Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

How does a beekeeper deal with the seasonal population shifts, weather and resulting needs of the honey bees in their care. How does a beekeeper balance the needs of the colony with the needs of the beekeeper? The middle of that Venn Diagram is a very small slice of common interests. Mostly, the bees and the beekeeper are at odds of what that intersection should include. In today's episode, Kim and Jim examine this conundrum of needs and expectations - the balance-point of which changes constantly, based a multitude of seasonal variables. Listen in as Kim and Jim sort of the details to find an approach that has worked for them. What works for you? Let them know! ______________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Listeners, Kim and Jim are busy in the bee yard this week and have chosen this episode from the archive, for your listening pleasure. Thank you for listening! It's been hot in Ohio so far this summer (and a lot of other places too) but it's also been wet. Hot and wet can make keeping bees a lot harder than normal. Kim and Jim talk about hot summers and their bees. Kick the air conditioner down a couple of degrees, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage and listen in. Jim is visiting up in Michigan this week, and it's been hot there, too. They share the same loss of enthusiasm and eagerness for working bees when it's hot and it seems the bees are crankier than usual. Is that normal? There are lots of bees bearding on the front of the hives… The 'personality' changes in the bee yards every summer, hot or not. Up to the middle of June of so, the bees don't even notice a beekeeper, but then that changes and the bees give all manner of trouble each visit visits. What's going on? Dearth, robbing, what ever it is it lasts until at least early October, when they quite down again. Shade helps. Get them in afternoon shade if you can. It's a lot easier on the bees, and even more so for the beekeeper. What about water? You have to make sure there's always water available in your yard. Keep your bees out of your neighbor's pools and pet dishes, so they stay out of trouble. Hot summers and honey bees. Turn that air conditioner down a couple more degrees, will you please? Watch the Honey Bee Obscura VideoMoment for this episode here: https://youtu.be/IWr7Bj0EUQs ______________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Summer is in full force in most of the country now. Nectar flows are on and the honey is starting to ripen in the supers. It is the time of year beekeepers have been planning for all winter long! Summer is pretty nice now, isn't it? Eventually, every location will experience a drought (especially with all the extreme weather events experienced by all parts of the country, and world). What do honey bees do during these periods of drought? What can a beekeeper do to lessen the stress on their colonies during this these times? On today's episode, Kim returns to talk with Jim about providing watering alternatives for honey bees. What do you do? What works for you and what does not? Let Kim and Jim know! Listen today! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

All beekeepers must one day, cross a threshold: dealing with bee stings. For some, it is a small, hardly seen threshold. For others, it is a major challenge that takes time to overcome. On today's episode Jim and Jeff Ott talk about learning to overcome the fear (though, not the pain) of a honey bee sting, or two... or 10. Jeff from Beekeeping Today Podcast, joins Jim to talk about the Learning to deal with stings. Was learning to deal with stings a challenge for you? If so, or even if not, let us know how you over came the fear and what you do to minimize the risks of being stung. Listen today! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Replacing a seemingly good queen can be a difficult decision to make. If her brood pattern is good, the colony temperment is nice, they've produced a good crop... and the only fault against her is that she is last year's queen... should you replace her with a queen raised this year?! There are many considerations to factor in. Your goals as a beekeeper, the time of year, is she with an established colony or perhaps from a swarm? It can be difficult to make that call to seek her out, pull her and crush her. Then... if you do replace her... do you buy a new queen or have the colony raise their own? How soon do you introduce a new queen? How do you know if the colony will accept her?! On today's podcast, Jim invites Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast, to talk about the Replacing the Queen. __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

