PolliNation Podcast

In this episode of Pollination, host Dr. Andony Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Elizabeth Murray ( Mt. James Entomological Collection, Washington State University) about pollen wasps (Masarinae) and how they represent a rare, parallel shift to bees from carnivory to provisioning young with pollen. The conversation covers pollen wasp origins around 125 million years ago alongside bees, likely in arid Western Gondwana as angiosperms rose, their global but dry-region-biased distribution, low species diversity ( 00:00 Gondwana Origins Teaser 00:58 Podcast Intro And Guest 02:22 Inside The Entomology Collection 03:49 Why Collections Matter 05:27 Growing The Collection 06:52 What Are Pollen Wasps 09:04 Angiosperms And Shared Origins 11:00 Reverting Back To Carnivory 12:40 Where They Live And Diversity 15:49 Life History Compared To Bees 18:07 How They Carry And Pollinate 19:21 Nests And Plant Hosts 23:31 Research And Conservation Questions

Christine McDonald discusses her family-run beekeeping operation based in Terrace, British Columbia. Living in a remote area, Christine emphasizes the importance of in-person gatherings for bee education despite the proliferation of online resources. She explains how her family has turned geographical challenges into strengths, mentioning their diverse range of products, including honey and candles, and their reliance on wild forage like fireweed. Christine highlights the seasonal challenges they face, such as preparing colonies for winter and managing a short beekeeping season. She also elaborates on their approach to raising queens and maintaining their operation's sustainability. Additionally, Christine's Instagram presence has become a pivotal part of connecting with the wider beekeeping community. Rushing River Apiaries: https://www.rushingriverapiaries.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rushingriverapiaries/

This week, we talk with Ryan Lieuallen of Sweet Bee Honey Company in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Ryan shares insights into the significant challenges and changes within the beekeeping industry, including high winter mortality rates and the potential economic impacts of the Tropi mite infestation. We discuss the emergence of new Varroa treatments and innovative strategies for creating sustainable bee pastures for bees. Explore Ryan's dedication to maintaining a five-generation beekeeping heritage while adapting to future challenges in beekeeping and sustainable agriculture. Link to Sweet Bee Honey Company and how to donate to the Bee Foundation: https://www.sweetbeehoneyco.com

In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Zach Portman discusses a new paper addressing the problem of ghost records in bee data. These records often lack physical specimens, creating challenges for verifying data of bee species. Dr. Portman explains the process and complications behind collecting and verifying bee data, emphasizing the importance of preserving specimens. The conversation also delves into the implications of ghost records for conservation efforts and taxonomy, proposing that funding agencies should require proper storage plans for collected specimens. Links: Portman, Z.M., Bruninga-Socolar, B., Chase, M.H., Harrison, T., Arduser, M., Tepedino, V.J. and Cariveau, D.P., 2025. Big data, changing taxonomy, and ghost records: permanent preservation of collected specimens is essential for insect monitoring. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 118(4), pp.331-345: https://academic.oup.com/aesa/article/118/4/331/8197915 https://www.zportman.com

Pollinator Pathway is a national organization dedicated to the establishment of native plant communities for pollinators that are managed without pesticides. It got started in the Western US in Bend, Oregon and this week we hear from two board members, Gwen Bartonek and Lisa Sanco, about the many activities the organization has pulled off in Oregon's High Desert city. Pollinator Pathway Bend: https://pollinatorpathwaybend.org/

Hover flies are everywhere—but most of us don't even notice them. This week on PolliNation, OSU graduate student Nina Miller unpacks the fascinating world of these bee look-alikes, from their diverse life histories to simple ways you can invite them into your garden. OSU Garden Ecology Lab: https://gardenecology.oregonstate.edu/

It's festival season! If you're near Portland or Vancouver, WA, you won't want to miss the Vancouver Pollinator Festival happening this Saturday, June 21st at Marshall Park. Our guest, Kyle Roslund, founder of the Vancouver Bee Project, joins us to share what's in store—from garden tours and hands-on activities to a talk by renowned lepidopterist and Xerces Society founder, Dr. Robert Michael Pyle. Pollinator Festival info: https://pollinatorfestival.org/

