides invaluable insights and practical advice to help guide your decision-making. Jim and Kim discuss why packages are often the preferred choice for beginners, emphasizing their simplicity and control. They explore the advantages of nucs, which allow for faster colony growth and even the potential for a honey harvest in the first year. The conversation...
2025-01-1621 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Special: Bee Yard Smells with Kim FlottumIn this archive special from November 2021, Jim Tew and Kim Flottum explore the fascinating—and sometimes unpleasant—world of bee yard smells. Odors are an integral part of the beekeeping experience, offering clues about the hive's health and activity. From the smoky aroma of a well-used smoker to the sour, unmistakable stench of a dead-out hive, every scent tells a story. Jim and Kim share their insights on favorite smoker fuels and how the choice of fuel creates unique and nostalgic scents. They also reflect on the comforting, familiar smells of stored beekeeping equipment, which often evoke memor...
2025-01-0919 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastArchive Special: Browsing Bee BooksIn this special Thanksgiving episode, Jim revisits a cherished conversation with the late Kim Flottum, reflecting on their shared passion for beekeeping books and the joy of exploring bee knowledge together. From rare finds like Beekeeping New and Old to beloved staples like The Hive and the Honey Bee, Jim and Kim delve into the excitement and challenges of collecting bee literature. They discuss favorite authors, trusted resources like USDA pamphlets, and how beekeeping knowledge continues to evolve. Hearing Kim's voice again reminds us of his warmth, insight, and dedication to the beekeeping world—qualities deeply missed ne...
2024-11-2816 min
Beekeeping Today PodcastPodcast Memorial to Kim FlottumDuring this seventh year anniversary week of the podcast, we bring you this special memorial episode honoring our former co-host, colleague, and dear friend, Kim Flottum, who passed away in December 10, 2023. This episode is dedicated to celebrating Kim's remarkable life and his immense contributions to the beekeeping community. Join hosts Jeff Ott, Becky Masterman, and Honey Bee Obscura's, Jim Tew, as they reflect on Kim's enduring legacy. This heartfelt tribute includes touching memories and stories shared by friends, colleagues, and family members during Kim's memorial service held in April in Medina, Ohio. Hear from Kim's friends those...
2024-06-1914 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBee and Butterfly Fund and the US Farm Bill with Beck Masterman and John Miller Thanks to Jennifer Keller, opening this episode! Jennifer stopped at the Betterbee booth during EAS and left us that greeting! You too can record an opening for an upcoming episode! Simply record one on your phone and send it to us at the podcast! Simple as that!! We do have an important show coming up for you today. We talk with Becky Masterman of the Minnesota Honey Producers Association and commercial beekeeper, and good friend of the podcast, John Miller, to talk about the Bee and Butterfly Fund and the upcoming renewal of the USDA Farm Bill...
2023-08-2145 min
Who I Met TodayKim Flottum - Honey Bees 101After reading a couple of bee-related novels, I wanted to learn more about the intelligent little creatures and their importance to our planet. And so I reached out to beekeeping expert Kim Flottum.In this episode, Kim explains the different sorts of honey bees, their assigned jobs in the hive, and the places they build nests. We discuss mad honey, how to support beekeepers, the reasons the bee population is decreasing, and the small steps everyone can take to help our honey bees. Kim also tells us why a beehive is almost as clean as an operating...
2023-08-1825 minBeekeeping Today PodcastRegional Beekeepers: Fall 2022 This week, guest co-host Jim Tew is sitting in for Kim and we have invited four beekeepers to the podcast to talk about their season just past. We call it our Regional Beekeepers show. If you have been a long time listener, you may be familiar with one or more of these beekeepers. Joining us this fall are Tracy Alarcon from Ohio, Ed Colby from Colorado, Duane Combs from Arizona and Paul Longwell from Washington State. As beekeepers, we run the danger of living in a world limited by the confines of our...
2022-10-3150 minBeekeeping Today PodcastProject Apis m - Costco USA Scholarship Winners #2Join us for our second episode on the 2022 Project Apis m and CostCo Scholarship Awards. Students who receive this PhD Scholarship award bring new energy, ideas, and expertise to the scientists on the leading edge of bee health research. The award program supports outstanding graduate students pursuing research-based doctoral degrees in fields of enhancing honey bee health while improving crop production. Today's we introduce two additional 2022 winners, plus the PAm Executive Director, Danielle Downey. First up, Angela Encerrado. Angela's research is on the impact two commonly used chemicals used in almond orchards: a fungicide, Propiconazole...
2022-10-1044 minBeekeeping Today PodcastPragmatic Beekeeping with Cliff StruhlIn this week's episode, we visit with Cliff Struhl about his thoughts on better ways to keep bees than is generally done today (and the past 170 years). Cliff is owner of Bee Smart Designs and has produced several products that aim to reduce some of the stresses we apply when keeping bees in a standard wooden box. He starts with the boxes we use and compares them to the hollow trees bees prefer. He looks further at the insulation needs on both the walls and the top, the metal covers that get really hot in the summer...
2022-09-2644 minBeekeeping Today PodcastProject Apis m - Costco Scholarship Awards When we started this podcast back in 2018, not only did we want to bring you the known and established voices in beekeeping and honey bee research, we also set out to highlight the new voices. Today's episode we introduce two new researchers. Project Apis m and CostCo established the PAm-Costco Scholarship Awards, in 2013. The students who receive this PhD Scholarship award bring new energy, ideas, and expertise to the scientists on the leading edge of bee health research. The award program supports outstanding graduate students pursuing research-based doctoral degrees in fields of enhancing honey bee...
2022-08-2948 min
Dive Into Your Ears To A Spellbinding Full Audiobook.The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim FlottumPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/583565to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
Author: Kim Flottum
Narrator: Gary Tiedemann
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 45 minutes
Release date: August 23, 2022
Genres: Animals & Nature
Publisher's Summary:
The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime for urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this audiobook features expert advice for: - Setting up and caring for your own colonies...
2022-08-2310h 45Download Best Full-Length Audiobooks in Non-Fiction, Animals & NatureThe Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim FlottumPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/583565to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
Author: Kim Flottum
Narrator: Gary Tiedemann
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 45 minutes
Release date: August 23, 2022
Genres: Animals & Nature
Publisher's Summary:
The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime for urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this audiobook features expert advice for: - Setting up and caring for your own colonies...
2022-08-2310h 45
Explore: This Riveting Full Audiobook For Book-Lovers.The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition by Kim FlottumPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/2/audible/31588to listen full audiobooks.
Title: The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition
Author: Kim Flottum
Narrator: Gary Tiedemann
Format: mp3
Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
Release date: 08-23-22
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars, 12 ratings
Genres: Sustainable & Green Living
Publisher's Summary:
The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime for urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. With this completer esource and the expert advice of Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, your bees will be healthy, happy, and more productive.
