Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Small Furry Pests (077) Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

It doesn't take long after getting into beekeeping and then repeatedly, as long as you have beekeeping equipment laying around or stacked neatly, until you have to deal with small furry pests. Mice, rats and other critters love the shelter, warmth, relative safety and often food, found in beekeeping equipment. In today's episode, Jim Tew talks with Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast, about Small Furry Pests.

There are ways to deal with mice and rats. What works in a bee yard? The guys talk about the use of poisons and traps and non-lethal approaches minimizing the damage these little critters can quickly do.

The "why's" of wanting to manage or avoid small furry pests are almost instinctually known. They chew through wood (and plastics) as if it is not even a barrier. They destroy frames and foundation (and car wiring harnesses), they urinate and defecate where they live. They can make a real mess of stored equipment. They love to get into hives late in the fall and winter when the bees are clustered.

Have you ever picked up a hive box to have mice drop out and scurry off? What if one seeks the relative safety of the nearest dark opening… such as your pant leg? Jim has. Listen to find out your options should you face this quickly evolving situation!

Like all other pests you will deal with as a beekeeper, you will come to your own management approach that suits your personal philosophy on life (and death) when it comes to small furry pests. Like everything else, it is good to learn from the mistakes - and adventures - of others and chose your own way forward.

Listen in as Jim and Jeff discuss Small Furry Pests.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Thanks to Betterbee for sponsoring today's episode. Betterbee's mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Exploring Honey Prices (076) Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

During a recent trip to a big-name US drug store, Kim saw honey on the shelf for $4.99 per pound. It was a blend of honeys from Argentina and India. A US commercial beekeeper shoots for a price of honey (in the 55-gallon barrel to a packer) for about the going price of diesel fuel, which, at the end of May was pushing $7 per gallon.

In today's Honey Bee Obscura episode, Kim and Jim dissect this problem a bit.

This quickly leads to the question we should all ask ourselves before we casually hand out honey to friends, family and the cable repair guy - how much does it cost you to make a pound of honey? Commercial beekeepers know and know what they have to get to stay in business.

And to compete with cheap imports, US beekeepers must either lower their prices, which isn't possible, or force foreign exporters to sell for more, through applied tariffs on imported honey.

To compete, US Beekeeping associations and other groups requested such a tariff on honey coming into the US from Brazil, India, Mexico and Vietnam, the four largest and cheapest, exporters of honey to the US.

Time will tell if this provides any lasting relief or just pushes the problem to come into the USA from other countries.

Listen in as Kim and Jim discuss this issue.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Dealing With Feisty Bees (075) May 26, 2022

Show notes

Jim's beeyard is the center of attention this week, because his bees were bothering his wife and a very patient, longtime neighbor. That's not a good thing. So, exasperated, Jim asks Kim for his ideas about all that was going on and to help figure out why.

Two of his colonies were swarming or at least it looked that way. Plus, he is experiencing a nectar dearth at the moment. Is robbing part of the problem? Regardless, his bees are feisty and others are paying the price.

It was a mixed bag of bee behavior going on in that beeyard that day and it can happen in your yard, too. Just when you think you got bees figured out, they will show you that you don't. It happens to the most experienced and practiced beekeepers!

Listen in and see how it turns out, and how to try and handle feisty bees.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

How To Plan Raised Pollinator Beds (074) May 19, 2022

Show notes

If a pollinator garden is in your future this summer, constructing a raised bed is one way to keep it under control and is a much easier approach to providing food for your bees, beauty for your yard and not an aching back for you.

There are all varieties of raised bed gardens. The one pictured below is made of metal, purchased from a gardening company that specializes in these and will last years with little maintenance.

Simpler models have only metal corner posts, the gardener supplies the wooden boards. They are simpler, less expensive and over time can be enlarged or reduced to fit the needs of the garden.

Or you can simply bury some 4"x4" beams at the corners and nail the sideboards to them. They're probably the most simple and least expensive, but will have a shorter life span than the others.

No matter which style you use, a raised bed makes your pollinator garden easier to manage and will be a grand addition to your yard. Be like Jim and try one this season!

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Final Thoughts on Package Bee Season (073) May 12, 2022

Show notes

So you have already put in your two packages (you did get two, right?) and a few days, or maybe a week later you checked them and…..something's wrong!

What can go wrong with a new package? Kim and Jim chat a bit about the things that can and for some, will go wrong with new packages.

First check, the queen's dead in her cage. Get a new one, find some brood from another colony, join with another colony? All work, but which is best?

