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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

16:53

Artificial Honeycomb (049)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/11/25

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 fully drawn comb for bees to use, from either beeswax, or other edible waxes. Bees seem to like it and it

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18:30

What's That Smell - Part 2: The Good (048)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/11/18

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 products. Beeswax being rendered, honey being uncapped, the smell of brand-new wax foundation, burning wax

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18:54

What's That Smell? - Part 1: The Bad (047)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/11/11

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 on along and learn what you can expect when dealing with honey, honey bees and all that comes with them,

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16:28

Small-Scale Pollination Contracts (046)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/11/04

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 ready next spring! If you wait until the first dandelion, you will be late to the game! If you are

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16:03

Bottom Boards (045)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/10/28

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 bottom board has a ridge that is 3/4th of an inch tall, to be used in the summer for better ventilation and

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19:38

Preparing for Winter (044)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/10/21

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, roofing insulation is often used, already packaged units like a Bee Cozy, or those made by BetterBee are

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12:49

Beekeeper Waxing & Waning (043)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/10/14

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 times. And yes, some won’t come back. Sometimes, learning something new will keep you going. Learn queen

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12:57

Invasive Plants (042)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/10/07

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 Chinese Tallow lawsuit going on in the south, with USDA wanting rid of it by introducing a natural pest

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16:18

Fall Feeding (041)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/09/30

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 really any food out there at all? How much food does a colony actually need to get through the winter? You

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17:01

Winter Packing (040)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/09/23

Think about honey bees overwintering in a tree. There’s 4 to 6 inches of insulation, pretty good ventilation, and it’s lined with propolis. Now think of our bees living in a box with less than an inch of wood for protection. We pretty much don’t think of wintering anymore. There’s lots of bees, swarms, we can replace what we lose easily…. well, it was easy, but it’s not so much anymore. Varroa changed that. We can protect them if we want. Insulated covers, insulated wraps, roofing paper, all manner

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17:27

"Winter Is Coming" aka Planning For Winter (039)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/09/16

There’s a saying – Winter Begins in August and it’s already September. It’s time to start thinking about getting ready for winter. What can and what should you be thinking about? Well, if winter is cold where you are, can you move your bees to somewhere that’s warm? If moving bees is at all possible. What about indoor wintering? It used to be popular and it’s coming back, but the indoors are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be. Is that possible? And are your bees winter hardy, or are they

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14:23

Combining (Joining) Weak Colonies (038)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/09/09

Right now, you have to make some decisions about how to overwinter your colonies. If you live in the deep south, there probably isn’t much to think about. But if you live north of warm winter weather, there’s a lot that has to be done. One of these tasks is what to do with a couple of small, weak colonies, because they are just not big enough to make it on their own. Several options are available. In this week’s episode, Kim and Jim look at the strengths and weaknesses of each to help you better

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16:58

Dealing With Neighbor's Yellowjacket Problems (037)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/09/02

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 lucky lands in a tree or bush and are easy to retrieve

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20:38

Dealing With 'Wet Combs' After Extracting (036)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/08/26

When you finish extracting your honey crop, you have frames that have sticky, gooey honey in the cells, and on the frame surfaces. There may be some crystalized honey in some of the cells, too. Maybe even some pollen stored there. So how do you clean up this mess so when you go to store the supers with these frames in them for the winter, they will be safe? Kim and Jim take a look at dealing with these wet combs so they get clean and are easy to store for the winter, no matter where you winter. The

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13:16

Ugly (Mean) Bees (035)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/08/19

What do you do about ugly or mean bees? It can be difficult to determine which colony in a beeyard with several colonies is the one, or maybe one of several, that has scouting guard bees meet you at the gate when you go to a beeyard. If you can determine which colony is the one with the problems, why is it behaving so aggressively? Several reasons come to mind – something is bothering it at night, maybe a skunk for several nights, then you come along and they’ve about had it with being disturbed

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13:16

How Are My Bees? (034)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/08/12

Every spring we beekeepers buy packages and set up nucs. Come summer, we start to look at what is going right and what may be going… well… not so right. Or at least, something is going but we’re not quite certain just what! In this episode, Kim and Jim discuss the hives they started this past spring and compare notes. They’re only 30 miles apart and you might think weather and time have treated them equally and… you would be surprised. How was the new queen accepted? How has the honey flow from

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13:13

Planting for Bees (033)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/08/05

Beekeepers talk a lot about not having enough food or enough good food for their bees due to all manner of development, agriculture spread, and agriculture in general. To help fix that problem beekeepers should be looking at doing some planting for bees, which is what Kim and Jim talk about this week. But it’s not as simple as it might sound. If you are planning on something for your yard, the basic gardening techniques can be an issue – dealing with sod removal, local animals that will enjoy what

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15:21

Troubling Questions (032)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/07/29

Kim and Jim ask some interesting questions this week, maybe some you’ve asked yourself, or perhaps you asked a close friend. For instance, should a colony being used for honey production spend time and energy raising drones? Or should a beekeeper be getting rid of drones? There are some who believe so. And where do you go to get good information when you have a honey bee question? The web? And if so, which websites do you seek out? What about books and magazines? And for what subjects? Is there a

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15:05

European Foul Brood (031)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/07/22

Have you ever had European Foulbrood (EFB) in one or more of your hives? How do you know if it was EFB? What does it look like? What does it smell like? Does it smell like American Foulbrood (AFB), or look like AFB? If you’re not sure, how do you find out? Who can you call? And what can you do about it if it is EFB? Burn, treat, scorch, feed, let it alone because it will get better? And if you need to treat, do you know a veterinarian who can give you a prescription so you can buy an antibiotic to

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15:55

Hot Summers and Bees (030)

Honey Bee Obscura Podcast ·

2021/07/15

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 Michigan this week, and it’s been hot there, too. They share the same loss of enthusiasm and eagerness for working bees when it’s hot and it seems the bees are

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