This week we delve into the fascinating world of bee communities in disturbed forests with Dr. Graham Frank, a recent PhD graduate from Oregon State University. Dr. Frank shares key insights about how bee communities are influenced by different types of disturbances, and what this means for forest management. Frank, G.S., Rivers, J.W., Verschuyl, J., Best, L.R., Betts, M.G., Kroll, A.J., Swanson, M.E. and Krawchuk, M.A., 2025. Comparison of Early Seral Forest Bee Communities Following Clearcutting or Wildfire Depends on Stand Age and Nesting Guild. Journal of Forestry, pp.1-45. Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44392-025-00016-1

In this episode of the Commercial Beekeeping Zone on PolliNation, we hear from Curtis Miedema, a second generation beekeeper from Barhead, Alberta, and President of North America's only beekeeper's commission. Curtis shares insights into stationary beekeeping and how he fits queen production into an operation focused on honey production. He also discusses the collaborative nature of the Alberta beekeeping community and the role of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission. Links: https://miedemahoney.com https://www.albertabeekeepers.ca

We hear from Lincoln Best and August Jackson from Oregon State University this week about an initiative to inventory the bees of National Wildlife Refuges in Region 1 by Master Melittologist volunteers. Link to year 1 report: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/technical_reports/xd07h2826

The attention to California almonds, means the pollination of Washington State tree fruits is often overlooked. But the massive pollination effort in Washington is a huge effort and may be facing potential problems. Harry and Andony catch up with commercial beekeeper Tim Hiatt to discuss tree fruit pollination, as well as Tim's efforts to advocate for beekeeping in the Washington legislature.

This week on PolliNation Itai Kanot and Shelbi Perkins from BeeHero discuss how their in-hive and in-field sensors are improving pollination efficiency by providing real-time data on bee colony strength, benefiting both growers and beekeepers. BeeHero: https://www.beehero.io/

Dr. Diana Cox-Foster joins us to discuss her and her team's research at the USDA on honeybee and native bee competition. From lab tests to field studies, they uncover the effects of this competition on pollination.

Queen Bee Honey Company in Alpine, Oregon built up from a Datsun pickup truck to a commercial beekeeping business. In this episode we hear about how Karen Finley built her business and the increasing problem of lack of summer forage for honey bees in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

The BEEvent, hosted annually by the Linn County Master Gardeners, provides gardeners and small farmers with essential knowledge and practical tools to support and protect bee pollinators. This week, Master Gardeners Ranee Webb and Rich Little join us to share what's in store for this year's event. Register for BEEvent: https://www.linnmastergardeners.com/beevent Information on Mason bees and BeeNotes: https://www.linnmastergardeners.com/pollinator-info

While there has been a lot of attention to the plight of wild bees, we are increasingly discovering that there is a lot more that we don't know. A state checklist of bees is a great starting point for taking stock of what we do know. This week I am joined by Chanda Bartholomew, who is an Entomology Collection Taxonomist with the Pest Program in the Plant Protection Division of Washington State Department of Agriculture. She is the lead author of "An annotated checklist of the bees of Washington state" that was published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research in November of 2024. Link to the article: https://jhr.pensoft.net/article/129013/

This week on PolliNation, Fred Weisensee from Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR shares tips on creating a pollinator rock garden using native and exotic plants inspired by Oregon's high-elevation landscapes Dancing Oaks Nursery: https://dancingoaks.com/?srsltid=AfmBOop6NnUpe5hUTS6OTTJ6rIc96DsuGBJ5Ndz3YCq_cjGiagJD2ZFT

Karen Pedersen is a fifth generation commercial beekeeper and apiary owner in Cut Knife, Saskatchewan, Canada. Pedersen Apiaries make hundreds of pounds of honey bee colony, while wintering single brood chamber colonies outdoors when temperatures are -30F below. She also leads an impressive stock improvement program. Harry and Andony find how she does it in this week's episode. Pedersen Apiaries website: http://www.pedersenapiaries.ca Bee Maid Honey Coop: https://www.beemaid.com Harvesting Honey: https://youtu.be/CNc-AfvCgLA?si=I867-OJNHnC4qaA6

In this episode we learn about an effort to map pollinator habitat, as well as their stories, in Southern Oregon. The Southern Oregon Buzzway is a collaboration between Southern Oregon University and Pollinator Project Rogue Valley. Pollinator Project Rogue Valley: https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/ Southern Oregon Buzzway Map: https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/rogue-buzzway-maps Dr. Jamie Trammell's work: https://sou.edu/academics/environmental-science/faculty/e-jamie-trammell/

This week on our Commercial Beekeeping segment, Nick VanCalcar from VanCalcar Apiaries in Amity, Oregon joins us to discuss the importance of doing your own fabrication in beekeeping operations.

