PolliNation Podcast

Native bees have secret and mysterious lives. Beyond their visits to flowers, they spend most of their lives beyond our experience. This week we hear from a sound artist whose work places us deep in the lives of our native bees.

The OSU Pollinator Health Program and Oregon Bee Project have worked together to develop a first of a kind Extension certificate program, the Master Melittologist program. The program is designed for people passionate about native bees and who want to embark on the long term survey of these bees in the state.

Growers and applicators learn about pollinator health from a wide range of sources. In this episode we hear about an initiative by a coalition led by industry groups to reduce pesticide exposure to pollinators.

There is some great information being collected about Oregon bees by non-experts use phone apps like iNaturalist. In this episode we hear about how to produce a solid record and some of the top 10 bees people are finding.

Do you ever wonder how good the area around you is for pollinators? This week we learn about a new tool that allows you to assess your landscape for flower resources, bee nesting habitat and aggregate pesticide use.

How do you figure out what bees are in a state, both in the present and historically. You build a checklist! In this episode we learn about how checklists are made from a recent effort in Pennsylvania.

There are a growing number of people interested in native bees, but not many regional organizations you can belong to. Today we hear about an example of building such organizations in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The common European honey bee is not the only species of honey bee. The biodiversity of the species Apis is rich in SE Asia. In this episode we get to know each of the species in detail.

Bee gardens involve matching plants that bloom at different times, to bees that emerge at different times. And not all bee species go to all flowers. In this episode we hear about how all these factors come together in Portland gardens.

Social wasps are in the news these days. They are often confused with bees. This week we take a deep dive into the world of our most fascinating social wasps, the paper wasps.

Shrubs and trees are key to any landscape designed for pollinators. This episode we tap OSU's shrub and tree expert to list the top picks for spring, summer and winter and to learn how to care for them.

Creating pollinator habitat on farms is not as simple as it sounds. To be successful the habitat has to integrate into the cropping system and have low establishment and maintenance costs. In this episode we hear about efforts to strike this balance in Oregon vineyards.

It's been over 10 years since Colony Collapse Disorder beset the beekeeping industry. We catch up with an author who looks back at the advances made over this period with a sense of Beeoptimism.

We've all heard that mason bees are amazing backyard pollinators, but did you know you can make ground-making discoveries about these bee's biology in your own backyard. This week we talk with a Master Gardener who has turned mason bees into a scientific and public outreach pursuit.

How are wild bees doing? On one hand we hear that they are in trouble and on the other we hear that surveying efforts are too small to detect differences. In this episode we explore issues associated with native bee survey with one of the world's leading native bee taxonomists.

The intense interest in beekeeping has created a new wave of beekeeping businesses. In this episode we hear about how these businesses are meeting the needs of a new generation of beekeepers.

Southern Oregon has some of the most amazing pollinator species, in large part because of the unique native plant communities. In this episode we learn about the best spring blooming plants for pollinators and how to grow them.

You are probably familiar with familiar spring bees like bumble bees and mason bees. In this episode we take a deep dive into the biology and ecology of these bees, as well as some of the weirder spring bee species. We also look into what you can plant to encourage these bees.

Putting habitat into a working farm involves juggling operational constraints and pollinator biology. In this episode we hear about an innovative example of how PNW cranberry growers are attracting and boosting bee populations around their bogs.

What is infectious, poorly understand and set to ramp up during the months of April and May? The honey bee disease European foulbrood has been a tremendous problem in Oregon over the last few springs. This week we hear the latest on research and management options for this disease.

Livestock grazing can be very expansive. Take for instance the 'fescue belt' in the southeastern US, which spans 1,000 miles across. This week we hear from a researcher who is looking to incorporate pollinator plants into pastures, potentially providing benefits to pollinators and increasing the grazing efficiency of cattle at the same time.

There has been an explosion in people keeping bees for a hobby. But for many, beekeeping is a bigger commitment than they expected. This week we'll help you figure out if beekeeping for you and what's involved in getting started.

Idaho and Oregon's Treasure Valley have a deep connection to bee management for alfalfa seed, but in this episode we hear about how that tradition is being transferred to pollinator management in vineyards.

Some of the best plants for long-tongued bees like bumble bees and honey bees are grown for livestock. We dive deep into these livestock plants and discuss how they can be incorporated into a dual use system that feeds both livestock and bees.

There is nothing about browsing though a magazine. There are some great beekeeping magazines, but what's missing is a magazine devoted to pollinators more broadly. Enter 2 Million Blossoms, a new magazine launched in January. We talk to the editor about the magazine and how it aims to fill this gap.

When you think of a bee you probably think of an insect hard at work growing its nest and pollinating plants. But over 10% of bees are kleptoparasites; bees that don't build their own nests, but are parasites on other bees. In this episode we learn the fundamentals of this highly-evolved and sophisticated way of living.

Many of us put mason bees out in our backyard or farm. But when they leave the nest, do you know where they are going to forage? In this episode we hear how a sleuthing graduate student in Seattle is beginning to piece together a picture of what resources these bees are actually using.

Hedgerows can be great ways to attract pollinators in agriculture and forestry settings. But how can such relatively small plantings impact pollinator abundance and diversity on larger scales? This week we dig deep into the science of how hedgerows contribute to pollinator health.