2022-08-2310h 52Beekeeping Today PodcastThe Bee Girl's Summer Tour with Sarah Red-LairdOn this week's episode, we are joined by Sarah Red-Laird, the Bee Girl and she is on a mission this summer. Sarah is visiting all sorts of people in the Midwest who are trying to do the same thing she is doing from her home in Oregon. All are trying to regenerate bee pasture in one way or another. Her trip is supported by Browning's Honey and a host of individual's who follow her work. She just visited Judy WuSmart in Nebraska finding out about the zillions of acres of corn that grows there. Sarah was sitting...
2022-08-0857 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBeyond Pesticides with Jay FeldmanThis week, Kim and Jeff talk with Jay Feldman, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Pesticides. Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. Beyond Pesticides provides visitors to their website a wealth of information to help folks understand, truly understand, the chemicals they apply around their house and garden in order to eradicate pests. Perhaps the best is Beyond Pesticide's ManageSafe™ Tool. Using ManageSafe, a homeowner can select the pest th...
2022-08-0150 minBeekeeping Today PodcastApitherapy with Deb KlughersThis week we talk with EAS Master Beekeeper, Deborah Klughers. Deb lives out on the eastern end of Long Island where she keeps her own bees and manages colonies for other people in the area. Deb is leading the EAS Conference track on Apitherapy, August first through the fifth. Apitherapy is the use of hive products to improve a one's health. Everything from propolis, honey, pollen, royal jelly and well… everything including as you will hear, drone and worker larvae! However, what probably gets the most press, is the use of bee venom commonly called, "St...
2022-07-2543 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe Small Hive BeetleOn this episode, we learn share everything you ever wanted to know about Small Hive Beetles, with Drs. Morgan Roth and Aaron Gross, from Virginia Tech. Small hive beetles cause about $3 million dollars damage to US beehives every year. Today we explore their life cycle, how they find your hives, the damage they can do if you don't interfere, how they spread, and most importantly, what you can do to slow, or stop them from destroying your hive and killing your bees. They eat honey, pollen, eggs and larvae. And they bring with them a...
2022-07-1845 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHive Heart with Duane CombsOn today's episode, we talk with Dwayne Combs about his business Beehive Monitoring USA and the line of beehive sensors, by a Slovakian company manufacturing the HiveHeart monitor. Dave's business is the US distributor of the equipment they produce. The device he sells is called HiveHeart 3.0. You can obtain the HiveHeart internal monitoring device and one of 2 levels of scales you can also purchase. With these come an App for your phone. The Hive Heart uploads the data it collects from your hive to your phone, then your phone sends that data to the Bee Hive Monitoring...
2022-07-1139 minBeekeeping Today PodcastJim Tew - Lessons Learned Archive SpecialWe're taking the week off to prepare for our July 4th Holiday with our families. We hope you enjoy this special from our first year of the podcast where we introduced many of you to Dr. Jim Tew. Jim cohosts the Honey Bee Obscura podcast with Kim and is a long time contributor to our lead sponsor, Bee Culture. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable long holiday weekend. We invited (mostly retired) Dr. James Tew to the podcast to share with us some of his beekeeping experiences and observations. Jim brings an insightful...
2022-07-0444 minBeekeeping Today PodcastRegeneron Science Talent Search Finalist - Amara OrthFirst up on today's podcast, Jeff talks with Maya Ajmera, CEO of the Society for Science who along with the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, host an annual science contest for high school seniors. Maya talks with Jeff about the contest and what it takes and means to be a finalist! Next Kim and Jeff talk with Amara Orth. Amara lives on her family farm in Glenwood Iowa, near Council Bluffs. Her parents have 25 colonies and her grandfather has a couple thousand colonies. She's been around bees her whole life. Amara graduated from high school this spring and will...
2022-06-2743 minBeekeeping Today PodcastAsian Giant Hornet and Indoor Wintering Research with Dr. Kelly KulhanekDr. Kelly Kulhanek recently moved to Pullman, WA., where she has started her work there on assisting with the Asian Giant Hornet research. In addition to this she is working with the research on indoor wintering of honey bees for commercial beekeepers. All of this will help her with her new role as extension specialist for WSU. In today's episode, Kelly talk with Kim and Jeff about the current status of the Asian Giant Hornet in Washington State and the steps state beekeepers can do to prepare for the possibility this of invasive pest. Additionally, WSU has...
2022-06-2039 minBeekeeping Today PodcastFlow Hive's CEO - Cedar Anderson Seven years ago, father and son set out to redesign the way honey is harvested from bee hives. There must be a way, they reasoned, to get the honey from the comb without disturbing the bees and then bottling the honey directly from the hive. They placed their idea on Indiegogo and early orders exceeded all expectations when they topped over $12.5 million US dollars! Today, after over 50 iterations of the product, Flow Hive has established itself as a solid name in honey production for the small scale beekeeper. In this episode, we talk with Cedar...
2022-06-1345 minBeekeeping Today PodcastNYPD Beekeeper - Darren Mays Imagine responding to every emergency call into 911 about swarms in New York City - across all five boroughs, including Times Square! Well, imagine no more because, today's guest, Darren Mays was the Official beekeeper for the New York City Police Department up until he retired. Darren worked nights as a regular police officer, responding to the calls all police officers responded to. Robberies, domestic disputes, prisoner transports, and everything else. In the morning, he'd go home to sleep, but he was always on call for the 911 for honey bees and swarms… When he'd get the ca...
2022-05-3049 minBeekeeping Today PodcastArchive Super Episode - Dr. Tom Seeley - Bee Hunting In this replay from the Beekeeping Today Podcast Archive Super, we talk with Dr. Tom D. Seeley. We originally talked with Tom in 2019. Dr. Seeley is a Horace White Professor in Biology at Cornell University where he teaches courses on animal behavior, specializing in understanding the social life of honey bees. His scientific research focuses on the phenomenon of swarm intelligence, which is defined as the solving of cognitive problems by a group of individuals who pool their knowledge and process it through social interactions. Tom joins Jeff and Kim in this episode to discuss...
2022-05-1648 minBeekeeping Today PodcastRegional Beekeepers: Spring 2022 UpdateWe first met the Regional Beekeepers back in May of 2020. Then twice a year since, we've made a point to catch a chat with them to talk about their bees, their challenges, their successes and plans for the next six months. This time, we move from west to east. First we meet Paul Longwell from Olympia, WA. A master beekeeper. He maintains AŽ Hives, Long Langstroth hives, and standard Langstroths. Next stop is along the western slope of Colorado where we meet up with commercial beekeeper, Ed Colby. Ed is a regular here on the p...
2022-04-2554 min
podcast Archives - GardenerdCommon Sense Natural Beekeeping with Kim FlottumOur podcast guest this week is Kim Flottum, long time beekeeper and author of more than 6 books. His latest book, is all about common sense natural beekeeping.
The post Podcast: Common Sense Natural Beekeeping with Kim Flottum appeared first on Gardenerd.