There are over a thousand species of bees in the Pacific Northwest. However, The resources available for someone to tell the bees apart is lacking for this region. In this episode we hear from the team that is working to solve this problem. Carol Yamada, Lincoln Best, August Jackson, Jim Rivers, Joshua Dunlap & Joe Engler discuss their publication of four new taxonomic keys for the bees of the PNW.

Early reports are that there may be a large loss of commercial honey bee colonies across the U.S. this winter. In this episode we are joined by co-host Harry Vanderpool to talk with Russell Heitkam. Russell is a second generation beekeeper and Northern California queen, queen cell, package, and nuc producer. He also brokers about 7,000 hives from Oregon and Washington for almond pollination.

Filter strips surround agricultural fields and reduce soil loss and pesticide effluent reaching streams and rivers. They can also host flowering plants that bees and butterflies like. We talk to Dr. Amy Toth about whether these narrow ribbons of land can actually benefit pollinators. Toth Lab website: https://www.tothlab.org/people Episode 246 on filter strips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MIcDh_SreU

This week we kick off our new segment on commercial beekeeping with our new co-host, Harry Vanderpool of Vanderpool Farms in Salem, OR. Harry shares his beekeeping journey and what it takes to run a successful operation.

Michael Getz, a master's student here at Oregon State University, joins us this week on PolliNation to discuss his new paper on the recent introduction of the European Mason bee (Osmia cornuta) to British Columbia, Canada. Using computer vision technology he was able to identify Mason bee cocoons and model the bee's spread across North America. Learn more about Michael's research here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381659270_The_Establishment_and_Potential_Spread_of_Osmia_cornuta_Hymenoptera_Megachilidae_in_North_America

What does it take to create a certified pollinator pathway? This week on PolliNation, Colleen Rockwell, the Environmental Committee Chair for Milwaukie's Rotary Club, shares how Milwaukie became only the second certified pollinator pathway in Oregon. Learn more about the Pollinator Pathway in Milwaukie here: https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/milwaukie Also, if you are interested in the fundraiser in Portland for the Oregon Bee Atlas, register here: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/master-melittologist/events/bees-bottles-biodiversity-fundraiser-oregon-bee-atlas

The last record of the Leafcutter Bee (Trachusa gummifera) in Marin County was in 1977. That is, until the One Tam Community Science Program had a documented sighting of it nearly 47 years later. This week we hear from Sara Leon Guerrero, a manager of the One Tam Community Science Program through the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Sara tells us how One Tam is leading the way in bridging ecological data gaps, implementing long-term monitoring efforts, and fostering curiosity and community participation. Learn more about the Tamalpais Bee Lab here: https://www.onetam.org/tamalpais-bee-lab

What happens to Mason bees after a number of consecutive cold days? Let's say a female lays an egg. What happens to it? Does it die? This week on PolliNation we welcome back Dr. Jim Cane and Ron Spendal to discuss their new paper "Eggs of the bee Osmia lignaria endure weeks of prolonged cold weather" https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381743824_Eggs_of_the_bee_Osmia_lignaria_endure_weeks_of_prolonged_cold_weather

This week we explore Minnesota's Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center through the University of Minnesota's Landscape Arboretum. Ping Honzay, an educator and beekeeper at the Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center, discusses the innovative programs that engage the community and highlight the importance of pollinators.

Everyone knows that hummingbirds visit flowers. But have you ever wondered how many other kinds of birds visit flowers and how important are they to the overall pollination ecology of flowering plants? This week we hear from Dr. Jeff Ollerton on his new book "Birds and Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship" https://pelagicpublishing.com/products/birds-and-flowers

This week we hear about Oregon's Farm to School program and how it helps make the connection between Oregon agriculture and pollinators in the classroom. We are joined by Rick Sherman (Farm to Child Nutrition Program Manager at the Oregon Department of Education) and Michelle Markesteyn (Farm to School Specialist at Oregon State University Extension), who also host a great podcast (available on YouTube, Spotify and iTunes).