If you've been a beekeeper for any length of time and especially, after your first year in your own bee yard, you've seen a swarm, looked away to pick up something - maybe your camera, turn around and they're gone! Just like that. Swarms are simply amzing and awe inspriring. We marvel at their role as pollinators, essential custodians of the delicate balance that sustains our ecosystems, sometime inspite of our own destruction of that same environment. Passing swarms are a testament to the marvels of nature, and the interconnectedness of our own lives with the natural world. Sometimes we know where they came from, many times not. Often, all too often, they are gone way to quickly... leaving us to ponder the lives of bees and wishing them well on their journey and their new home. On today's podcast, Jim invites Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast, to talk about the Vanishing Swarm. How was your swarming season. Let us know! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Anyone who's moved more than one hive, more than once in a season has considered... a simpler way of getting the job done. We've all see photos and videos of beekeepers moving around an orchard of some sort, using BobCats or other type of all terrain forklift, loading and unloading pallets of bees. Cool... but that's not practical for most beekeepers or those who need to move anthing less than... 400 colonies. On today's episode, Jim invites Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast, to the show to talk about trailers and their use in beekeeping. What works and what doesn't? What do you need to consider when using a trailer. What kind of trailer works best. Do you use a trailer in your bee operation? If so, what kind of trailer do you have? Have you modified it? Send us your bee trailer and we will add it to the show notes, so other beekeepers can learn see! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC Some Bee Trailers we've seen!

If you've been keeping bees for a bit, you probably already have a couple of stories about that "one time in a beeyard", or honey house, or somewhere that gave a whole new meaning to the word "sting". Teaching a beginner's class is absolutely the best time to make sure your students know as much as possible when it comes to getting stung: The best protective gear to wear, when to wear it, and including how to act around colonies so you don't upset them. All of these should probably be repeated time and time again BEFORE the first time your beginners enter a hive. Jim and Kim have a couple of stories about their memorable stings. Faulty gear, no gear, unexpectedly dealing with a colony or swarm… all can and did, leave them with stinging stories. Of course, part of this is that a brand-new beekeeper needs to know about bee sting allergies. They need to know the symptoms of a dangerous reaction; What to do if they have an allergic reaction, what NOT to do, and what to do RIGHT NOW to avoid a really bad day in the Emergency Room. Memorable stings. All of us have one… or five. Listen today so you can learn from Kim and Jim's mistakes! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

A lot of times, when somebody asks us a bee question, the best answer we can give them is, "It Depends." In today's episode, Kim and Jim explore the topic of Swarms. Where did it come from? Where do you put it? What do you do with the queen? Should you feed them? As they explore how to manage this newly caught swarm, they realize there are no definitive answers, as there are so many answers based upon the circumstances and the beekeeper's goals. It just depends. Listen today, and let them know how you'd manage the swarm! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

On today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss all the pros and cons about marking queens. Lots of questions come up when you mention marking queens. For most of us it's a no brainer. "Look, there's that yellow spot, there's the queen!" MARKING HER MAKES FINDING HER EASY, RIGHT? Yes, but how does that yellow spot get there? Mostly, or at least often we just buy them marked so we don't have to do it ourselves. Actually marking a queen can be a stressful moment in her life, and yours. How do you pick her up? How do you hold her? What paint do you use? What kind of brush or pen do you use? What about those contraptions that hold the queen for you? What if you get paint on her eyes? What happens if she escapes and flys away? And isn't there some law or rule about what color you use this year as opposed to last year or next? A marked queen makes keeping that colony happy, healthy, wealthy and wise is such a good idea. So this year, learn how. Here's a trick. Practice on a couple hundred drones before you mark your first queen. You'll be glad you did. What do you think? Add your thoughts to the comments below! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Depending on where you live, spring chores were over a couple of months ago, or you'll be finishing them up about the time you check this podcast out, so we'll keep it short, sweet and important. You can make a quick list with a couple of questions. Is there enough food? When was the last time you checked for mites? Do you need to treat? How old is the comb? Is it time to replace it? Do your bees have enough room to grow? Have you reversed brood boxes? Finally, just how old is that queen. Is it time to replace her before the summer nectar flows. There's more of course. Listen today and see what Jim and Kim are up to when it comes to spring chores. What do you think? Add your thoughts to the comments below! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Are you a club president or in charge of planning meetings for your beekeeping organization? They always go well, don't they? No... of course not. They don't. What do you do when they don't? In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss their most memoriable meetings where anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. What did they do in that situation? How did they adapt planning for future meetings? Listen today to hear how they met the challenge. How would you do things differently? How can you change your plans to accommondate a similar situation. What do you think? Add your thoughts to the comments below! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Jim got a call from a listener who had a question. She wrote, "I went out to my bees early this week, and in front of the hive and on the landing board I saw partially eaten larvae, larva skins and a mess, all over. What could cause that to happen?" Today, Kim and Jim discuss they reason why adult bees eat the larvae. There has been some research on that subject but not much. Is it the lack of protein between pollen flows? Hygienic behavior, including the disposal of infected or varroa infested larva? Robbers eating larva as well as stealing honey? Listen today and see if there are more reasons our Florida listener found partially eaten and completely eaten larvae in front of her hives in the first week of spring. What do you think? Add your thoughts to the comments below! __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It seems that pollen flows just don't get the respect that a good honey flow does, do they? And you've got to wonder why? In today's episode, Kim and Jim take a kind of long look at pollen flows, trying to figure out how to tell there's a pollen flow going on in the first place. It's easy to see when a honey flow is going strong, but is a pollen flow? Bees don't store much pollen compared to honey, and the way it's stored it's kind of hard to tell if it's pollen, or bee bread, or honey. Find out what you should know about pollen flows and your bees. Without the pollen flows you have, you won't have the bees you have. __________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

