Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

Swarm season is fun and exhilarating. Much has been written about swarms. They've been studied, photographed, pursued and just… watched. But what does the beekeeper do with the parent colony the next day? What do they do with the swarm after they've caught it and put it in a box? In today's episode Jim and Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) talk about… what should you do, After The Swarm? Listen as Jim and Jeff talk about the post swarm queen. Which queen? Both! Either the new queen in the parent hive or the old queen in the new swarm. If you are wanting the colony to make honey or even make it through the next winter, those considerations must start now. You have some time to think about it, but not weeks or months. It's an interesting discussion and one you don't often hear. 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

On today's episode, Kim and Jim talks about what it takes to be a mentor to another beekeeper, and therefore what you can look for in a good mentor. As a mentor, you have to develop good communication between you and your mentee. That means communication both ways – them to you, you to them. Establish guidelines for times, locations, and other requirements that you both respect. Go into the relationship knowing that constructive criticism is necessary. Not only for mistakes, but for chances to learn something new they didn't see, or know about. Understand that not all students learn at the same speed. Some will get it right the first time, some – will take a few more tries. Be prepared to let your mentee make decisions, and then, follow through on those decisions to see if they were good, bad or ugly. Discuss afterwards what worked and what did not. Then… why. Use that experience, good and bad to help them grow as beekeepers. Everyone has mentors or should! 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

On today's episode, Jim and Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast), discuss the value and use of the 'love it or hate it" piece of equipment, the Queen Excluder. Queen excluders are included in almost every "Honey Producer Starter Package", but why and how are they used? Jim and Jeff discuss the multiple uses of a queen excluders (Did you know they will also exclude drones? Or that you can use one to help while uncapping frames of honey? Of course you did!) They discuss the types of queen excluders and why wood bound excluders are likely preferred by the bees. When it is time pull honey, excluders make the process much faster, as the beekeeper can simply pull the honey supers above the excluder, blow out the bees and take them home to extract. Some beekeepers don't like them and call them "honey excluders". Is this name justified? Or is it a management issue that can be addressed? But yes, many beekeepers produce honey successfully without ever touching a queen excluder. Listen today as Jim and Jeff talk about the use of queen excluders. Afterwards, head over to the Honey Bee Obscura YouTube Channel to watch a special VideoMoment 'Queen Excluders - Love Them or Hate Them… or don't care. You can find different types and forms of queen excluders on our sponsor's website: https://www.betterbee.com 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

After you get through the winter, spring buildup, swarming season and the ever present varroa, you can sit back and smell the flowers, right? You're a beekeeper! There is no time to rest! Jim has a question for you… "Where are your bees getting the water they need?" On today's episode, Jim and Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) talk about where your bees are likely to find the water they need. If you are miles from your nearest neighbor, then you only need to consider whether or not there is water available for your bees in the driest time of the year. If you are located in a suburban, urban area, then you may not need to worry whether or not your bees have enough water. Your concern should shift to where your bees are finding their water. Jim's bees are usually at his neighbor's bird bath. It doesn't take much water for a honey bee to find it. Even a single drip from a hose bib can attract a bee or two. How do they find that?! Have you ever seen a collection of honey bees at the edge of a bag of damp potting soil? At the edge a silage or manurer runoff? Are they collecting water or are they collecting minerals? Interesting question. Listen today as Jim and Jeff talk about water for your bees. Afterwards, head over to the Honey Bee Obscura YouTube Channel to watch a special VideoMoment on Honey Bees and Water. 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

Pretty much every beekeeper, at one time or another, ends up with a queen that's not doing what they think she should be doing or - not doing what all the rest of your queens are doing. So, what is happening and can you do anything to get her going? Marginal queens are tough to identify. There is one easy fix: You just replace her. That said, how long do you wait to make a decision? Wait! Perhaps it is not the queen that's marginal. Maybe something else going on. Once you figure that out, when do you fix it? Or just let it go until you can combine it with a better colony? Maybe that will just spread a problem. Marginal queens are a conundrum and the answer lies somewhere between your goals, the time of year and ultimately, Mother Nature and what she thinks should happen. 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! 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 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! ___________________ 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

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! ___________________ 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

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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 ___________________ 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 Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

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! ___________________ 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