2022-04-2134 minGardenerd Tip of the WeekCommon Sense Natural Beekeeping with Kim FlottumOur podcast guest this week is Kim Flottum, long time beekeeper and author of more than 6 books. His latest book, is all about common sense natural beekeeping.
The post Podcast: Common Sense Natural Beekeeping with Kim Flottum appeared first on Gardenerd.
2022-04-2134 minBeekeeping Today PodcastEarth Day (Week) Update from Dr. Jonathan LundgrenHappy Earth Day… week. Earth Day is this Friday, April 22… and in recognition of that day, we've invited Dr. Jonathan Lundgren back to the show to talk about his work at Blue Dasher Farm and with the Ecdysis Foundation's research on regenerative agriculture and soil conversation. We first learned of Jonathan in the Peter Nelson film, The Pollinators. If you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it online at your earliest opportunity… if only for the photography alone! Peter has been a guest on the podcast a couple of times, as well. Jon...
2022-04-1837 min
Honey Bee Obscura PodcastAdding Package Bees to Deadout EquipmentThis time of year, experienced and new beekeepers are receiving their packaged bees and nucs. Only a few of these packages and nucs are going home to new equipment. Many will go home to equipment left over from last year's failed colonies. Is it safe to use this equipment? In this episode, Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) fills in for Kim Flottum and asks Jim, can he use his old equipment. What about the old honey? Will it hurt if the honey is fermenting or crystallized? What about mold? Dead bee carcasses - are they a...
2022-04-0718 minHoney Bee Obscura PodcastCapturing and Hiving SwarmsA beekeeper's most exciting moment is undoubtedly, capturing and hiving a swarm... especially when it is someone else's bees! In today episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott - who is filling in for Kim Flottum this week - discuss capturing swarms and how you can be prepared this year. How can you be prepared? Get some basic equipment pulled together. A container of some type (preferably bee-tight), such as a hive body with a frame or two of brood comb foundation, pruning shears, a tarp - white is best for spotting the queen, a bee suite and v...
2022-03-3122 minHoney Bee Obscura PodcastSwarm Traps aka Bait HivesIn today's episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott (who's stepping in this week for Kim Flottum) discuss their experiences using swarm traps - sometimes called "bait hives". Swarm traps are used by beekeepers to lure the scout bees looking for a new home. There are multiple types of swarm traps from the commercially available 'flower pot' type traps, to home-made traps to simply setting out old hive bodies with a frame or two of brood comb or foundation. Jim and Jeff talk about what they've used, what'd worked and what hasn't. Lures are a second...
2022-03-2416 minHoney Bee Obscura PodcastMore Listener QuestionsThis week, Beekeeping Today Podcast's co-host, Jeff Ott sits in for Kim Flottum and joins podcast regular, Jim Tew to answer listener questions. Kim and Jim have often discussed the pros and cons of using all medium equipment. Today, Jim and Jeff answer the listener question about how to move from deeps to mediums (or 'western') boxes for the brood boxes. What do you use? What do you like? What don't you like? What is your favorite beekeeping tool not found in a beekeeping catalog or your local bee supply shop? Do you use anything...
2022-03-1722 minBeekeeping Today PodcastEnd of Winter Discussion with Kim, Jim Tew & JeffWhat should a beekeeper be doing this time of year - end of winter and the beginning of spring? What is different between the southern and the northern tier of States? Where do you start? What do you look for? What can you do? In today's episode, we invite long time Ohio State University extension beekeeper and educator and cohost of the Honey Bee Obscura Podcast , Dr. James Tew, to talk with us about his experiences and insights into this important and potentially critical time of year. Discussions include: What do you...
2022-03-0747 minBeekeeping Today PodcastCombplex Update with Hailey Scofield and Nathan Oakes This week we welcome back to the podcast Hailey Scofield and Nathan Oakes. They joined us back in November, 2019, when they were nominated as the one of the 18 finalists in the Empire State Development and Cornell University's Center for Regional Economic Advancement for "Grow-NY" – a food innovation and agricultural technology business challenge. They introduced us to their 'bee laser' for the automatic removal (or 'zapping') of varroa from the body of a honey bee. Jump ahead 27 months and they've moved from upstate New York to just outside Austin, Texas and are about to release their ne...
2022-02-2855 minBeekeeping Today Podcast2022 Almond Season with John MillerIn today episode, we welcome back Friend of the Podcast, commercial beekeeper, and longtime industry advocate, John Miller, to share with you his perspective of the 2022 almond pollination season. We caught up with John while he sat in the cab of his pickup at a stop in Central California. On John's last visit to the podcast, he talked with us about his plans for indoor wintering. Today, we asked just how that went. His take? Indoor wintering works with more healthy bees the result and it's going to change what happens every spring in California's almond orchards.
2022-02-2144 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBees for Development with Nicola BradbearIn this episode, we welcome Nicola Bradbear to the podcast for the first time. Nicola is the Director of Bees for Development. Bees for Development uses bees to reduce poverty through sustainable beekeeping and increase biodiversity. One of the most overlooked aspects of using beekeeping as an income source in developing countries, is that the beekeeper does not need to own land. In 1993, Nicola Bradbear drew on that foundation to start an organization to teach low to no income people in developing countries how to keep bees using locally sourced equipment, start businesses that can thrive locally...
2022-02-1454 minBeekeeping Today PodcastScientific Beekeeping with Randy OliverOn today's episode, we are joined by Randy Oliver. If you don't read Randy's ABJ column and don't check in on his Scientific Beekeeping website, you've been missing some of the most up to date news on breeding mite resistant bees, and the newest, best mite treatment discovered so far. Randy discusses his breeding program producing honey bees that are totally resistant to varroa, mostly, but he's not quite ready to say they are completely resistant, but feels he will soon. Regarding his tests using controls for varroa, he has an organic product, that is...
2022-02-0753 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBeekeepers Lab with Bee Culture's Kim LehmanWe have a special treat this week because Kim Lehman has come for a visit. Kim is an educator at heart and works with children of all ages. She started her regular column, All The Buzz In Bee Kids Corner, for Bee Culture over 20 years ago, and every other month offers puzzles, quizzes, drawings, educational bits and pieces, submitted photos and more aimed at grade school kids. She has a huge following of kids in her Bee Buddy Club, with members in every single state. Check out Kim Lehman this time, you might even get a sing along song.
2022-01-3144 minBeekeeping Today PodcastCommon Sense Natural Beekeeping with Stephanie BruneauJoining the podcast today is Stephanie Bruneau, co-author of the new book, "Common Sense Natural Beekeeping." Stephanie Bruneau and our very own Kim Flottum, recently released this new book with Quarry Press. We talk with the authors about the basics of Natural Beekeeping and the role a beekeeper has to take to stay as natural as possible – all while aiding and guiding the colony so it stays healthy. For their latest work, Kim's desire to not put poison in a beehive is mirrored by Stephanie's. So to deal with the many pests and diseases bees encounter, a va...