So, you take a quick look at that top box this spring, and it's pretty much empty and you don't need the room for a bit, so remove the box. Then you take a look at the frames, to see what can be done with them, or, what should be done with them. What you do, of course, it depends on the type of frames you have. Wooden frame, beeswax foundation, wooden frame, plastic foundation, all plastic frame and foundation in one piece. In today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss changing out old frames: Why you should do it and the decisions you must make along the way. ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

You've spent lots of money on your woodenware and you want it to look good, last many years, and be safe for your the honey bees and the environment. What are your options? In today's episode, Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) joins Jim Tew to discuss the topic of what to paint your hive with before your bees arrive. You have many options: latex, enamel, stain, beeswax and resin... or nothing at all. Jim and Jeff discuss these and share their experiences and preferences. What do you do? How do you protect your investment in woodenware? Listen today and compare your answer to ours! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It's early March, bees are flying every few days, early maples are blooming. Are you asking yourself, "Are my bees ready for the nectar flow?" On today's episode, Kim and Jim look at what's going on in their hives now that spring is starting to get serious. What should the colony be doing, what should you be seeing, and just for giggles, what should you be doing to stay a half step ahead of the bees? One thing for sure is that you've got to take a look inside the hive. While we're at it, how is your mite control? Assuming that you have them under control, is there space in the hive for bees to place nectar to dry? Is there space to store capped honey? Where is the brood nest? If you do need room for nectar and honey, where do you put that empty super? Just above the brood box, or way up on top? These are the questions Jim and Kim toss around today. Are you ready for the spring nectar flow? ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

The more colonies you have, the more you will notice differences between them throughout the year. On today's episode, Kim and Jim talk about what do you do when you open one of your colonies and it seems 'smaller' than the other colonies around it. Is it something that should concern you? What do you look at first? Pests? Pesticides? Failing queen? Inadequate food supplies? Do you try to fix it? Listen in as Kim and Jim discuss this sometimes perplexing topic that pesters all beekeepers, one time or another! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

There's lots of places you can keep bees that aren't the typical backyard. Today Kim and Jim take a look at a couple of these places. The first is in an unused single car garage. The hive boxes sit on a bench inside the garage for easy access and he doesn't need a cover, just a board over the top. These bees can be worked any time of day or in any weather and he uses a lot less smoke when working them. Another placed discussed is up on the roof. There are some special concerns here you need to be aware of. Listen today as Kim and Jim discuss Atypical Bee Yards. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It happens to most beekeepers are one point, where you have to find someplace else to keep your bees. A new, different beeyard. Where do you start? Whether you have too many in your backyard and need to put more someplace else, or the world changed and you can't keep them in your backyard any more, you need to find that place. First off, what does a beeyard need to have to work for you? Access, definitely - year-round access. Gates, overflowing streams, unplowed roads, vandals, bear, cattle, and more – all pose potential problems. First, check with your local club members or, drive around. Find a spot that meets all the requirements and find the land owner. Now how many hives can you keep there? Are there limitations on when you can visit them? Can the landowner notify you if they spot a problem with pests or people and let you know? Having to find a beeyard may never happen, but if it does, know what to look for, what problems can arise and make sure your bees (and you) stay safe. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