A beekeeper's most exciting moment is undoubtedly, capturing and hiving a swarm... especially when it is someone else's bees! In today episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott - who is filling in for Kim Flottum this week - discuss capturing swarms and how you can be prepared this year. How can you be prepared? Get some basic equipment pulled together. A container of some type (preferably bee-tight), such as a hive body with a frame or two of brood comb foundation, pruning shears, a tarp - white is best for spotting the queen, a bee suite and veil, a large piece of cardboard, a bee-vacuum, a bucket on the end of a long pole, and maybe a ladder. Some beekeepers keep this equipment or subset, loaded up in their car or truck during swarming season. Once you find the swarm and figure out your approach, you can typically shake them into your collector or even vacuum them. Each situation is unique so be prepared for just about anything. If you can, ask bystanders or the caller, how long the bees have been in that location. That will largely determine their disposition. Not all swarms are ready for your YouTube moment, capture in flip-flops, t-shirt and shorts. They can be testy, especially if they've been in one location for three or more days. There is a great satisfaction in bringing home a box of 'free bees', that are all biologically set to establish a new colony. Especially if they are not your bees! What is your favorite swarm story? What is the most memorable location from which you captured a swarm? 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! ___________________ 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

In today's episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott (who's stepping in this week for Kim Flottum) discuss their experiences using swarm traps - sometimes called "bait hives". Swarm traps are used by beekeepers to lure the scout bees looking for a new home. There are multiple types of swarm traps from the commercially available 'flower pot' type traps, to home-made traps to simply setting out old hive bodies with a frame or two of brood comb or foundation. Jim and Jeff talk about what they've used, what'd worked and what hasn't. Lures are a second topic discussed. These are also commercially available, can be home made or even use store bought lemon grass oil. Some would consider the use of old brood comb as a lure! Perhaps one of today's most noted authorities on the natural lives of honey bees is Dr. Tom Seeley. His pamphlet on setting up swarm traps can be on the Cornell website here: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/2653 Do you set up swarm traps? If so, what do you use? How do you set them up? Where? How high above the ground? Let us know in the "leave a comment" section above. Join or start a conversation! 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! ___________________ 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

This week, Beekeeping Today Podcast's co-host, Jeff Ott sits in for Kim Flottum and joins podcast regular, Jim Tew to answer listener questions. Kim and Jim have often discussed the pros and cons of using all medium equipment. Today, Jim and Jeff answer the listener question about how to move from deeps to mediums (or 'western') boxes for the brood boxes. What do you use? What do you like? What don't you like? What is your favorite beekeeping tool not found in a beekeeping catalog or your local bee supply shop? Do you use anything? What is possible? Finally, what use is flour in a bee yard? We'll give you a moment to ponder... Jim and Jeff answer a question involving flour, bees and apiaries. Have you used flour in a bee yard? Listen today and let us know your answer on all these question and submit yours! 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! ___________________ 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

So, what do you do with your old wax? For some of us, as little as possible, but for others, there's money to be made. There are different kinds of wax based on a couple of factors, including how long it was in the hive and how it was used by the bees. Bees wax from the brood area tends to get dark fast, in a couple of years, it's nearly black from old cocoons, pollen, uneaten honey and the like. In fact, after a couple of years those old combs will have enough dirt, grime, propolis and especially ag pesticides soaked up that they should be removed from the hive. But then what? Solar wax melters work, a hot plate and a double-boiler work too. Melt it down, get rid of it. Cappings wax, that beautiful wax removed from honey frames however, is usually beautiful, light, bright and glowing yellow. That should be saved. There's high demand, high value and good money to be made from this wax. What's beeswax worth these days? You can check the journals, and other beekeepers. There is money in turning the wax into candles as well as selling it in bulk to other beekeepers, cosmetic manufactures and even beauticians. In this episode, Kim and Jim talk about how you can mind your bees wax and maybe even make a good dollar or two at the same time! Listen today! 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 and how you deal with bees wax! ___________________ 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