2021-12-1342 minBeekeeping Today PodcastReturn of the Regional Beekeepers - Fall 2021For this episode, we invite back our regular regional beekeepers to sit down with us and discuss how their season went, what surprises they had, what worked, what didn't and what they were planning for in 2022. In their discussions with each other, they talked about making comb honey, mead, honey prices in their area, swarm preventions techniques, and regional varroa populations. Mark Smith is from North Carolina. He's a chemical free beekeeper and has been for a decade or so. He is pretty isolated and relies on his own survivor stock for mite control. Tracy...
2021-11-0150 min
Sustainability Book ChatKim Flottum: First Time BeekeepingIt seems like keeping bees should be the easiest thing in the world, but I have learned personally that there is a lot more to it than you might expect. If you have been thinking about getting started with bees, we are talking about some of the unexpected things that every beginner needs to consider before buying their first hive.Author and beekeeper Kim Flottum is sharing some of the wisdom from his latest book, First Time Beekeeping: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping.Did you know that if you don't provide water for your...
2021-09-2832 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe Honey Bee Health Coalition with Matt Mulica (S3, E44)Meet Matt Mulica, Senior Project Director of The Honey Bee Health Coalition a group of more than 50 organizations who have come together to implement solutions to achieve a healthy population of native and managed pollinators. These include beekeepers, growers, researchers, government agencies, agribusiness, conservation groups and production agriculture. Working together, they have identified several major areas they feel need the most attention. These include forage and nutrition, hive and certainly varroa management, and crop pest management. They've developed best management practices for corn, soybeans and canola, outreach to growers, beekeepers, agribusinesses, the pubic and anybody needing more...
2021-03-2948 minHoney Bee Obscura PodcastSwarms (014)Have you ever tried to capture a swarm while hanging on to the top of a 10-foot ladder that's standing in the back of a pickup? No? Well, Jim Tew has and he'll tell you all about retrieving swarms this week. Kim Flottum has a story about Richard Taylor walking into the middle of a swarm issuing from a hive, reaching up and catching the queen! No, really! It happened! If you are a beekeeper, swarms are a fact of life. Keeping bees from swarming is a challenge and capturing them when they leave is even more o...
2021-03-2516 minBeekeeping Today PodcastSteven Coy - APHIS and Chinese Tallow (S3, E39)Steven Coy, Executive Board Member of American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) returns to the podcast. This time, he discusses the USDA-APHIS call for comments on the elimination of the Chinese Tallow Tree and the impact the elimination of this tree could have on honey producers from Texas to Florida. PLEASE NOTE: At the time of the podcast recording, the published comment period ended on Feb. 22. It has been extended to April 23. You have another 60 days to comment, but please do if the issue is critical to you. Also on the show, Jim Tew stops by...
2021-02-2234 min
Two Bees in a PodcastEpisode 46: Kim Flottum & Starting Colonies with Packages of BeesIn this episode of Two Bees in a Podcast, we are joined by Kim Flottum, the former Editor of Bee Culture magazine, who continuously gets information out about bees through numerous podcasts and books. In our 5 Minute Management segment, Jamie and Amy will focus on starting colonies with packages of bees. We end today’s episode with a Q&A segment.
2021-02-1849 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe Bee Squad with Bridget Mendel and Becky Masterman (S3, E38)In today's episode, we talk with Bridget Mendel and Becky Masterman of the University of Minnesota Bee Lab's "Bee Squad". Dr. Marla Spivak created Bee Squad as an outreach group 10 years ago in the Twin Cities area to help local beekeepers and other people just wanting bees in the backyard, with just a couple of volunteers. It has blossomed into a dynamic, nationally known UMN Extension Program that is helping hundreds, even thousands of people – beekeepers and non-beekeepers alike. The Bee Squad was originally headed by Becky who recently 'passed the hive tool' of leadership to Bridget. To...
2021-02-1555 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBee Downtown with Ben DictusIn today's episode we talk with Ben Dictus, beekeeper for Bee Downtown. The good people in the Bee Downtown organization have taken bees and beekeeping to a new level of education, promotion and opportunity. They have combined beekeeping and leadership training, with business leaders and employees: Bee yards with corporate landscapes. Ben manages about 150 colonies in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, working with the likes of corporations such as SAS, Delta Air, Burt's Bees, Blue Cross to establish colonies on their corporate grounds. The hives are not hidden behind an outbuilding or the 'back acreage...
2021-02-0149 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe Importance of Propolis with Dr. Marla Spivak (S3, E33)Marla Spivak is a honey bee researcher at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Her work has covered a variety of subjects over the years including queen breeding and disease prevention and lately she has been working on the relationship of honey bees and propolis. Propolis is simply a mixture of resins honey bees collect from a variety of plants. These resins protect these plants from diseases and pests that would otherwise harm them. She first became interested when she read that some properties of propolis had a positive effect on human HIV disease. Then she attended...
2021-01-1145 minHoney Bee Obscura PodcastHoney Bee Obscura - An Introduction (001)Honey Bee Obscura is a brand new podcast focusing solely on honey bees and honey bee management. In fact... all things honey bees. Join each week as former Bee Culture editor and current cohost of Beekeeping Today Podcast, Kim Flottum and long time Bee Culture contributor and former OSU Extension Specialist, Dr. Jim Tew meet to explore and discuss important topics important to beekeepers everywhere in short, concise episodes. __________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom
2021-01-1001 minBeekeeping Today PodcastTwo Queen Honey Production with Tom Theobald (S3, E32)In this episode, we welcome back Colorado beekeeper, Tom Theobald. Tom had a small commercial operation in Colorado in the late 70's, running up to 200 or so colonies when he first started using two queen colonies. The biology of running two queens in a colony does make sense if you use the technique Tom perfected, but the better you get, the more lifting you are going to do. His finished production hives had three deeps for brood production and seven mediums for honey storage. At the time, an average to strong colony in his part of Colorado would make...
2021-01-0442 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHoliday Replay: Dr. Sam Ramsey & The Varroa Mite (S3, E31)On this special Holiday Replay, we bring back one of our favorite episodes from the first season, when we invited Dr. Sam Ramsey to the podcast to talk about the Varroa Mite. Sam Ramsey is a life long entomologist. His interests in all things insects started in his youth along with his parent's encouragement and his siblings displeasure! He continued his studies in college (Cornell) and just recently completed his PhD this year at The University of Maryland under Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp. Dr. Ramsey made headlines earlier this year with the publication of his doctoral...
2020-12-281h 00Beekeeping Today PodcastNewfoundland's Varroa Action Plan with Dr. David Peck and Peter Armitage (S3, E30)On today's episode, we talk with Newfoundland beekeeper, Peter Armitage and Dr. David Peck, a Professor from Cornell University, David Peck. Those of us south of the Canadian border tend to mispronounce the name of that big Island off the east coast of Quebec and just north of Prince Edward Island. We tend to slur it, saying 'Newfundlund' instead. But that is wrong. How do you say it right? "Understand New Found Land". Onomatopoeia to the rescue! (One of the cohost's still can't get it right…) The good people who live on Newfoundland Island have managed to ke...