There are a lot of good reasons to start a new colony in your beeyard using a nucleus (nuc) colony, consisting of a mated queen, brood and drawn comb rather than buying a package of bees. But there are some issues to pay particular attention to also. How old is the queen? How much of all kinds of brood are already there? What condition is the beeswax comb in? Does it come in it's own box, what about frame exchange and how are you going to get it home? If you're just starting out it really pays to have an experienced beekeeper with you when you go and get the nuc to ask the right questions and if possible evaluate what's inside. Check out how Jim and Kim handle these issues, and point out the how's and why's of Starting with a Nucleus Colony this spring. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It's going to be 50 degrees tomorrow. Kim and Jim are going to have to check their bees for the first time this very early spring. So what do they do, how do they examine a colony this time of year way up north? The beekeepers in the warmer parts of the country are already adding supers, there's pollen coming in and the year has begun, but for those of us up north, there's still a month of winter left. But this 50 degree day is a bonus and we can get in early, check for food, see if the bees are close to food, clean off the bottom board and determine if the weak colonies can be saved. It's going to be 50 degrees tomorrow. Time to get to work. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

The queens that come with packages today seem to be different that those we could get five or ten years ago and we think that points to some changes need to be made regarding a simple concept – Patience. It would appear that it's taking a bit longer for the worker bees in the package to become accustomed to this new queen, and patience in every aspect of introducing them in their new home is a good idea. There are many possible reasons for this… the environment in the colony she was living in has changed, the colony she is being moved to isn't the same and the presence of the many viruses that bees may have is having an influence. In a word, patience for this is a very good thing. Listen in as Jim and Kim explore these changes, and what you can do to reduce the chance of failure in getting her up and running. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

This is the time of year to think seriously about the queens you have in your colonies, or the queens you had in your colonies last season. If replacement is on the table, what should you be looking for? The simple and probably best answer is… a good queen. But what makes a good queen? Population production, mite resistance, gentle, the right color, honey production? All have some level of importance and it depends more on the beekeeper than what the books say, mostly, usually. It's even more important when bees put food on your table. Kim and Jim talk about these attributes in queens, how to measure how much of each is present in the colonies. There's a lot about queens in this session. Listen closely. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

American Foulbrood is in the news lately… and for a good, positive reason. But what does it mean if you determine or a state apiarist determines you have a case or two or more of AFB in your bee yard? A vaccine is not a cure. It is a means for prevention. In today's episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff Ott on to talk about American Foulbood, the stigma attached to AFB and the go-to recommendation of burning all contaminated equipment, bees and wax is not one you want associated with your operation. Not withstanding the recent news, AFB has dropped from the attention of today's beekeepers - replaced by the devastation and losses caused by Varroa. But before varroa, there was American Foulbrood. It is likely many new beekeepers today have never seen AFB and would not recognize it, attributing a colony's demise to Varroa. To complicate and obscure things even greater, a colony today with AFB will inevitably have Varroa. Ignoring American Foulbrood is mistake that has deadly consequences. This is one disease you need to continually monitor for, especially in your weak and dead colonies. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It's the beginning of a new year and Jim and Kim are thinking about New Year's Resolutions. Almost everybody makes a few Resolutions every January – even beekeepers, but many times resolutions are made and never achieved. Kim wants to do better with the bees this season, take better care of the garden, and read a bee book a month this year. Jim also wants to do better with his bees, run fewer colonies, and be better at responding to email he gets from podcast listeners and readers of his journal articles. On today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss what you can do to actually hit your New Year's resolutions and fulfill your beekeeping goals this season. How are your resolutions for this year? We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2023 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