What can you do with all that old beekeeping equipment you don't need, don't want and is in the way most of the time? There are several ways to look at this, and the first way, of course, is to simply trash it, burn it, bury it. That works, but there's maybe a better way. In this week's episode, Kim and Jim discuss how they deal with old equipment! First question to consider: Is it clean? In some states, you'll need an inspector's seal of approval if you're giving it to someone so you don't spread AFB that you didn't know you had. Know if there are regulations to consider. Sell it if it's in good condition and clean, is an option. Maybe not to new beekeepers, but certainly to experienced that know the value of what they are getting. A deep super, in good shape, without frames for $5? I'll take 5! Old frames….2 choices. Sell as is and let the buyer take care of the mess of old wax. Or, melt it down…or, no, get rid of them and the wax, or sell them and the wax. What's an old smoker worth? In an antique store, you can buy a week's groceries with that, whether it works or not. If it works, a good smoker with all the parts for $10? I'll take two. What do you do with old equipment? Let Kim and Jim know by leaving a voicemail on the website or via email! Listen and follow 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, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

In today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss making money with honey bees. Almost every beekeeper has had someone (usually a spouse…) say, "I thought you were going to make money as a beekeeper." Well, it is possible to make money with bees, but you have to put some thought into it. Do you have the time for the extra work required and can you afford to spend less time with your family? Do you have the equipment you'll need to do the things you can do to make money? Do you have the energy? Well, start with the easy stuff – Honey. Almost every beekeeper makes some honey most every year. Not always and actually the bees do the work, but honey is something you can sell. You can extract it yourself or pay somebody else to do it for you? No work, no mess and they get paid in the honey they extracted. Check that out. What about taking bees out of other people's houses? IT can be profitable if you've got the tools, the skills, the insurance, and the time? Beeswax has a thousand uses. You can sell in bulk to other beekeepers, make candles, ornaments, wrap. They all have value. All take time and work. And almost none of this is actually keeping bees. It's about marketing, packaging, and all the rest. But it will make you money. ___________________ 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

A good rule when raising a few queens is to keep it simple. And not having to graft larvae from one cell to another is as simple as could be. So, how can that be done? The Hopkins method is one way, where you simply put a frame with eggs and larvae in a queenless colony and let them do their thing. You even have some controls of the genetics that way, depending on where that frame comes from. Or you can simply do a split, remove the queen from one or both and get out of the way and let them raise a queen in one or both. Commercial queens are expensive, but it costs to control all the variable costs of a big operation, the drones, the labor and all that. Those costs are passed onto you… plus overnight shipping, usually making it a $60 queen. Using non-graft queens, such as in the Hopkins method, you can depend on the bees knowing what they want, probably better than you do. One thing you do have to control is the timing. You want that new queen producing full tilt before winter, so the bees that go into winter are the bees you want next spring. Raising a queens can be fun and having a couple queens available throughout the season is good insurance. Listen today, as Kim and Jim discuss raising non-graft queens! ___________________ 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 early February and it's winter. But winter in northern Ohio is a lot different than winter in the south, where bees are flying, foraging and raising brood. And where it's cold, you can't be doing things with your bees, but you can be doing things for your bees: Getting ready for spring. Food can be a problem right now. How much did you leave last fall? It's tough to look, but if you can get a glimpse inside, how would you feed them if you had to? Fondant works, usually, by cracking a super and sliding it in right next to the cluster. Candy boards might work, but they can be too far away. What about protein? Same way. If you're in the south and you open a colony up, robbing may get started. Not a lot of food out there maybe, but bees will be hungry. What about your varroa load? Do you know? How were they going into winter? You can't even sample up north, but you can in the south. Finally - do the pests in a beehive die when the bees die? ___________________ 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

Managing large observation hives is very different than working with those small observation hives that you can take to a school or county fair. Very different indeed. Especially if you are going to keep this hive in your home or classroom. To begin, there's really no standard design. They can be a single frame wide or 2 or more frames wide. And how tall? Two, three frames tall? More than one frame wide and you'll probably never see the queen, if only a single frame, the bees never get to cluster. So, do you cover them to help keep warm? How do the bees get outside? Jim has a pretty good way figured out with a window for part of the year, but it's not perfect. And how do you feed them? Syrup is pretty easy, protein not so much. And what about ventilation? Gotta have some, but not too much. And of course, varroa and small hive beetles will come visit, and probably decide to stay. Dealing with those pests can be a challenge no matter what hive, but here? And last, but not least, what about the smell? Sweet bees are a nice smell, but what about goldenrod honey? Or dead bees in winter? Figure that out before you start. ___________________ 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

