x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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.

leisure hobbies

All Episodes

20:23

Supplemental Spring Feeding of Honey Bees (069)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/04/14

If your colonies make it through the winter, or if you simply purchased more bees as a package or nuc, their next challenge is making it through the changeable spring weather. (Especially this year, it seems.) Your management challenge is deciding what and how to feed them. In this episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott discuss supplemental spring feeding. Specifically, they discuss the feeding of carbohydrates or sugar water. (The supplemental feeding of protein (pollen) will be covered in a future

en

18:58

Adding Package Bees to Deadout Equipment (068)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/04/07

This time of year, experienced and new beekeepers are receiving their packaged bees and nucs. Only a few of these packages and nucs are going home to new equipment. Many will go home to equipment left over from last year's failed colonies. Is it safe to use this equipment? In this episode, Jeff Ott (from Beekeeping Today Podcast) fills in for Kim Flottum and asks Jim, can he use his old equipment. What about the old honey? Will it hurt if the honey is fermenting or crystallized? What about mold

en

22:45

Capturing and Hiving Swarms (067)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/03/31

A beekeeper's most exciting moment is undoubtedly, capturing and hiving a swarm... especially when it is someone else's bees! In today episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott - who is filling in for Kim Flottum this week - discuss capturing swarms and how you can be prepared this year. How can you be prepared? Get some basic equipment pulled together. A container of some type (preferably bee-tight), such as a hive body with a frame or two of brood comb foundation, pruning shears, a tarp - white is best for

en

16:58

Swarm Traps aka Bait Hives (066)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/03/24

In today's episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott (who's stepping in this week for Kim Flottum) discuss their experiences using swarm traps - sometimes called "bait hives". Swarm traps are used by beekeepers to lure the scout bees looking for a new home. There are multiple types of swarm traps from the commercially available 'flower pot' type traps, to home-made traps to simply setting out old hive bodies with a frame or two of brood comb or foundation. Jim and Jeff talk about what they've used, what'd

en

22:13

More Listener Questions (065)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/03/17

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 don't you like? What is your favorite beekeeping tool not found in a beekeeping catalog or your local bee

en

16:23

Mind Your Bees Wax (064)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/03/10

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. In fact, after a couple of years those old combs will have enough dirt, grime, propolis and especially

en

14:53

Dealing With Old Equipment (063)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/03/03

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 states, you’ll need an inspector’s seal of approval if you’re giving it to someone so you don’t spread

en

17:56

Make Money with Honey Bees! (062)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/02/24

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 equipment you’ll need to do the things you can do to make money? Do you have the energy? Well, start

en

15:55

Raising Non-Graft Queens (061)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/02/17

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 you can simply do a split, remove the queen from one or both and get out of the way and let them raise a

en

17:36

Late Winter Colony Management (060)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/02/10

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 glimpse inside, how would you feed them if you had to? Fondant works, usually, by cracking a super and

en

18:49

Going Big Time - Large Observation Hives (059)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/02/03

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 frame wide and you’ll probably never see the queen, if only a single frame, the bees never get to cluster

en

19:37

Let's Discuss Small Observation Hives (058)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/01/27

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 held in place for when kids are pointing, showing and asking questions. How many bees should you have,

en

17:48

Bee Beards - Part 2 (057)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/01/20

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 work well here. Then, you put them all in one big box, and using a piece of screen, with Vaseline smeared

en

19:04

Bee Beards - Part 1 (056)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/01/13

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 today’s episode, Kim and Jim start a discussion on… Bee Beards. First, if your club is doing this for a

en

17:25

Flower Garden Site Prep (055)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2022/01/06

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! Listen and learn as Kim & Jim discuss the ins and outs of flower garden site preparation, so Jim can

en

16:06

New Year - New Equipment... Assembly Required? (054)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/12/30

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. Buying assembled boxes can be a good idea, as long as they are put together correctly at the factory,

en

18:08

Planning your Gardens for Bees (053)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/12/23

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 to learn those exact skills and has offered to give him a hand. He guides Jim in finding out what

en

16:53

Considering the Bee Culture December Issue (052)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/12/16

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. The issue includes the annual honey price report too, which shows honey prices for a couple dozen

en

17:08

Considering Packages or Nucs for the Spring (051)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/12/09

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 spring? What if they all are? Or what if none are? And where can I get packages now? The post office

en

16:40

New Swarms On Deadout Comb? (050)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/12/02

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 find out BEFORE you put more bees in those boxes. Have them tested. If the colony went queenless

en

270 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

詭哭郎嚎

郎祖筠 & FMTaiwan製作團隊

Ron en Erik Podcast

Ron en Erik

Poor Man"s Pinball Podcast

Poor Men Ian and Drew

WeAreChange on Odysee

WeAreChange