What would you do if you received a call from a neighbor saying that your bee equipment was scattered across multiple yards? What would be YOUR first thought? In today's episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff Ott to the show to talk about bears in the bee yard and how, no matter what… it is always a surprise - especially when your bees are in an area where there are "no bears". When encountering bears, this saying may come to mind, as you climb out of your vehicle: "If it's black, fight back. When it's brown, lay down, when it's white, say good night'. Have you encountered bears in your bee yard? Lost equipment? If so, Jim would like to hear from you! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Not a lot of people start keeping bees without some outside influence. A relative, neighbor, college class, or getting a job in bees. Jim started out with a college class, to fill electives. Kim got a job working for the USDA because he could grow the plants they needed for bees to visit for a pollination study on soybeans. So how did you get started? A family hobby or business? A neighbor who invited you in? An interest in plants and pollination? Perhaps gardening? Almost every beekeeper has their own story to tell and every one of them is a good story to listen to. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Knowing what you did or saw, added or removed from a colony is useful. Whether that happened earlier in the day or the prior season. Keeping track of what, how why and when you did something in the bee yard, for a specific colony will help keep you from making repeated mistakes. Historical information will help you fine tune your honey bee management. On today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss record keeping. No matter what means you employ to keep those records: hive top, inner cover, notebook(s), computers - or the recording tool used, brick position, pencil, magic marker, cell phone, tablet or spreadsheet... there are some basics you need to capture. Then... you must actually refer the information you've captured to make this entire exercise useful! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

What beekeeper hasn't nailed together a hive body and thought, "Heck, I can cut these boards myself and it'd be cheaper!" Especially if they already have a wood shop with a table saw and a few other tools. But is it really? What are the pros and cons of building your own equipment? Why should you even try? On today's episode, Jim Tew invites Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today podcast to the show to talk about building your own beekeeping equipment. They both have done it. Are they doing it still? We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It's winter time and sure as the sky is blue (or grey – as the case may be), there will be many dead colonies out there next spring. If not in as early as in the few weeks. Winter kills in the US are running something like 40+% right now. A winter killed colony is a time, financial and frustrating thief of bees and honey and equipment. In today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss Winter Die-Offs and how to inspect the colony remains to determine what may have gone wrong. By finding out what went wrong and why, you can make plans on what to do next year so you have live colonies, move money, more honey, lots and lots of bees, and bragging rights for getting all your colonies through next winter. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

On today's show, Kim and Jim discuss the most common 'complaint' a beekeeper who sells honey encounters. This is true whether you are selling from the back of your truck, at a roadside stand or even a local farmer's market. What do you tell your customer who brings you or asks you about granulated honey in the jar? How you answer this may make the difference between a lifelong customer or someone who never buys honey again. How one addresses this is as varied as there are people who eat honey. From stove tops, to microwave ovens (don't do it), to electric blankets and even sawing the plastic bear in half (don't do this either…). Kim and Jim discuss it all. They're not talking about five gallon buckets or barrels of honey, but consumer's plastic bears, mason and queenlike jars. What is the best message for your customers so they don't needlessly throw away good honey? Listen in to the discussion. What do you you tell your customers? Let them know in the comments below! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Honey Bee Obscura celebrates its 100th episode with this release! Jim Tew and Kim Flottum invite, Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff Ott to join them to take a look at 5,000 years of beekeeping history, sorting out some of the highlights, discoveries, and mistakes, along with some of the people behind it all. Come along as we go from bees in trees, skeps, boles, boxes, hives, back to boxes and finally, back to trees. There's lots to learn and lots to entertain. All in 24 minutes! We hope you enjoy the trip. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Winter tends to have a bit more time inside than outside and one way to spend that time inside is to catch up on your reading. Jim and Kim talk a bit about the books they read, the authors and publishers they like and where they get the books they read all winter. Along with the new books, they have their preferred "old standby" books they rely on for information on a particular topic to see how management approaches have evolved (or not) over the years. Beekeeping has evolved over the years and they like to compare then with now. How do you look for a find a new bee book for your winter? Today, you have to consider how you like to read, because just as beekeeping is evolving, book formats are also evolving. Your choice is not only hardcover and all paper, it now includes electronic formats for reading on an iPad/tablet or audible for listening. Finally, how do you actually evaluate a book before your read it? Start with the author. Are they known or unknown? How about the publisher? Do they publish lots of books on the subject or is this the first one? And finally, what about the quality of the information in the book? Is it in line with standard beekeeping or is it a novel way of approaching a problem or idea. You can also check the ratings of the book online. No matter what, spend some time reading this winter. It will do you and your bees some good. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Why on earth would honey bee foragers go out on a freezing day in winter to collect water? Ice and snow everywhere, but there they are, trying to get a drink and bring some home for their sisters. Why? Kim and Jim explore some of the reasons why. They explore the uses of water by winter bees and where they collect it. Kim and Jim also explore aspects of ventilation, or lack thereof, in the winter. Should a beehive have lots, some or none? Industry experts continue to research. Is too much water in winter a bad thing? If there's no ventilation, what happens to all the moisture laden air in the hive? Lots and lots of questions, maybe some answers. Listen in and see. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Without a doubt, some of the most peaceful places on Earth are bee yards. Tranquil, serene and quiet with only the soft hum of the bees fanning the air through their hives floating on top the silence… Peaceful, except when it is not. Have you ever worked in a distant bee yard, late at night, away from home, cell service, friends, and family? What did you hear? See anything… strange? Did anything go "bump" in the night? How'd it all go for you? On today's episode Jim and guest co-host, Jeff Ott, sit in the Honey Bee Obscura bee yard and talk about scary moments working bees. Jim has had several… moments, to share. What would you do? What did you do? They're not certain if telling scary stories, long after dark in a bee yard is the best idea they've ever had, but since it IS the season, they invite you to join them… If you dare. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