Small, portable, usually single frame observation hives are ideal for meetings, demonstrations, lectures and even for study. They can be homemade or produced by bee supply companies, but there are a few things to keep in mind when using them…. especially when children are your audience. Kids are full of energy and accidents happen. Make sure you observation hive is rough and tumble ready, securely held in place for when kids are pointing, showing and asking questions. How many bees should you have, what kind of comb should you use, how much ventilation is needed and what about showing this to a room full of kids when some of them might be allergic to honey bees? We explore all of this and more. Jim Tew has years of experience using these will all kinds of classes and demonstrations and locations… and all kinds of things have happened to him. Tune in and find out what works and what doesn't, when using single frame observation hives. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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

In today's episode, Kim and Jim continue their exploration of Bee Beards… though this time… they go big… really big bee beards you see in the movies, where they use 20 maybe 30 pounds of bees, and the person is covered from the top of his head to his shoe laces? How can they do that? You have to start with that many bees that have been queenless for up to a couple three days. Queenless packages work well here. Then, you put them all in one big box, and using a piece of screen, with Vaseline smeared on it and artificial queen substance at the top, you dip that screen into the box, and the bees crawl up onto the screen. Of course, you need a person willing to do this. They daub queen pheromone on his body, and the screen is moved next to him and the bees crawl onto that person. Simple as 1, 2, 3. Right? Well, not quite that simple. There's a fourth step...You have to get them off when this is over and you have to figure out what to do with them then. Listen in and learn how all this works from a couple of guys who have been there and done that. You'll probably never do one, but being aware of the biology at work will make you a better beekeeper. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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

Really? You want to do a bee beard? OK, let's think this through. How much do you know about bees and bee beards, and why do you want to make a bee beard anyway? Some people will think you are as crazy as a loon to try this and that you will die. But others think bee beards are a great way to demonstrate that bees are gentle, safe and actually fun to work with, if you know what you are doing. In today's episode, Kim and Jim start a discussion on… Bee Beards. First, if your club is doing this for a county fair or some demonstration, is everybody in your club OK with this? Is the demonstration location owner OK to do this? There may be liability questions. Be prepared. Will this be an open demonstration in a field or within an enclosed and screened tent? You need to consider where will the bees come from – package, hive, nuc, etc. Regardless, make sure they are well fed! Jim and Kim discuss making a small-scale bee beard for a public demonstration this week. It's OK, you can listen and not get stung. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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

Jim has finally figured out where he wants his flowers to be next spring, so what's next is getting those sites ready to plant, so that what he plants does the best it can for Jim, the bees and anybody who walks by. In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the next steps in planning his garden including the time and amount of light the spot receives, soil tests, sod removal options, and… what to plant! Listen and learn as Kim & Jim discuss the ins and outs of flower garden site preparation, so Jim can sit on his deck and enjoy his bees! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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

You can buy all of your beekeeping equipment already assembled and if wooden boxes, already painted. They cost more than if you do it yourself, but you don't invest any time in assembly. Or, you can buy everything unassembled; nail and glue all the parts and pieces together, then paint it. You'll need the right tools of course, the room and occasionally have to get something that didn't get packed. Buying assembled boxes can be a good idea, as long as they are put together correctly at the factory, and as long as the wooden pieces are the correct size and not warped. Check out those boxes when you get them to make sure they're square, and while you're at it, take a look at the paint job. Is it good paint, enough paint, paint where it should be? Frames can arrive in many pieces. There are the wooden parts and possibly the wire to hold the foundation in place, eyelets to pass the wire through the end bars and all the nails you'll need to put all this together. Or, as simple as one single integrated piece of plastic: frame and foundation – complete. But wait, you can also get a hybrid. Wood frame pre-assembled, plastic foundation already snapped in and the whole thing ready to go right out of the shipping box. Fast, easy and usually in good shape. Which is better? Listen as Kim and Jim talk about getting new beekeeping equipment and the pros, and cons, of buying it ready to go, or putting it together. You can buy all of your new equipment (assembled or not) from our sponsor, Betterbee! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Jim has finally taken to heart the old saying, "Plant a flower - Feed a bee" and wants to add some plants to his yard that will not only feed bees, but add beauty to his landscape. But Jim's a hard-core entomologist and hasn't spent a lot of time studying the how's and why's and where's of creating his semi-urban plain old lawn into a Garden of Earthly Delights. Lucky for Jim, Kim went to college to learn those exact skills and has offered to give him a hand. He guides Jim in finding out what resources are at hand, what city rules and regulations he may have to follow, and what to do, and especially what not to do relative to his neighbors – both next door and across the street. This is the first of a three part series on getting all of this done, starting out with what can and can't you do, followed by what and how and where exactly is it that you want to do all this, exactly, and finishing up with what will you plant, and why and when and will it bloom when I want it to and make sure it isn't a weed. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