2020-12-2142 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHoney Testing - QSI America with Tobias Wiezorek (S3, E29)QSI–America is a Germany based company that is in the business of testing honey for anything. Their US lab in Corona, California is led by Tobias Wiezorek, and employs about 35 scientists looking at the biochemical, microbiology, chemical and pollen aspects of the honey and wax samples. They can perform many tests, including moisture content, the presence of antibiotics or pesticides, the HMF content to determine if the sample has been overheated, sugar ratios to tell if it's a blend, pure or something else, they can identify the pollens found in a sample to identify the source and/or co...
2020-12-141h 08Beekeeping Today PodcastSanta Cruz Bee Company's Emily Bondor with Kirsten (S3, E28)In this week's episode, guest host Kirsten Traynor speaks with Emily Bondor of the Santa Cruz Bee Co about how she manages her colonies and those of other beekeepers without chemical intervention. Emily discuss the types of losses beekeepers should expect when foregoing varroa treatments, how to be an ethical treatment-free beekeeper, so that your sick colonies don't impact hives in the vicinity, and how her attitude toward treatments has evolved, because she also manages other people's investment in bees. Tune in for this in-depth discussion about the pros and cons about stopping varroa treatments of your bees.
2020-12-071h 01Beekeeping Today PodcastInterviews with Beekeepers, Author Steve Donohoe (S3, E27)Starting several years ago, Steve Donohoe wanted to find out more about beekeepers and how they kept bees. His travels took him to California, where he talked to Randy Oliver and Ray Olivarez, to Vermont to talk to Mike Palmer, then back the UK to talk to Murry McGregor in Scotland and Peter Little, who used to work with Brother Adam, then on to a New Zealand honey packer and finally to France to visit that country's largest queen breeder. These people were sort of his heroes, successful at their occupation and fairly well known in the...
2020-11-3042 minBeekeeping Today PodcastOregon Fires - Sharon Schmidt with Kirsten (S3, E24)This autumn wildfires cut through large swaths of Oregon, destroying towns, homes and habitat. In this episode, Kirsten talks with Sharon Schmidt, founder of Cascade Girl Apiary, who lost her home and apiary in Phoenix, Oregon. Sharon was visiting a friend when the fires roared into her town. The police would not let her return to her property. She expected the fires to be brought under control, but as she watched from the ridge line, her town went up in flames. Talent and Phoenix, Oregon were both early members of the Bee City USA program, changing their...
2020-11-0944 minBeekeeping Today Podcast"Show Me The Honey" with Dave Doroghy (S3, E23) Dave Doroghy works in the worlds of advertising and sports marketing and lives on a house boat on the Frasier River in southern British Columbia near Vancouver. His discovery of beekeeping wasn't the common story of being swept off his feet with this new found passion. No, his interest was primarily financial. Show me the Money was a part of his professional sports life, so 'show me the honey' became a part of his beekeeping life. His story is familiar to many new beekeepers. He makes just about every mistake that can be made with...
2020-11-0246 minBeekeeping Today PodcastComb Building & More: Michael Smith, Ph.D with Kirsten (S3, E20)In this week's episode, guest cohost, Kirsten Traynor, editor of 2 Million Blossoms, talks with Michael Smith, Ph.D. Michael grew up in Panama, then went to boarding school in Wales, where he chanced upon a beekeeper with honey in a hallway. Together the two ended up launching a bee club that just celebrated its 15th anniversary. After being a gofer for a bee lab at a women's university, Smith convinced Tom Seeley to take him on as a graduate student. At Cornell, he investigated what triggers drone comb building plus ran a side project on who steals from a...
2020-10-121h 01Beekeeping Today PodcastDewey Caron - "The Complete Bee Handbook" & More (S3, E17) Dr. Dewey M. Caron's latest book, The Complete Bee Handbook is quite the book. Not a scientific text, not a how-to beekeeping book, but one that's meant for all those folks who think they might want to keep bees, but don't know what's involved. Plus it includes sections on honey recipes, making candles, mead and honey beer, gardening for all bees, bee biology in just the right amount. Beautiful art highlights each chapter, with each chapter given an overview and summary. It is truly delightful. But wait: There's more. Dewey is very involved in working...
2020-09-2145 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium with Allie and Britteny (S3, E15)In today's episode we talk to Britteny Kyle, DVM, President of the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium (HBVC) and Alexzandra (Allie) Mosel, DVM, who is the President Elect. Both are beekeepers and small animal veterinarians interested in getting more vets trained and interested in bees and beekeeping. Recall that as of January 2017, if a beekeeper needs to administer antibiotics to their honey bees, they are required to have a prescription or feed directive from a licensed veterinarian. The HBVC is made up of students and professionals from all segments of veterinary medicine and animal science who care about...
2020-09-0749 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHoney and the Good Food Awards with Sarah Weiner and Mark Carlson (S3, E14)In today's episode we talk with Sarah Weiner, the Executive Director of the Good Food Awards Foundation and Mark Carlson, the Committee Co-Chair of the Honey Category. Sarah brings a global perspective to her position having worked with Slow Foods International in Italy and the US, produced the Organic Food Festival in the UK, and has co-founded seedling projects. In his spare time, Mark is a California State Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper and a Chemist at Micro-Tracers, Inc. They both sat down with us recently to talk about the Good Food Awards Foundation and what it takes...
2020-08-3153 minBeekeeping Today PodcastStrong Microbials with Drs. Vera and Slava Strogolova (S3, E12)Strong Microbials got their start producing probiotics to improve the health of cattle, dairy cows, poultry and swine. Their products improved animal food digestion resulting in overall animal health. In 2012 they became interested in doing the same thing for honey bees. In this episode, we talk with Vera and Slava about their probiotic use to aid honey bee health and well-being. Multiple bacteria are present in all nectars, pollens, propolis and the environment. Honey bees need these bacteria to aid not only in digestion, but also to improve immune response and combating stressors detrimental to their health. S...
2020-08-1759 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBeekeeping Downunder: Simeon Valkenburg with Kirsten (S3, E11)In this episode, Kirsten chats with commercial beekeeper Simeon Valkenburg, who runs a commercial operation with his brother in Australia. He talks about building up their commercial operation from scratch. They started with one hive and are now up to about 1,000 hives in south east Australia. The season kicks off with almond pollination. Yes, that's right—Australian almonds which bloom in August. They then move colonies into crops like canola or beans or move into areas flush with a low desert eucalypt, which under the right weather conditions can produce a huge honey harvest. In their summer th...
2020-08-1056 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBee Optimism with Dr. Jay Evans (S3, E10)Dr. Jay Evans is the Research Leader at the USDA Honey Bee Research Lab in Beltsville Maryland. He and the resident scientists there are involved in many projects, including mite studies, nutrition supplements for bees, queen health and nutrition. Plus, even in middle of this pandemic, they have realized the need for continuing the AFB Diagnostic Center so beekeepers can handle this disease before it gets out of hand in their apiaries. There's more to Jay than his regular research. He has been writing a column for our sponsor Bee Culture magazine for several years and has...