When you've been keeping bees for decades, sometimes you do things because that's the way you've always done them, right? But the world continues to change. It has to keep up with whatever is going on wherever it's happening. And because the world is changing, every minute of every day, doing the "same ole same ole" just because that's what you've always done isn't for maybe isn't the best choice. Beehive insulation is one of those things that maybe bees need, or don't. And what about insulation for a summer hive? If they need insulation in the winter to keep warmer, why don't they need insulation in the summer to help stay cool? If you are going to insulate, what do you use? How much, and when do you apply it? And if you aren't going to insulate, do you do anything to make winter better for the bees inside? Cool and damp may be the way to go say some honey bee researchers. Warm and dry say others. If you are losing bees each winter, you've got to change what you are doing and when you are doing it to give your bees a chance to make it to next spring. Food, water, ventilation, insulation, varroa control. All are important in a changing world, and in a changing beehive. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Does your state Agriculture Department have a bulletin they share with everybody on the phenology, or bloom dates, of the wild flowers, trees and shrubs that grow in your state? Today Kim and Jim discuss the chart used by Ohio beekeepers. Ohio's chart shows what is blooming each month, the adult and larvae bee population in a hive, and what beekeepers should be doing relative to space management in their hives. It's a great tool to have for beekeepers in your state so they can know ahead of time what they should expect relative to bloom and room in a hive. A phenology chart is a good guide, but bloom dates are affected by temperature, moisture and photo period. Knowing that, a beekeepers should be keeping track of the microenvironment his or her hives are located to see if the chart is accurate where they are. A phenology chart is a good tool to help guide your management plan. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Beekeepers have a love/hate relationship with their smokers. Beekeeper families don't have split emotions… they tend HATE smokers and their lingering 'perfume'. How beekeepers manage their smokers impacts more than their bees. In today's episode, Kim and Jim talk about smokers. Arguably more so than a veil, the quintessential identifier of a beekeeper is a smoker. It is in the hand of every trope, every caricature of a beekeeper. In fact it is so emblematic, you can go into many antique shops and pay as much or more for an old, rotten, rusted smoker than you can buy a new one, made of stainless steel! How do you manage your smoker when you are in the bee yard? Do you just keep it on the top of a hive? Or do you keep it in its own box to prevent accidental fires in the bee yard or while in transport to and from? What is your favorite smoker fuel? Kim and Jim have seen it all. Listen today. They are not just blowing smoke We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Jim has pails of crystalized honey, but only wants enough liquid honey for his oatmeal this morning. How does he get that to work? Kim has a lot of good ideas. There are pail blankets, band heaters, boxes and more to warm a pail to liquid honey on the market, including our sponsor, Betterbee. Kim's his friend Buzz, who made a warming box out of foam insulation, a lightbulb and a couple nails to hold it together. Cheap, easy, and it works. This is the time of year that liquifying honey comes home. And as always, there is the opportunity for too much heat and spoiled honey, or even fire. Listen today for some good ideas on how to get enough liquid honey for your oatmeal tomorrow. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