After a week you check and…..no bees! They all left! Where did they go and why did they go? Maybe they just moved over to that colony next door that has brood, food and a queen. Or maybe they just left. What now?

Sometimes about half of them will drift to that colony next door, so you have a colony that's really strong and one that's really weak. How do you fix that?

What about a queen that's released and isn't laying? Do you replace her? If not, how long do you wait and see if she'll start, or not start?

Kim and Jim take a quick look at all of these things that can go wrong. If you've had any or all of these experiences... you have our condolences! Listen to this episode today as maybe they can help you fix your package this spring.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Installing Package Bees in Inclement Weather (072) May 05, 2022

Show notes

Package season is about over for 2022. Perhaps thankfully too, depending on where in the country you live. Installing packages does not always go well or as depicted in bee books or Internet videos. Sometimes, the weather just does not cooperate. In this week's episode, Jim talks with Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast about installing packages in bad weather.

When you order and pay your deposit in January and February for your packages later in the spring, you envision they will show up on a sunny, warm Saturday. The birds will be singing and the flowers all in bloom. The reality can be way different when the call or email arrives saying the bees are "arriving two weeks early," and to, "please come pick them up between 6-8:00a this Saturday…"

A quick glance at the weather app calls for rain, sleet, and a high of 38-degrees (Fahrenheit) on Package Day! What do you do?!

Jim and Jeff discuss two different ways of approaching the issue of installing packages in bad, in climate weather… and then… following up - releasing the queen.

How do you install packages when it is not a Chamber of Commerce weather day? Do you dump and run? Do you do a gentle release? Do you let the workers release the queen? Do you keep her confined until you are certain they're ready to accept her? Or… do you quick release her with the new package?

Let us know!

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Planning A Successful Bee Association Meeting (071) Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever been involved in planning and carrying out a beekeeping meeting? If not, there are a host of things to consider that you may have missed when you simply 'attend' a meeting.

Kim and Jim have attended probably thousands of meetings, and over the last 30 plus years, have seen everything that can go wrong, go wrong, and what those who make good plans did to fix it. They've seen lots of meetings run as smooth as glass. Plus, Kim has served as President of both the Connecticut and Ohio State Beekeepers, Chairman of EAS, and President of the Medina Beekeepers. He has the experience of dealing with literally hundreds of planners, speakers, room organizers and all the rest. If planning meetings is, or might be in your future, listen in to this wealth of information.

Take notes from the transcript below, as you will want to make sure your meeting runs smoothly, by taking into consideration their suggestions!

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Finding Bee Yards (070) Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

What are the important considerations for finding a new bee yard? There are a whole lot of right answers to this question and Kim and Jim explore almost all of them. For starters, year-round access, locked gates, dangerous animals, safety, and liability (yours and the property owner)?

There are many questions you should ask.

The answers, of course, are going to be all over the map (sorry) and you will need to know (and probably have in writing) the answers to all of them. Plus, talk to as many beekeepers as you can find that have outyards and find out what, if any troubles they had, so you can be prepared before you move your bees. Be careful, be safe and behave when it comes to moving bees, setting bees on other property, and getting to and from your new beeyard.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Supplemental Spring Feeding of Honey Bees (069) Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

If your colonies make it through the winter, or if you simply purchased more bees as a package or nuc, their next challenge is making it through the changeable spring weather. (Especially this year, it seems.) Your management challenge is deciding what and how to feed them. In this episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott discuss supplemental spring feeding.

Specifically, they discuss the feeding of carbohydrates or sugar water. (The supplemental feeding of protein (pollen) will be covered in a future episode.) So how do you feed a sugar syrup? Use a Boardman entrance feeder? A hive top feeder? Division board feeder? Jim and Jeff (who is sitting in this week for Kim) discuss their experiences and pro's and con's of multiple types of feeders.

Is there a preferred ratio for mixing water to sugar? Is tap water OK? What about additives?

What about ditching sugar solutions and going with fondant?

Decisions, decisions...

What is your preferred way of feeding in the springtime before the flowers are in full bloom? Let us know in the comments section of this episode! Start a discussion.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

Checkout this VideoMoment on hive top feeders from Jim Tew: https://youtu.be/CfKiHnmbzCU

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Adding Package Bees to Deadout Equipment (068) Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

This 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 problem? Can you reuse old brood comb? What about diseases or pesticides or old pupae casings?

Jim's answers may surprise you.

Did you buy packages or nucs this year? How many? How did you hive them? Did you use new or old equipment? Let us know in the comments section of this episode! Start a discussion.

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

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