Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

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 do...

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....

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...

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...

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 y...

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...

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 fram...

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...

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 wo...

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 t...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 fi...

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 full...

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 pr...

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 o...

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...

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 botto...

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, roofi...

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 time...

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 Chi...

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 rea...