2020-08-0354 minBeekeeping Today PodcastMadeleine Ostwald with Kirsten Traynor (S3, E9)This week, guest co-host Kirsten Traynor joins us with Madeleine Ostwald. Madeleine studies bees, having worked with both honey bees and carpenter bees. When days get hot, we seek out ways to cool off with water. Beekeepers (and sometimes their neighbors) know that honey bees do the same. As an undergraduate student in Tom Seeley's lab, Madeleine turned up the heat on a honey bee hive to find out just how they do this. Madeleine observed some bees adapt to heat stress by acting like water storage containers, always ready to chill things down when days get hot.
2020-07-2738 minBeekeeping Today PodcastDr. Samuel Ramsey - Tracking The Tropilaelaps & More (S3, E8)Dr. Sam Ramsey joins us again to share what he has found from his most recent work on Tropilaelaps mites in Thailand. He has been looking at the history of this mite's movement around the world, the biology and its life cycle. Just as important he is exploring the differences and the similarities of the Tropilaelaps to the Varroa mite. His work points out why this pest is so very difficult to control with chemicals, why it is so genetically diverse, what helps it adapt quickly to new control tactics and why populations build so fast in the colonies i...
2020-07-2057 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHeroes To Hives - Adam Ingrao with Kirsten Traynor (S3, E07)This week, guest co-host Kirsten Traynor chats with Adam Ingrao, Ph.D, founder of Heroes to Hive. Heroes To Hives is a veterans training program he started five years ago. They train veterans, especially those suffering from PTSD, how to manage honey bee hives and get started in beekeeping. Over 500 vets and family members are enrolled in this free program this year, making it one of the largest vet training programs in the US. Kirsten also talks with Adam about his own struggles with opioids, how honey bees helped him regain purpose. He then describes how he...
2020-07-1330 minBeekeeping Today PodcastWorld Bee Count with James Wilkes and Joseph Cazier (S3, E6)In this episode, we talk with James Wilkes and Joseph Cazier from Appalachian State University, who spearheaded the World Bee Count program just completed this spring. Bee Count is an annual event that aims to identify pollinators around the world and also measure pollinator health, dispersion and biodiversity. James is a Professor in Computer Science at ASU and founder and manager of HiveTracks, the Bee Hive data collection and analysis program. Joseph, a frequent contributor to Bee Culture magazine, writing on bee hive data collection and analysis, is Director of the Center for Analytics Research and Education...
2020-07-0649 minBeekeeping Today PodcastPollinator Week Series: Pollinator Gardens & Bumble Bees with Dr. David Goulson and Kirsten Traynor (S3, E5) As part of the pollinator week special, guest host Kirsten Traynor chats with Dr. Dave Goulson, an expert on pollinator health from the University of Sussex. Dave Goulson has been fascinated with insects since he was a boy and was able to turn this love of all things that fly, creep and crawl into a career. One of the bumble bees from his childhood became extinct in the 1980s, so he and his research team tried to reintroduce it to the UK, first from New Zealand and then from Sweden. Although they released countless queens over multiple...
2020-06-2622 minBeekeeping Today PodcastPollinator Week Series: Bee Friendly Farming with Ron Bitner (S3, E4)Bee Friendly Farming has a good friend in Ron Bitner, Co-Chair of this Pollinator Partnership program. Ron runs Bitner Winery near Boise Idaho in Treasure Valley and for 40 some years was involved in non-apis bee management for pollination. Bee Friendly Farming has between 800 – 900 Bee Friendly Farmers, who practice reducing chemical use and use a whole row of holistic farming practices that improves the health of their soil and provides forage for bees. Ron's goal is to double or even triple the number of BFFs so there's even more out there for bees and pollinators. BFF are more or less se...
2020-06-2540 minBeekeeping Today PodcastPollinator Week Series: The PolliNation Nation & More with Dr. Andony Melathopoulos (S3, E3)Andony Melathopoulos is the Pollinator Health Extension Specialist for Oregon State University. He's not just about honey bees, but every pollinator out there. But honey bees are a big part of what he does because of the multitude of crops grown in Oregon that need 'mostly' honey bees for pollination. He works equally with the farmers who grow the crops, spray the crops, and provide additional forage for the bees. Additionally, Andony works with the Oregon Department of Transportation, home owners, and Oregon's huge Master Gardener programs. He's even helping with the new Master Mellipolous Program, sort of like...
2020-06-2453 minBeekeeping Today PodcastThe BeeMD and More with Dr. Jamie Ellis (S2, E34)This week, we talk with Dr. Jamie Ellis, from the University of Florida about The BEEMD website, the UoF Bee Lab, Coloss, research, teaching and his extension work! All his work is centered on honey bees, is beekeeper driven and embraces collaboration. Dr. Ellis has a brand-new bee lab with over 50 grad, undergrad and volunteer students conducting research. In addition, he is working on the U of F Master Beekeeper Program, is teaching 5 levels of honey bee classes, speaking to beekeeper groups, hosting his own podcast and more (if you can believe it!). Get set to sit...
2020-06-1548 minBeekeeping Today PodcastTalking Russian Honey Bees with Dr. Tom Rinderer and Steve Coy (S2, E32)Ask beekeepers and you will hear many different opinions on Russian Honey Bees. Mostly, they either love them, hate them or know nothing about them. In this episode, we go directly to the US source of these bees with Dr. Tom Rinderer and Steve Coy. Tom was instrumental in the early days of the research resulting in the introduction of this line of honey bee to the US by visiting Russia to find these varroa resistant bees. He talks about the issues of getting them into this country, sorting out the best lines – very varroa resistant, not defensive, healthy in...
2020-05-2956 minBeekeeping Today PodcastTucka Saville - Loving The Queen Bee with Kirsten Traynor (S2, E31)Guest co-host and 2 Million Blossoms Editor, Kirsten Traynor and Tucka Saville chat this week, talking about treatment free beekeeping, having bees in Florida and Upstate New York, raising queens with Michael Palmer in Vermont, and working with Sam Comfort in Florida. They discuss raising queens, swarms, making simple, simple hive, being online and the whole community of beekeepers. Tucka is a commercial beekeeper and queen producer mostly in Florida with between 300 and 500 colonies. She sells nucs, and is absolutely in love with queens and everything about them. Oh and humming birds. There's lots of good information here f...
2020-05-2251 minBeekeeping Today PodcastWorld Bee Day - Remembering Ann Harmon (S2, E30)On this day as the world is celebrating honey bees and all that they do, Dewey Caron, Kim Flottum and Kathy Summers share stories and memories of Ann Harman, a world bee celebrity who passed on May 1. Ann was an exceptional beekeeper, active in honey shows around the world, held key positions in the Eastern Apicultural Society, was a Welsh Honey Judge, and contributed to Bee Culture magazine for over 35 years. She traveled to 50 some countries as a volunteer instructor, was instrumental in publishing several key beekeeping reference books, still had time for her horses, cats and dogs.
