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PODCAST

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

The weekly podcast exploring the joys, challenges, and curiosities of keeping honey bees. Hosted by Dr. Jim Tew and produced by Jeff Ott, Honey Bee Obscura delivers short, focused conversations that dive into the details of beekeeping—from practical how-tos to quirky observations. Perfect for learning something new on the way to the apiary, at home, or wherever your bees take you.

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All Episodes

23:47

Queen Isolation Cages (156)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/12/07

In today's episode, Jim and David Peck, PhD, delve into a fascinating topic that rarely gets any ‘air time’ unless you are interested specifically in raising queens: Queen Isolation Cages. For beekeepers, the queen bee is the heart of the hive, responsible for laying eggs and maintaining hive order. Queen Isolation Cages are ingenious tools that allow beekeepers to temporarily isolate the queen from the rest of the colony. This technique can be applied in various scenarios, from performing selective

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19:18

Winter Chores: Culling Combs (155)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/11/30

In this episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Kim and Jim delve into several important maintenance tasks that beekeepers can undertake during the winter season to ensure the health and productivity of their hives. Winter might seem like a downtime, but it's a critical period for preparing your hives for the upcoming spring. One key task they discuss is culling old comb. This task is near and dear to Kim. It involves removing combs that are over three years old or show signs of disease, pest infestation, or

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19:46

Archive Special - Preparing Your Hives for Winter! (154)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/11/23

Happy Thanksgiving!! Join Kim and Jim in this special archive episode from late October 2021, where they delve into the critical task of preparing your hives for the winter season. This episode is particularly crucial for beekeepers in colder climates. Are you comfortable in shorts outdoors during this time of year? If yes, then wrapping your colonies for winter might not be a necessity. However, if a brisk step outside in shorts sends shivers down your spine, this episode is tailored for you! Key

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16:20

Browsing Bee Books (153)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/11/16

As the leaves fall and the bees nestle in for winter, many beekeepers find themselves next to a warm fire, a cup of tea in hand, flipping through the pages of their cherished bee books. Have you ever looked at your shelf brimming with bee books and wondered, 'Will I ever read all of these?' You're not alone. In this cozy episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Kim rejoins Jim in the studio to delve into the fascinating world of beekeeping literature. They explore the shelves of their personal libraries,

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17:53

Rothenbuhler's Legacy (152)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/11/09

In today’s episode Jim invites Becky Masterman to discuss the lasting impact of Dr. Walter Rothenbuhler’s seminal research on honey bee hygienic behavior. His work, which has been a bedrock in the field of apiculture, sheds light on the genetic foundations of disease resistance among honey bees, particularly against threats like American Foulbrood. Jim provides a unique inside perspective to Dr. Rothenbuhler as Jim personally knew and worked with him at The Ohio State University bee lab. Today's

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18:31

Transfers and Cutouts (151)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/11/02

Beekeeping is not always as straightforward as hive inspections and honey extraction. When bees decide to set up shop in places beyond the traditional hive box, it requires specialized techniques and knowledge to safely and ethically relocate them. When beekeepers set up plain boxes (not the standard Langstroth hive with moveable frames) then move them to a standard hive, it is often called a 'transfer'. When honey bees are removed from a structure, such as the wall of a house, it is called a

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19:39

Dealing With Quirky Queens (150)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/10/26

In the intricate realm of beekeeping, the queen bee reigns supreme, yet she remains a mysterious figure for many beekeepers. Join Jim as he welcomes Anne Frey, the head beekeeper of Betterbee, to delve into the fascinating world of Queen Quirks: Unusual Phenomena in Queen Bees. Jim and Anne share their wealth of experiences raising queens, offering invaluable insights into the enigmatic quirks that queens can exhibit. Together, they explore a variety of intriguing situations, including dealing with

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22:03

Honey Bees and Native Bees (149)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/10/19

In this episode, Jim, is joined by guest, Eugene Makovec, the editor of The American Bee Journal, to dissect the emotionally charged debate that's capturing the attention of beekeepers everywhere: Do honey bees harm native bees? This intriguing question unfolds as a complex ecological issue, lacking a clear-cut victor or vanquished party. The verdict depends on a multitude of factors, including the context, location, and intricate dynamics of ecosystems. Recent research underscores the importance of

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20:25

Dealing With Fall Equipment (148)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/10/12

After all of the nectar has flowed, the honey spun and you’re just waiting to put the bees to bed for the winter, you might look around at the clutter of equipment in your bee yard, bouncing in the back of your bee truck or shoved aside in the bee hut. Is there a better way to store that equipment so it is ready to use come Spring? In this week’s episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott to sit in for Kim to talk about dealing with equipment in the fall. How do you protect your

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20:05

Barrel Hives with Jerry Hayes (147)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/10/05

This week, Jerry Hayes sits in with Jim while Kim is out. In this episode, Jerry talks about one of the most unusual hive designs he's ever built and worked with... a hive made out of a old 55-gallon drum. We know honey bees will build their nests just about anywhere... but is this practical? Useable? Find out by listening today! What is your most unusual hive? ______________________ Thanks to Betterbee for sponsoring today's episode. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent

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17:18

Archive Special: Dealing with Yellowjackets (146)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/09/28

(This Archive Special first released, September 2, 2021.) 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

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22:52

Listener Emails: Cutting Down Supers and Dealing with...