Literacy on pollinator biology and ecology in the US is poor. But schools can be skittish about insects, especially bees, and teachers lack resources to make pollinator education come alive. This week we hear about an initiative that to get around these obstacles - The Bee Cause Project.

What happened in 2019 when it came to Apiculture? We visit the Apiculture unit at Agriculture and Forestry Alberta in Lethbridge to find out. Hear about highlights from Apimonida, the introduction of an Asian giant hornet in Washington and BC and problems beekeepers have been having with European foulbrood.

People living in cities are confronted by a range of pest problems, some of which impact pollinator health. This week we hear about an initiative to make science-based information on managing these pests clearer, more intuitive and easy to find.

The Pacific Northwest got not just one, but two great pollinator positions in 2019. Claire Kremen has moved her lab from Berkeley to the University of British Columbia and Corin Pease is the new regional Pollinator Conservation Planner at Xerces. In this show we hear about these new programs and what they have planned for 2020.

Alfalfa leafcutting bees don't get the attention of honey bees, but they are also a remarkable example of how people have learned to manage a bee species. It's often hard to get details about this industry, but this week we bring you one of the industry's gurus - Weldon Hobbs - whose dad helped found the industry in Western Canada.

Oregon's bumble bees are all hibernating. Mated bumble bee queen are known to winter in loose soil or leaf litter, but we don't know much more than that. This week we talk with Rich Hatfield, a biologist at the Xerces Society, about a new community science initiative called Queen Quest, to learn more about the wintering requirements of bumble bees.

Ever heard the term "native beekeeper" before? Me neither, until I talked with Gregory Lynch from the Miel Montréal Co-op. In this episode he explains how the Co-op has developed a wide range of educational services that goes beyond (honey bee) beekeeping, to promoting native bees and urban biodiversity more generally.

In this episode we take a stroll through the tradeshow at the world's largest beekeeping conference, Apimondia, which was held in Montreal, Canada in September. In this episode you'll hear about a machine that can turn 1000lbs of liquid honey into velvety-creamed honey, the latest in varroa control, styrofoam hive equipment and tips on how to re-use plastic foundation.

Roads crisis-cross the state of Oregon, making roadsides an appealing focus for creating an interconnected network of pollinator habitat. But roadside habitat has to fit within the constraints faced by Departments of Transportation. In this episode we hear about some of those constraints and successes achieved in Oregon by ODOT.

There is a lot of ground under solar panels that could be planted to pollinator habitat. In this episode guest host Maggie Graham talks with John Jacob, a Southern Oregon beekeeper who has been working with a solar panel company to get pollinator habitat into new panel installations in Oregon.

How important are trees to the health of bees? In many cases we don't know because trees are a lot bigger than us. That doesn't stop our next guest from scaling into the canopy for her research. This week we feature PhD Candidate Kass Urban-Mead.

Pollinating crops can be difficult on honey bees. Since 2014, the California Almond Board has been working with beekeepers, pest control advisors and groups like Project ApisM to come up with standards (Best Management Practices, BMPs) to increase the health of bees in California Almonds. This week we talk with former Director, Agricultural Affairs, Almond Board of California (ABC), Bob Curtis, about how the BMPs were developed and how effective they have been to help bees during pollination.

Learning the bees of your local area can be a daunting task. Most guides and keys, for example, include bees that don't even exist where you live, and are packed with hard-to-understand terminology. This week we talk to August Jackson, who has come up with a solution - a concise guide to the bees of the Willamette Valley.

The Fourth International Pollinator Conference was held in Davis, CA. In this episode you will hear about some of the interesting new research happening on pollinator health from around the world.

Honey bee queen quality is an often overlooked dimension of colony health. In this episode we catch up with Dr. Shelley Hoover who is the Apiculture Researcher with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. She tells us about work to assess different commercial queen stocks and to fit queen production into crop pollination.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Rosalyn Johnson from Yardbio.com about how to establish local, native, and drought-tolerant species in backyards to support pollinators and wildlife.

Although solitary bees make up the bulk of bee diversity, there hasn't been a comprehensive biology book about them. That is until now. This week we catch up with Dr. Bryan Danforth about his new book, The Solitary Bee, authored along with Frances Fawcett, John Neff, and Robert Minckley.

Squash bees were discovered in Oregon last year. This week we talk to Dr. Jim Cane about this bee, as well as a bee that is widespread in Oregon gardens, the sunflower bee.

There has been a lot of attention lately to historic declines of insect abundance across the world. This week we catch up with Tyson Wepprich who recently reported on butterfly abundance declines in Ohio over the past 20 years.

Public outreach may seem simple, but impactful and effective outreach is an art. Bonnie Shoffner from Portland Metro is a real pro at pulling off pollinator outreach events and this week she shares here secrets for success.

Oregon and Florida may seem miles apart, but the role of bees in both states has remarkable parallels. This week Dr. Rachel Mallinger University of Florida talks about blueberry pollination, bees in forest systems and interests of gardeners around bees in the Sunshine State.

Watermelons are hard to pollinate. But they can also experience reduced yield from pest damage. This week we hear from Jacob Pecenka who tells us about the trade-offs from managing pests and loosing pollination and how Integrated Pest Management can provide an excellent way to navigate these trade-offs.