One of the first pieces of equipment a new beekeeper buys is a bee suit. If they don't buy a bee suit, they will at least buy a veil. Stings on the face are not only painful (and memorable to all who see it), they can be dangerous if it is directly to one's eye or around the eyes. In today's episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast, talk about the different types of protective clothing available to beekeepers today. New beekeepers should at the very least, start with a veil. Even though there may be times in the future when you feel safe opening a colony without a veil, when you are starting out, you will want a veil. Most bee supply companies sell a variety of veils from which you can select. Often beekeepers like to purchase a veil that is integrated with a light jacket. Not only does this provide an additional layer or protection to your upper body but also keeps the grime, dirt and stickiness from your shirt. Every beekeeper has at least one full bee suit - basically a coverall with an attached veil or coveralls to which you can add your own hat and veil. This is especially desirable when there is a need to inspect multiple hives, move colonies and especially when moving colonies at night. Finally, a set of dedicated bee-gloves are desired for that occasional, especially defensive hive or when moving colonies when gentle, delicate movements just are not feasible. Now you are set. Go enjoy your bees! Thank you for listening. Let us know what you like! Also, make sure to check out all the great bee suits and protective clothing available from our sponsor, Betterbee! We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Moving boxes full of honey is usually a lot of work. The bees aren't happy, the boxes are heavy, it's hot and you have all your gear on to be safe. The one sure way to make this easier is to use devices that have wheels. Two-wheelers, carts, your truck, all make moving boxes of honey less work. Once the supers are off and the bees out, you need to get them to your honey house, whether it's a garage for storage until extraction, your kitchen (for probably the last time) or an specially built honey house. And once they get there, you have to keep the bees out, the mice out and the dust out. Honey is a food, and you have to make sure it stays clean enough to feed to your family. Kim and Jim have figured out how to do this and share some adventures, some mistakes and some good advice how to keep your honey clean, bee free, extracted and get it ready to sell. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Harvesting your honey crop isn't about keeping bees, in fact, it is hard work. It's when you start questioning your spring decision to expand your number of colonies. On the other hand, it's a good measure of how well you kept bees during the season. And there are a lot of ways to convince the bees they should share what they have made this season, mostly due to your stewardship. Removing well capped, honey filled frames can be complicated but easy, or uncomplicated and a lot of work. The uncomplicated techniques only require a bee brush, hive tool and a container that you can store your now bee-free frames. You start by removing a frame, brush the bees back into the hive body and place the frame in a container that the bees can't enter. Or, you can use bee escapes, fume boards or and of the blowers out there to accomplish the same thing. The trick is to take the supers of honey back to your extraction area with as few bees as possible or none, if you're good. Today Jim and Kim explore all the ways you can make this work for you, and, of course, all the things that can go wrong. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