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/09/21

In this episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff Ott, to sit in for Kim to help answer a couple of recent listener emails. In response to a recent episode where Jim talks about dealing with heavy 10-frame, deep supers, a listener sends in a suggestion and a question. Jim gives this recommendation thoughtful consideration and discusses the pros and cons. In a second letter, a listener states that they have a jar full of propolis and wasn't quite sure what he could do with it. Jim and Jeff

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19:42

Moving Honey Supers in the Fall (144)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/09/14

This week, we continue with the theme of Fall management. Kim is out so, Jim invites Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast to join him to talk about dealing with heavy honey supers that remain and prepping the colonies for the coming Winter. Jim uses all 10-frame deep equipment, including his honey supers. It is just the way he’s always done it. But now, moving all that weight is a challenge to get to the brood boxes below to check on the queen and do proper mite level checks. What are your

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19:08

Prepping for Fall and Winter (143)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/09/07

What do you do when the honey is all harvested, but it is still warm and not quite time to button up the colonies for Winter? On today's episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Jim has invited Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff Ott, in to discuss what he does to prepare the bees for Fall. There are many different things a beekeeper could do, such as extracting the honey they've harvested, maybe clean some old equipment, check on feed levels, and feed if necessary, are just a few. Is there any one thing a

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22:04

How to Deal With Broken Frames (142)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/08/31

This is honey harvest time of the year, for the majority of the beekeepers in the Northern Hemisphere. Undoubtedly, you will end your uncapping and extracting time with frames with broken end bars, bottoms or even the foundation punched through or out. Do you save it? Replace it? Or... something different. In today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss what a beekeeper can do to keep these old and/or broken frames going. Bees can fix many mistakes the beekeeper makes with the uncapping knife or machine

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21:33

Uncapping Honey (140)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/08/24

After building your colonies up in the spring, managing them through the early summer, collecting them out of the trees and out of the bushes after they swarm and all the effort maintaining their health… your goal as a beekeeper is to harvest honey. You’ve lifted the supers of honey from the hives, get it to your garage, shed or even kitchen and you pull a frame of pure honey out… and now what?!! This is the meaning of all that time, effort and money. So, how do you get the honey out from under that

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23:24

The Evolution of Beekeeping (141)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/08/17

What’s changed in the past 150 years or so? For some of us who have been around awhile, it seems like a lot. Most honey is still produced in the boxes Langstroth put together. Size and shape maybe different now, but it is all still, moveable frames in a box. Hive tools, smokers, veils and the rest of our tools remain nearly unchanged. Now designs, new material to make them with, but basically the same. Who keeps bees now as to then? It used to be a man’s world, but the population of who is keeping

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20:14

What To Do With Cappings (139)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/08/10

It seems that everyone talks about managing bees and selling honey. There's also a lot of discussion about extracting honey - such as: removing bees from the supers, what kind of extractor works best, uncapping and even bottling. But what about all those wet wax cappings laying around? Hopefully, they're mostly in some sort of pan, tray or tank. But just what do you do with those cappings? In this episode, Kim and Jim talk about the cappings and how a hobbyest can process and melt them down to use

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21:03

Considering the Bee Yard Habitat (138)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/08/03

Continuing their discussion on the micro and to some extent the macro environment of a beeyard, Kim and Jim take a long hard look at what do bees need to eat, and how much should there be. They look at the weeds in the apiary, areas around the beeyard, and areas further away that may be a plus because what’s growing out there. They also look at the work beekeepers and other groups are doing to provide additional forage for all pollinators, in an effort to slow the loss of habitat to due

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21:53

Dealing with Harvesting Headaches (137)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/07/27

Every season, it seems, is different than the last, making it difficult or at least challenging. Honey harvesting is no different: what and when and how and where to harvest a honey crop. Deep south beekeepers went through this a month or more ago, but the northern half is now dealing with unpredictable late season honey flows, late summer increased varroa populations and all making good winter bees! Will this winter be as cold as this summer was hot? Do you still leave as much honey as last year,

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