2020-05-2029 minBeekeeping Today PodcastRegional Beekeeper Perspectives: East, Midwest and Mountain States (S2, E29)This week, get out your traveling bee suits, because we are going to visit three different beekeepers in across the country. This time of the year, beekeepers in the US and northern hemisphere are all very busy, but are they all doing the same? Are they all experiencing the same things? In this episode we set off to find out. We talk with beekeepers from North Carolina, Northeast Ohio and the western slope of the Rockies in Colorado. Each of these beekeepers have a unique, and somewhat tricky environment to raise bees and t...
2020-05-1556 minBeekeeping Today PodcastBee Girl, Sarah Red-Laird with Guest CoHost Kirsten Traynor (S2, E28)This episode is our first with guest co-host, 2 Million Blossoms editor, Kirsten Traynor. Kirsten will be our guest co-host on a regular basis bringing us interviews with young and upcoming personalities and researchers in the world of beekeeping. In this first episode, Kirsten introduces us to Sarah Red Laird. Sarah Red-Laird, probably better known as The Bee Girl. She's very visible in the beekeeping community for her work with kids and bees at National, Regional and local beekeeper's meetings. But there's so much more! She works hand in hand with local farmers using regenerative agriculture...
2020-05-0850 minBeekeeping Today PodcastQueen and Drone Viability, Honey Fraud and Apimondia with Dr. Jeff PettisDr. Jeff Pettis left the USDA some time ago to pursue other avenues of research. His current work is studying issues with queens, primarily longevity, affect of pesticides, virus interactions, shipping problems and more. Relatedly, he is working with drones, which of course play a big role in how queens produce. He's looking at sperm issues, affects of pesticides, mating problems, heat stress and mating success. He's also working with varroa resistance to miticides, affects of miticides on queens, workers and drones and essentially what is working, and what isn't and why. In-between research projects...
2020-05-0156 min
GotMead Live Radio Show3-31-20 Peter Bakulic – Talking Mead3-31-20 We're back from a break that *should* have been because of MeadCon and Mazer Cup, but sadly we did not get to celebrate either of those events because of postponements. Make sure you're online or doing pickups to #buymead!
We are tickled to have Pete Bakulic back tonight, it's been quite a while since we've been able to get him on the show.
If you don't know of Pete, either you're new to the mead scene, or you've been hiding under a rock! Pete is President of the Mazer Cup International and a member of the American Mead...
2020-03-312h 13Beekeeping Today PodcastBIP Sentinel Program with Kelly Kulhanek (S2, E22)This week we meet with Kelly Kulhanek, a BIP Sentinel Apiary Scientist. Since gearing up in 2015, this program monitors colonies in 30 states with over 100 beekeepers. Once enrolled, you'll take samples from your hives and have them tested for varroa, nosema and anything else the BIP people find for over 6 months a year. This is a perfect educational tool for bee clubs everywhere, teaching members how to take samples, letting them see what else is going on around them and being able to make informed decisions about colony health and management. You can sign up for 4 or 8 hives...
2020-03-2756 minBeekeeping Today PodcastSioux Honey Association Co-op: Matt Beekman (S2, E21)We've all seen the bottles of Sioux Honey in the grocery store. Ever wonder how the Sioux Honey cooperative works? Could you join? Would you want to? In this episode, we meet Matt Beekman, a 4000-colony co-op member in California who recently joined Sioux and shares information on this 100-year-old agriculture cooperative. Sioux's 250 or so members produce somewhere around 60 million pounds of honey each season and the co-op buys everything the members produce. Not only the honey, all the beeswax produced from this honey production is sold by the co-op too. Selling 5 different kinds of honey – local spun honey, Aun...
2020-03-2048 minBeekeeping Today PodcastApisProtect with Drs. Fiona Edwards Murphy & Padraig Whelan (S2, E20)We recently talked with the good folks at ApisProtect, a technology company located in Cork, Ireland and Salinas, CA. Dr. Fiona Edwards Murphy and Dr. Whelan Padraig are the engineers and beekeepers whose ideas and hard work have made this possible. At a high level, ApisProtect technology collects hive data using their sensor is monitored and analyzed remotely using artificial intelligence. Captured data includes temperature, humidity, sound, CO2 and hive movement. They have been developing this for just over 3 years and are ready to go commercial this summer. Find out how their device works, what information it...
2020-03-1359 minBeekeeping Today PodcastHow To Get Started With Bees - Part 4 (S2, E19)Welcome to our four-part series on getting started in this fascinating and educational backyard pastime, sideline job, or full time career. All are possible with honey bees. Listen in as Kim Flottum, author and retired Editor of Bee Culture magazine, Dr. James Tew, author, Bee Culture magazine contributor and retired Extension Specialist in Beekeeping from the University of Alabama and Ohio State University, and Jeff Ott, a skilled, long time back yard beekeeper discuss the ins and outs of this craft, covering all aspects of getting started. Part 4 - You Are A Beekeeper Now! Once...
2020-03-0652 minGotMead Live Radio Show3-3-20 Steve Patik – MeadCon speaker on Braggots (and other meadly things)3-3-20 Tonight at 9PM ET GotMead Live will be talking with Steve Patik, an accomplished and award winning mead maker who will be speaking at the AMMA MeadCon in two weeks on braggots, along with Andy Brewer from Locavore Beerworks.
Steve discovered mead over Thanksgiving dinner in 2012, and a year later was making it. Since then, Steve has been making mead in unconventional ways, yet successful.
Steve is a regular entrant in mead competitions all over the country, and he consistently does really well, even taking a Best in Show now and again. His favorite styles to work with ar...
2020-03-031h 18Beekeeping Today PodcastHow To Get Started With Bees - Part 3 (S2, E18)Welcome to our four part series on getting started in this fascinating and educational backyard pastime, sideline job, or full time career. All are possible with honey bees. Listen in as Kim Flottum, author and retired Editor of Bee Culture magazine, Dr. James Tew, author, Bee Culture magazine contributor and retired Extension Specialist in Beekeeping from the University of Alabama and Ohio State University, and Jeff Ott, a skilled, long time back yard beekeeper discuss the ins and outs of this craft, covering all aspects of getting started. Part 3 - Bees Are In... NOW What?!! ...
2020-02-2851 minGotMead Live Radio Show2-25-20 Roger Wanner and Joe Abruzzo – MeadCon Speaker – W A Meadwerks – Meadery on a Shoestring2-25-20 Tonight at 9PM ET GotMead Live will be talking with Roger Wanner and Joe Abruzzo, owners of W A Meadwerks on Long Island in New York. These guys are truly passionate about their mead, and managed to open a meadery in a place that's pretty darn expensive, and do it on a shoestring.