The December, 2021 issue of Bee Culture magazine arrived this month. In this episode, Kim and Jim look at this special issue and discuss why it's special every December. Starting right off, it's the Interview issue, where the regular writers, and some others, introduce the readers to industry people, friends in bees and beekeeping, or just someone they think their readers would like to get to know. The issue includes the annual honey price report too, which shows honey prices for a couple dozen honey products (bulk, 1-lb., 2, 5-lb., comb and the rest), plus prices for beeswax and pollination for each or their seven regions across the country. Of course, that happens every month, but the December report shows those average prices for prior years so you can see what's changing, and by how much. How much do you charge for a one-pound jar, retail? We'll bet not enough. You can compare your prices with others in your region in this issue Finally, for the last 30 some years, Kathy Summers has been making the Publications Department run as smooth as warm honey. Ordering supplies, managing inventories for the books, keeping track of the accounting part of the department, plus doing all of the layout and design for every issue. Kathy is stepping down at the end of this month for a well-deserved rest. Imagine creating over 360 different magazines! That's a lot of looking good, reading good and making it all work, work. Thank you, Kathy! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Will it be packages of nucs next spring? It's only December, how do I know what I'll want, and, if any, how many I'll want? Getting nucs or packages in the spring has changed a lot in the last several years. The quality of queens has changed. Everybody has varroa, well almost everybody, so how and when do I treat these new entries into my apiary? How many of what I have now will still be here next spring? What if they all are? Or what if none are? And where can I get packages now? The post office used to deliver. That's gone. Used to be a bee supply outfit up the road, but they don't do nucs, only packages. And how much will they cost? If I can find some? An overwintered nuc with an overwintered queen is probably the best bet for making it to next fall, and I might make some honey, too. But is that queen overwintered, or brand new? And how much time and money will it cost me to get a package established next summer if it doesn't rain until August, or it doesn't quit raining until next August? Do I have the time, and the money? Gotta figure this out pretty quick, because the suppliers are already telling me they will run our fast next spring. Get your order in now, or maybe go without. Listen as Kim & Jim discuss the pros and cons of Packages and Nucs! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Can You Put New Swarms on Old Comb? You've caught your first swarm. Where should it go? You don't have any new equipment to put it on, but you have an overwintered colony that didn't make it. Can you use the combs from that colony? Always the best answer – It Depends! First, ask yourself, why did that colony die? Was it maybe American Foulbrood? European Foulbrood? If you don't know you need to find out BEFORE you put more bees in those boxes. Have them tested. If the colony went queenless overwinter, there will probably be some dead bees and lots or at least some honey. But if there's no bees, none, and lots and lots of honey, maybe varroa and virus. Did you count mites last fall? Did you treat when you should have? Drawn comb is an incredible resource for your bees and for you, but how old is that comb? Do you date frames, is that wax clean enough to use another season? Listen today as Kim & Jim discuss the ins-and-outs of using that dead colony's comb with a new swarm! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Back about 100 years ago, there was so much adulterated honey for sale that people were reluctant to buy it at all. Comb honey was seen as being different because that couldn't be adulterated, right? Well, A. I. Root put up an award looking for fake comb honey because he was sure it couldn't be done. Fast forward 100 years or so and that may not be the case anymore. People can digitally print fully drawn comb for bees to use, from either beeswax, or other edible waxes. Bees seem to like it and it works just fine in a beehive, giving bees a boost when they need it the most. So, can you make fake comb honey? Well, perhaps. Tune in and listen to Kim and Jim examine these old and new rules about comb honey, and see what the world is up to with these newfangled inventions. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Bees, honey, smoker smoke, and lots more all have their own aroma. Beekeeping is rich in its own smells. Most are fragrant, rich and a delight to work with. Some, not so much. This is a two-part series, started in the last episode, #47. In today's Part 2, we spent some time smelling honeys, the types and seasons and sources and times. Then we looked the wonderful aromas the come from beekeeping products. Beeswax being rendered, honey being uncapped, the smell of brand-new wax foundation, burning wax candles, the smell of your workshop as you put together new equipment. Come on along and learn what you can expect when dealing with honey, honey bees and all that comes with them, and what you already may have experienced and not thought much about. One aroma is worth a thousand words. What are YOUR favorite smells of beekeeping? Let us know! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Bees, honey, smoker smoke, and lots more all have their own aroma. Beekeeping is rich in its own smells. Most are fragrant, rich and a delight to work with. Some, not so much. This is a two-part series. In today's Part 1, we looked at smells from the smoker, which are many and varied, rich and awful, all at the same time. Then we discussed the smells of bees, the good, the bad and the ugly. Come on along and learn what you can expect when dealing with honey, honey bees and all that comes with them, and what you already may have experienced and not thought much about. One aroma is worth a thousand words. Watch for Part 2 - The Good, next week! ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