So, what's that thing you put between two supers to give additional space between top bars below and bottom bars above so there's room for…something you want to add to the hive. Is it a spacer, a rim, or what? Kim has always called it a 'rim' and thought he had one until this week. Because it's getting time to think about winter feeding, and he always used a rim to make room for the pollen patties he feeds, couldn't find it. He looked in a few catalogs, but could not find them listed. Jim simply calls it a 'feeding rim', not just a 'rim' and you can find those, he says. In fact, they are easily made! So what else are rims, or spacers used for in a beehive? Turns out there are lots of uses with just minor tweaks here and there! Listen today to learn what Jim and Kim find out about something as simple as a rim or feeding rim or spacer. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, All We Know by Midway Music, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Post-harvest time is a good time to look for wax moth in your colonies. Believe it or not, wax moths are around pretty much all of the time. On today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss wax moths! Strong colonies keep them pretty much under control, but weak colonies sometimes can't keep up and soon they'll have more wax moth larvae than honey bees. Stored equipment is another challenge. Some beekeepers will freeze supers after harvest to kill any moth larvae before storing them away for the winter. If you have unheated winter storage you can pretty much avoid problems – if it gets below freezing before the wax moths take over. But if you have mild winters, you need to stack your supers so they get fresh air and light all the time. Fresh air and light are a moth's worst enemies, so keep your combs exposed. There are control products you can consider and use, too. Moths can be beneficial. They can quickly clean up old comb for you! Plus, the larvae are great fish bait! Wax moths are a natural part of the bee ecosystem. Learning how to work with them is a part of beekeeping. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Towards the end of the season, it's a good idea to take a look at the equipment and other management tricks you've been using all summer while it's still fresh in your mind. Today, Jim and Kim talk about how well the veils they use worked this summer, and the bee suits they occasionally wear (did you know a good way to wash a smokey, propolis covered bee suit is to use a pressure sprayer?) and is that old smoker good for another year, or not? There's a lot to consider… How's your location working out? What about neighbors? Have they complained about your bees? Swimming pools got used a lot this year, and were your bees in the way? Have you experienced animal pests? Mice, bear, racoons, skunks… are any or all of them giving your bees a problem? Will moving somewhere else help solve that? Now's the time to think about all this while it's still fresh in your mind. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Have you ever thought much about the hive stands you use? On today's episode, Jim and Kim take a long look at the hive stands they use and why they favor them. They also look at a lot of other choices available to beekeepers – all based upon personal preferences, terrain, individual strength and even weather! Are some better than others? Absolutely! Are some expensive, while others free? Absolutely! Do you get what you pay for? Most of the time. Your hive stand can tall a lot about how you keep bees, you know. Old, sloppy, ugly, uneven and too crowded is one extreme (We're talking stands here, not beekeepers). At the other end of the spectrum is, new, painted, just the right height, and perfectly level with enough room to work bees with ease. How do your hive stands look? Learn more about hive stands right here, with Kim and Jim. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

How much honey do you leave for the bees this winter? Like lots of things in beekeeping, it depends. Since "all beekeeping is local", it is good to start in your own backyard. Do you live in the south? Midwest? North? Far north? When are you pulling your honey? In August? Or November? Do you typically have a fall nectar flow? Is it strong or just… meh. If you don't know, check with another beekeeper. They can give you added insight to the local conditions. (This is yet another time knowing an experienced local beekeeper comes in handy. Join a local club! – ed.) Even if you have an idea of HOW many pounds of honey you should leave, you need to determine how much your colony has in surplus of what they will need to get them through fall and winter to spring. How do you do this? If you have your colony sitting on a scale, you have a good idea – regardless of the size of equipment. But if you don't, you need to get some form of estimate. Can you 'heft' the hive like the old books suggest? Does that work for all beekeepers? What about counting honey supers and brood boxes. Whether you are counting deeps or mediums, you can estimate, based on the 'typical' weight of a super or deep and the number of frames you run. Kim and Jim work through all your options in this episode and provide insightful direction that should help you leave enough honey on your bees, regardless where you live. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

It's hot out there and it looks like it isn't going to cool off for most of us for awhile. Also, since mite treatments should be starting now, getting honey off in the heat is the rule of the day. So how do you stay cool when it's hot out there? Well, Kim and Jim take a good long look at how to stay cool and what happens if you overdo in the heat. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

If you have a colony of honey bees, chances are, at some point, some year, that colony will become queenless. If you do not realize it and the bees are unsuccessful at re-queening themselves, there is a pretty good chance, your colony will end up with laying workers. In this episode, Jim and visiting cohost, Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast, talk about laying workers. How can you tell if you have laying workers? The first sign many beekeepers recognize is the appearance of multiple eggs in a single cell. Not only are there multiple eggs, but they are not centered in the bottom of the cell, and haphazardly laid. There are other signs too, that are discussed in this episode. Also discussed are the options you can take as a beekeeper and what you can expect for the future of that colony. Laying workers is a tough management challenge for a beekeeper with no easy solution. Listen today as we discuss the problem and the management approaches you can consider. Watch a special Honey Bee Obscura VideoMoment on YouTube about Laying Workers, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0QWZ2Ob3tM We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please follow or subscribe today and leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you! ___________________ 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 ______________________ 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 Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC