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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

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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22:14

Dealing With Summer Robbing (136)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/07/20

It’s the time of year when summer is nearly over, but the fall flow hasn’t started. Colonies are big, there’s lot of foragers, and not much to forage on, yet. A colony that is ripe for being robbed is usually small, weak, and not able to defend itself. When the beekeeper starts working these colonies, foragers from other nearby colonies may find them, harvest a bit of honey, head home and tell everybody what you just found. “Come on girls, there’s lots of food right over here. Let me waggle you a

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22:50

Beehive Life (135)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/07/13

What else is in a beehive other than... honey bees? If you stop and look closer the next time you are in your beeyard, you will in all likelihood begin to notice all manner of living creatures sharing the beeyard space with you and your bees. Some, most in fact, are not a problem for your bees and in fact, many are actually beneficial to your bees. These ‘pests’ clean up the messes from your bees. Once you look inside the hive, you may find even more of these creatures making a home alongside the

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22:28

Managing Mid-Summer Splits (133)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/07/06

In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the pros and cons of mid-summer splits. Are they good or are they bad? It can go both ways. Mid-summer splits are used to divide a colony for swarm prevention, colony expansion, or the equalization of colony populations going into Fall and Winter. However, you have to weigh factors such as reduced late summer or fall honey collection for both the bees and beekeeper, how to queen the the split (let them raise their own or purchased) and the risks and time of

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21:03

Dealing With Seasonal Bee Management Fluctuations (132)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/06/29

How does a beekeeper deal with the seasonal population shifts, weather and resulting needs of the honey bees in their care. How does a beekeeper balance the needs of the colony with the needs of the beekeeper? The middle of that Venn Diagram is a very small slice of common interests. Mostly, the bees and the beekeeper are at odds of what that intersection should include. In today's episode, Kim and Jim examine this conundrum of needs and expectations - the balance-point of which changes constantly,

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16:10

Summer Replay - Hot Summers & Hot Bees (131)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/06/22

Listeners, Kim and Jim are busy in the bee yard this week and have chosen this episode from the archive, for your listening pleasure. Thank you for listening! It’s been hot in Ohio so far this summer (and a lot of other places too) but it’s also been wet. Hot and wet can make keeping bees a lot harder than normal. Kim and Jim talk about hot summers and their bees. Kick the air conditioner down a couple of degrees, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage and listen in. Jim is visiting up in

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19:38

Getting Your Bees Through Droughts (130)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/06/15

Summer is in full force in most of the country now. Nectar flows are on and the honey is starting to ripen in the supers. It is the time of year beekeepers have been planning for all winter long! Summer is pretty nice now, isn't it? Eventually, every location will experience a drought (especially with all the extreme weather events experienced by all parts of the country, and world). What do honey bees do during these periods of drought? What can a beekeeper do to lessen the stress on their colonies

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22:11

Learning To Deal With Stings (129)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2023/06/08

All beekeepers must one day, cross a threshold: dealing with bee stings. For some, it is a small, hardly seen threshold. For others, it is a major challenge that takes time to overcome. On today's episode Jim and Jeff Ott talk about learning to overcome the fear (though, not the pain) of a honey bee sting, or two... or 10. Jeff from Beekeeping Today Podcast, joins Jim to talk about the Learning to deal with stings. Was learning to deal with stings a challenge for you? If so, or even if not, let us

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