At some point, whether by design or accident, many beekeepers consider expanding into pollination for hire with their bees. What does that mean and what does it take? What should be considered before undertaking a small-scale pollination job? In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss their experiences and offer their observations. First, start thinking about what you'll need next spring NOW, so you're ready next spring! If you wait until the first dandelion, you will be late to the game! If you are starting from scratch, talk to other beekeepers, talk to growers, talk to anybody who has done this before. Make your contacts now and remember, when exploring pollination opportunities, you are probably competing with another beekeeper. The most important two things to research? Know what your costs will be, and know what your time is worth. Start there. Remember this is mostly night work, do you have a day job? Do you have a good friend you can convince to help you? And what about insurance? And can you do this with your truck, or somebody else's, or do you have a trailer you can leave at the orchard with your hives on it. Contracts are critical. Scope out the property. Know where you will place the bees. Know the crop better than the grower so you already anticipate their needs and schedule. You can make good money pollinating a crop, but only if you know what you are getting into. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Every kind of hive has some kind of bottom board. Typically, Langstroth type hives have a bottom board that is removable. Many are reversible, too. That is one side has a ridge going around three sides that is only 3/8th of an inch tall, leaving an opening so small in the front that a mouse should not be able to get into the hive. These are used this way in the winter. The other side of this bottom board has a ridge that is 3/4th of an inch tall, to be used in the summer for better ventilation and traffic control out front. For awhile, bottom boards with a screen were common, developed to help control varroa that would fall through if they fell off a bee above. Some people would put cardboard sticky boards under the screen to catch the varroa and give an idea of how many a hive had. These had to be covered in winter, which was sometimes a problem because of lost covers, warped covers or bent screens. They are still around, but mostly for ventilation, not varroa control. Mostly, we use what we have, because that's the way we've always done it. But now there are several styles of bottom boards to use. Many are now heavy duty plastic, some with built in screens and a cover, some are insulated for winter use, and some will fit an 8 frame or 10 frame hive, so no matter what kind of hive you have they will fit just right. Bottom boards are getting to be as technical as the rest of our bee hives. Finally. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

If you are comfortable outside on Christmas Day, you probably don't have to worry about wrapping your colonies for winter protection. Otherwise, this episode is for you! At least put up a windbreak. It's easy, cheap and it helps. But what other insulation is available? There's history of what has been used, and what's available now isn't much different, but it's better. Tar paper was common, roofing insulation is often used, already packaged units like a Bee Cozy, or those made by BetterBee are available and work well. New insulated tops are available and should be considered for both keeping warm in during winter, and heat out during summer. Winter ventilation is still an issue with some kinds of wintering techniques and you have to deal with that, too. Styrofoam boxes, and sheets are used with good success. Winter protection, wrapping, and all the different kinds of hives….now is the time to figure it out. ___________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Do you remember what it was like when you first started keeping bees? Beekeeping was easier years ago, and most of us wanted more bees, more hives, more skills, more of everything beekeeping. But there's a next chapter. Beekeepers today are better educated because there's more to do now. So, it's not wrong to want to take a day, a week, a whole season off. And there will be good times and bad times. And yes, some won't come back. Sometimes, learning something new will keep you going. Learn queen rearing, or pollen collection, or…. something you haven't done before to get you going again. But it's OK to do something else for a while. Beekeeping will come back, or it won't. And no matter what, it is alright! __________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

There are, in most places, a mix of native and invasive plants that our bees will visit because they don't distinguish good from bad, noxious from native. They are looking for food, regardless of the source. This week Kim and Jim touch on a few of these, and try and come up with some recommendations and perhaps some plans on dealing with invasive plants and your honey bees. They start with the Chinese Tallow lawsuit going on in the south, with USDA wanting rid of it by introducing a natural pest. And purple loosestrife is now starting to diminish because they already have introduced a natural pest for that handsome weed and very predictable honey crop. But Black Locust, Norway Maple, Japanese Knotweed, Kudzu vine, English Ivy and Autumn Olive are looked at too. There are pages of introduced species of plants, many of which are terrific honey plants. The message is….if you and your bees are dependent on introduced or noxious weeds as food sources and a honey crop, you may want to be aware, because those plants might not be there for long. __________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

If you have to feed your bees this fall, something probably went wrong this summer. Spring feeding, or feeding packages or splits is maybe more common, but there are some things to think about if you have to feed your bees in the fall. Is what went wrong the fault of your bees, your management, or the environment your bees have to live in. Too many row crops, pesticides, too much lawn…is there really any food out there at all? How much food does a colony actually need to get through the winter? You also have to think about what kind of feeders will you use, what will you feed, how much should you feed, and when do you stop feeding. All of these questions have to have answers, before you start. Fall feeding may not be as simple as you thought it was. __________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Think about honey bees overwintering in a tree. There's 4 to 6 inches of insulation, pretty good ventilation, and it's lined with propolis. Now think of our bees living in a box with less than an inch of wood for protection. We pretty much don't think of wintering anymore. There's lots of bees, swarms, we can replace what we lose easily…. well, it was easy, but it's not so much anymore. Varroa changed that. We can protect them if we want. Insulated covers, insulated wraps, roofing paper, all manner of things we can get, and all require some level of labor to make work. Expanded styrene boxes seem to be pretty good. Lots of insulation for both winter cold and summer heat and they use both sides of every frame. They don't recognize warm winter days though, so there's that. In the old days beekeepers went to a lot of trouble to keep their bees alive overwinter and with the new controlled environment buildings, that sort of care is coming back. Winter protection can mean different things based on where you live – after all, all beekeeping is local. However, no matter where you live, preparing for winter and protecting the colony inside a hive is something our bees need now more than ever. __________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

There's a saying – Winter Begins in August and it's already September. It's time to start thinking about getting ready for winter. What can and what should you be thinking about? Well, if winter is cold where you are, can you move your bees to somewhere that's warm? If moving bees is at all possible. What about indoor wintering? It used to be popular and it's coming back, but the indoors are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be. Is that possible? And are your bees winter hardy, or are they softies? And can you fix that yet this year with a tougher queen? And absolutely get varroa under control. Yesterday. What about food? How was/is/will be the fall flow this fall? Enough, not enough, need more? And if not, how much will you have to find for them? And what equipment will you need when you really get ready for winter? Get it now, or it may be gone. It's time to start thinking about winter, isn't it. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Right now, you have to make some decisions about how to overwinter your colonies. If you live in the deep south, there probably isn't much to think about. But if you live north of warm winter weather, there's a lot that has to be done. One of these tasks is what to do with a couple of small, weak colonies, because they are just not big enough to make it on their own. Several options are available. In this week's episode, Kim and Jim look at the strengths and weaknesses of each to help you better decide what you can do with your weak colonies. Combine the two and keep the best queen? That's one way, but which queen is the best queen, and why? And why were both colonies small and weak? And what do you do with the queen that you decide to remove? Or, perhaps you can combine the two and add some bees and comb and make one stronger colony or nuc to overwinter, so you will have a nuc in your beeyard next spring, which is always a good thing. Or, what about putting those small colonies in a well-insulated hive box so they don't have to work so hard, and maybe both will make it? Other overwintering schemes are discussed, but the most practical, perhaps, is the most common way to handle this overwintering question. Listen in and you can decide what is best for your operation. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Beekeepers are very often asked to help friends or neighbors that have "bee" problems…. honey bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, hornets, bumblebees and the like. But most of us aren't exterminators. We don't have the tools, the experience, or the time to help. But "can't you just get rid of them for me?" lets you know they think you know how to do this… and are 'glad to help.' Sometimes they are your bees. A colony swarms and if you are lucky lands in a tree or bush and are easy to retrieve. Sometimes though, they head for that hole in the siding and take up residence in the wall of your neighbor's house. What then? What about liability? What happens if you do decide to help, climb a ladder and fall off. What then? Or you tell your neighbor what to do and they fall off the ladder? Do you lend them your gear? Suit, smoker, hive tool? If you do it, are you serving as an exterminator then? Practicing without a license? But what about a dangerous situation, like a kid coming home from school and seeing for the first time that huge bald faced hornet nest? Shouldn't you have been out there long before, just to help? Listen today! You'll find that it may not be as easy as just saying, "call an exterminator". ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

When you finish extracting your honey crop, you have frames that have sticky, gooey honey in the cells, and on the frame surfaces. There may be some crystalized honey in some of the cells, too. Maybe even some pollen stored there. So how do you clean up this mess so when you go to store the supers with these frames in them for the winter, they will be safe? Kim and Jim take a look at dealing with these wet combs so they get clean and are easy to store for the winter, no matter where you winter. The most common way is to put the frames back in the supers just harvested and put the supers back on your hives. Then in a few days, the bees will have cleaned up the mess and you're left with a super full of clean, dry, not sticky frames. Usually. Some beekeepers just set the just-extracted supers outside and let the bees clean them up. But there are a lot of problems with this you may want to avoid. Robbing, sharing diseases and more can happen. Once the frames have been cleaned by the bees, they are dry, not sticky and have no more honey in them. But what about that crystalized honey that was there, and how do they clean them, really? And what about wax moth, and small hive beetles? Storing these now clean supers can be a problem needing solved before you decide where to store them. Unheated storage in the north works because these pests don't do well in the cold, but what about storage in heated buildings or in the south, where it's warm all year? Some beekeepers just store this equipment on the bees overwinter. Will the bees keep these pests at bay? Extracting is a messy business and with it comes the afterlife of those wet, sticky frames that need a good cleaning, and then safe winter storage. Check out some of the ways Kim and Jim make sure this happens to your frames. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

What do you do about ugly or mean bees? It can be difficult to determine which colony in a beeyard with several colonies is the one, or maybe one of several, that has scouting guard bees meet you at the gate when you go to a beeyard. If you can determine which colony is the one with the problems, why is it behaving so aggressively? Several reasons come to mind – something is bothering it at night, maybe a skunk for several nights, then you come along and they've about had it with being disturbed. Or, you caught a swarm. Where did those bees come from? Did you make a split, keep the mother-queen and let the other half raise their own queen? Who she mated with could result in a mean colony due to genes. Sometimes, it's just because a big colony has more bees, more guards, more foragers…just more bees. So, a big colony is going to be more of everything…more bees, more honey, more guards. More mean. What do you do? Worry about the neighbors? Wear heavy duty equipment? Work them at a different time of day? Have a second, isolated beeyard? Do mean colonies make more honey than gentle colonies? Sometimes. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC

Every spring we beekeepers buy packages and set up nucs. Come summer, we start to look at what is going right and what may be going… well… not so right. Or at least, something is going but we're not quite certain just what! In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the hives they started this past spring and compare notes. They're only 30 miles apart and you might think weather and time have treated them equally and… you would be surprised. How was the new queen accepted? How has the honey flow from tree crops such as Tulip, Poplar, and Basswood? Is any clover blooming? How are the over-wintered colonies doing this summer? Are they kicking it into overdrive and really producing? Or were they super swarmy, and/or busy replacing the queen and/or highly defensive compared to the prior season? Can the Queen be root of all the problems? Speaking of problems… who's dealing with Hive Beetles? Kim or Jim? Listen today as Kim and Jim discuss all things honey bees. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC jwYC9w1thicbKHEdoGaM

Beekeepers talk a lot about not having enough food or enough good food for their bees due to all manner of development, agriculture spread, and agriculture in general. To help fix that problem beekeepers should be looking at doing some planting for bees, which is what Kim and Jim talk about this week. But it's not as simple as it might sound. If you are planning on something for your yard, the basic gardening techniques can be an issue – dealing with sod removal, local animals that will enjoy what you plant, and even neighbors that might find what you are doing, ummmm, less than appealing for the neighborhood. And of course, if you don't have enough good food, you need something, like, right now for starters, like some annuals, then some longer-term plantings of perennials and shrubs, and of course some permanent plantings like blooming trees and fruit trees. Making this all work certainly takes a lot of work, which, if you're not a spring chicken any more, means a lot of work you may not want to get too involved in. So what then? And that's what Kim and Jim try and figure out. ______________________ We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of 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 © 2021 by Growing Planet Media, LLC