This week we talk about the upcoming (Sept 21, 2024) Oregon Honey and Mead Festival with organizer Sharon Schmidt (Cascade Girl Organization) and Marla Bull Bear, one of the presenters who is the Director, Lakota Youth Development and Honey Lodge Program. Details on this year's festival can be found at: https://www.cascadegirl.org

Bees are exposed to pesticide hazards in a variety of ways. Estimating how hazards to bees are changing over time, across an area as large as a state, is a daunting prospect. This week we hear about an attempt to estimate changes in hazards in a new paper by Dr. Emily Carlson, a recent PhD student from Oregon State University.

Beekeepers often have a sense of periods of intense nectar flows, but it is a lot more difficult to assess pollen flows. In this episode we talk with Priya Chakrabarti Basu from Mississippi State University who talks about a new initiative to provide beekeepers with a better sense of the pollen flows of their region.

Butterfly bush is a hardy shrub that pollinators love. But under certain situations it can become invasive, which has led to laws to limit the sale to sterile varieties and interspecific hybrids. But there is a question of whether the hybrids are really sterile and whether sterility impacts the benefits to bees. We get answers to these questions this week with Cara Stills, from the Ornamental Plant Breeding Program at Oregon State University.

While roughly 70% of bee species are ground nesting, we know very little about the nesting biology of anything more than a handful of species. In this episode we hear from Dr. Jordan Kueneman and his project GNBees to generate more data from the public. Dr. Jordan Kueneman is a research scientist and director of Project GNBee, a community science project dedicated to research and conservation of ground-nesting bees. Web page: https://www.gnbee.org/ https://www.danforthlab.entomology.cornell.edu/people/jordan-kueneman/ iNaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ground-nesting-bees-3e6882c0-a112-4ddb-b043-1da25638ce96 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projectgnbee/?img_index=1 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWEIK6AhrOe307h92Jrk-g Facebook: Ground-Nesting Bee Crew Book recommendation: The Solitary Bees: Biology, Evolution, Conservation Go-to-tool: Michener CD. The bees of the world. JHU press; 2000. Favorite pollinator species: Andrena regularis

The Yellow-Legged Hornet has landed in the US southeast. The hornet is originally from Asia, but is has spread widely into Europe. This week we hear from Maggie Gill, a senior scientist with the National Bee Unit in the UK tells about the innovative methods developed in the UK to track and erradicate these hornets.

This episode we catch up with Katie Buckley the Pollinator Health Coordinator for Washington State Department of Agriculture. She tells us about two new pollinator bills that passed in the Washington Legislature, as well as the growing Washington Bee Atlas.

This week we hear about a remarkable initiative in Tillamook, Oregon. Known for its world famous dairy, its home to an industrious beekeeping club that is providing top-notch education to the region (and the thousands of people who come through it each summer).

Adult honey bees have a variety of organisms that live in their guts. Some are benign but some, like Nosema ceranae, can be pathogentic. In this episode we hear of Courtney MacInnis' relentless pursuit of understanding the status of an organism you have never heard of - Lotmaria passim - both on its own, and in combination with Nosema ceranae. Her findings are most unexpected.

In this episode we hear from Susie Peterson who is the co-manager of the very popular Backyard Habitat Certification Program in Oregon. The program is managed in partnership with Portland Audubon and can help you better design your backyard for biodiversity.

Bumble bee queens have been known to try and take over already established nests. Sometimes they manage to take over the nest and increase their own reproductive success. But according to new research from Heather Grab this is not what happens when a wild bumble bee queen tries to take over a commercial bumble bee colony.

Land Trusts punch above their weight in creating pollinator habitat. In this episode we talk with Greenbelt Land Trust of some of their innovative methods for restoring pollinator habitat on a working farm.

Bee Friendly Farming is an initiative to certify agricultural production for taking steps to help bees. This week we hear about the expansion of the program to the Pacific Northwest, specifically with regards to wine grapes.

Bees are just one part of maximizing cherry yield. Before the bees arrive, cherries have to be pruned properly and given the right nutrition. Also, bee attractive cover crops can help rejuvinate the soil before replanting. We hear about all the tricks to maximizing pollination success in cherries from Mike Omeg of Orchard View Cherries.