Roger will be speaking at MeadCon this year on how they managed to open their meadery with very little up front. W A Meadwerks started in Roger's basement in West Islip after being lucky enough to try commercial meads from Schramms, Superstition and Melovino. They m...
2020-02-252h 02Beekeeping Today PodcastHow To Get Started With Bees - Part 2 (S2, E17)Welcome to our four-part series on getting started in this fascinating and educational backyard pastime, sideline job, or full time career. All are possible with honey bees. Listen in as Kim Flottum, author and retired Editor of Bee Culture magazine, Dr. James Tew, author, Bee Culture magazine contributor and retired Extension Specialist in Beekeeping from the University of Alabama and Ohio State University, and Jeff Ott, a skilled, long time back yard beekeeper discuss the ins and outs of this craft, covering all aspects of getting started. Part 2 - Where To Get Bees So you've...
2020-02-2150 minGotMead Live Radio Show2-18-20 C. Marina Marchese – MeadCon Speaker – Honey Evaluation and Sensory Analysis2-18-20 Tonight at 9PM ET GotMead Live will be talking with Marina Marchese, the Honey Sommelier. Marina will be speaking at MeadCon 2020 this year, talking about honey sensory analysis and dong a live honey tasting.
Carla Marina Marchese is a member of the Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey, where she received her formal training as a honey sensory expert. Her book, The Honey Connoisseur co-authored with Kim Flottum (editor of Bee Culture Magazine) parallels the concept of terroir to single - origin honey directly matching floral sources to flavors and conceived the first U.S. honey a...
2020-02-182h 08Beekeeping Today PodcastHow To Get Started With Bees - Part 1 (S2, E16)Welcome to our four part series on getting started in this fascinating and educational backyard pastime, sideline job, or full time career, sponsored by BetterBee! All are possible with honey bees. Listen in as Kim Flottum, author and retired Editor of Bee Culture magazine, Dr. James Tew, author, Bee Culture magazine contributor and retired Extension Specialist in Beekeeping from the University of Alabama and Ohio State University, and Jeff Ott, a skilled, long time back yard beekeeper discuss the ins and outs of this craft, covering all aspects of getting started. Part 1 - So You Want To...
2020-02-1451 minBeekeeping Today PodcastNorthern Bee Books with Jeremy Burbidge (S2, E15)In this episode, we talk with Jeremy Burbidge of Northern Bee Books, located in Mytholmroyd, in northern England. Northern Bee Books publishes books on every aspect of bees and beekeeping you can imagine. Jeremy is a retired school teacher and a beekeeper, and has been publishing not only books on bees and beekeeping for over 20 years, but also publishers two beekeeping magazines, The Beekeepers Quarterly, and Natural Bee Husbandry, another quarterly aimed at Natural Beekeeping and beekeepers, which is popular in the US. Jeremy has been involved with the National Honey Show for decades, assisting with speaker...
2020-02-0741 minBeekeeping Today PodcastNew USDA-ARS Bee Lab @ UC Davis - Dr. Julia Fine. (S2, E14)January 7th marked the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newest USDA Honey Bee Research Lab in Davis, California. Drs. Arathi Seshadri, the lab's Research Leader and Julia Fine are the initial staff, looking at colony health and stress factors. Dr. Fine joins the this episode to talk about her new role and the mission of the lab. Dr. Fine is more the lab person looking at the effects of nutrition stress on reproduction. The lab is just getting set up, so they are looking for grad students, post docs and people with beekeeping skills to help set up...
2020-01-3136 minBeekeeping Today Podcast"How To Bee" - Talking With Movie Writer, Director and Co-Star, Naomi Mark. (S2, E13)Naomi Mark grew up and lives today in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Her mom and dad homesteaded there and raised five kids. Along with the way, he started beekeeping and passed the love of bees to Naomi. Her movie, How To Bee, chronicles a period of three years after Naomi moved back from college, and her learning how to keep bees with her chronically ill father. It is a touching movie about beekeeping in the far North and how honey bees strengthened family bonds through life and death. Websites and links mentioned in the podcast include:
2020-01-2545 minBeekeeping Today PodcastPlanting Large Scale Pollinator Habitats with Lindsey White and Randi Grout (S2, E12)Lindsey White and Randi Grout work for Meadville Land Service, Inc., which is a "cousin" company of the Ernst Seed Company out of Cochranton, PA. MLS specializes in planning, planting and maintaining large scale (multiple acre) pollinator 'gardens'... OK, fields; think corporate grounds and tracts of otherwise unproductive acres. The acreage in and around solar arrays are great opportunities to plant native plants to benefit pollinators in a large scale. Not only that, it cuts down the amount of maintenance required to keep the solar arrays productive and visually attractive, reduces water runoff and helps to build a healthy t...
2020-01-1639 minBeekeeping Today PodcastJerry Hayes & Kim Flottum: Passing the Torch at Bee Culture (S2, E08)In the last episode of Beekeeping Today Podcast, Kim announced that he was stepping down his post of 30+ years at Bee Culture and handing over the reins of the world class publication to Jerry Hayes. Jerry has a a long history in beekeeping and is well respected in the industry. In this episode, Jerry and Kim talk about the transition, Jerry's direction for Bee Culture, his move to Ohio and what he sees as challenges to the industry. Also in this episode, while at Apimondia in September, Kim talked to Brett Adee about honey adulteration/contamination and t...
2019-11-2040 min
PolliNation Podcast89 Kim Flottum - The Venerable Tradition of Getting the Word Out About BeesLearn how Kim Flottum is taking beekeeping education into the future, and how he is following in legendary beekeeping educator Amos Root's footsteps. "We have gone from pencil-writing answers to letters, to the electronic age, and it has opened the door to anybody and everybody who wants to talk about anything." - Kim Flottum. Learn more about this episode of PolliNation at http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/pollinationpodcast/2019/03/11/kim-flottum/
2019-03-1147 min
EcoBeneficial! Landscape Tips with Kim Eierman (audio)Interview with Kim Flottum, Author of The Backyard Beekeeper
If you’re a beekeeper, an aspiring beekeeper, or just want to help honey bees, you’ll get some helpful tips in this EcoBeneficial interview. Kim Eierman talks with Kim Flottum, Editor of Bee Culture Magazine, and author of several great books on beekeeping, including The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden.
2018-03-1200 min
Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)The Buzz Around Honey And BeekeepingWe end Food Fridays on a sweet note with a Please Explain all about honey and beekeeping! We’ll learn about the many different varieties and flavors of honey, and find out why raw honey - although twice as sweet as sugar - is filled with nutrients. We’ll also get recipes and tips for cooking with honey, and advice for aspiring beekeepers from Kim Flottum, veteran beekeeper, editor-in-chief of Bee Culture (the preeminent American beekeeping magazine) and author of The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook: A Guide to Creating, Harvesting, and Baking with Natural Honeys. He’ll be joined by Amel...
2017-05-1231 min