It’s early March, bees are flying every few days, early maples are blooming. Are you asking yourself, “Are my bees ready for the nectar flow?” On today’s episode, Kim and Jim look at what’s going on in their hives now that spring is starting to get serious. What should the colony be doing, what should you be seeing, and just for giggles, what should you be doing to stay a half step ahead of the bees? One thing for sure is that you’ve got to take a look inside the hive. While we’re at it, how is ...
Mar 09, 2023•21 min•Ep. 116
The more colonies you have, the more you will notice differences between them throughout the year. On today's episode, Kim and Jim talk about what do you do when you open one of your colonies and it seems 'smaller' than the other colonies around it. Is it something that should concern you? What do you look at first? Pests? Pesticides? Failing queen? Inadequate food supplies? Do you try to fix it? Listen in as Kim and Jim discuss this sometimes perplexing topic that pesters all beekeepers, one ti...
Mar 02, 2023•21 min•Ep. 115
There’s lots of places you can keep bees that aren’t the typical backyard. Today Kim and Jim take a look at a couple of these places. The first is in an unused single car garage. The hive boxes sit on a bench inside the garage for easy access and he doesn’t need a cover, just a board over the top. These bees can be worked any time of day or in any weather and he uses a lot less smoke when working them. Another placed discussed is up on the roof. There are some special concerns here you need to b...
Feb 23, 2023•20 min•Ep. 114
It happens to most beekeepers are one point, where you have to find someplace else to keep your bees. A new, different beeyard. Where do you start? Whether you have too many in your backyard and need to put more someplace else, or the world changed and you can’t keep them in your backyard any more, you need to find that place. First off, what does a beeyard need to have to work for you? Access, definitely - year-round access. Gates, overflowing streams, unplowed roads, vandals, bear, cattle, and...
Feb 16, 2023•24 min•Ep. 113
There are a lot of good reasons to start a new colony in your beeyard using a nucleus (nuc) colony, consisting of a mated queen, brood and drawn comb rather than buying a package of bees. But there are some issues to pay particular attention to also. How old is the queen? How much of all kinds of brood are already there? What condition is the beeswax comb in? Does it come in it’s own box, what about frame exchange and how are you going to get it home? If you’re just starting out it really pays t...
Feb 09, 2023•23 min•Ep. 112
It’s going to be 50 degrees tomorrow. Kim and Jim are going to have to check their bees for the first time this very early spring. So what do they do, how do they examine a colony this time of year way up north? The beekeepers in the warmer parts of the country are already adding supers, there’s pollen coming in and the year has begun, but for those of us up north, there’s still a month of winter left. But this 50 degree day is a bonus and we can get in early, check for food, see if the bees are...
Feb 02, 2023•20 min•Ep. 111
The queens that come with packages today seem to be different that those we could get five or ten years ago and we think that points to some changes need to be made regarding a simple concept – Patience. It would appear that it’s taking a bit longer for the worker bees in the package to become accustomed to this new queen, and patience in every aspect of introducing them in their new home is a good idea. There are many possible reasons for this… the environment in the colony she was living in ha...
Jan 26, 2023•24 min•Ep. 110
This is the time of year to think seriously about the queens you have in your colonies, or the queens you had in your colonies last season. If replacement is on the table, what should you be looking for? The simple and probably best answer is… a good queen . But what makes a good queen? Population production, mite resistance, gentle, the right color, honey production? All have some level of importance and it depends more on the beekeeper than what the books say, mostly, usually. It’s even more i...
Jan 19, 2023•23 min•Ep. 109
American Foulbrood is in the news lately… and for a good, positive reason. But what does it mean if you determine or a state apiarist determines you have a case or two or more of AFB in your bee yard? A vaccine is not a cure. It is a means for prevention. In today’s episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott on to talk about American Foulbood, the stigma attached to AFB and the go-to recommendation of burning all contaminated equipment, bees and wax is not one you want associated w...
Jan 12, 2023•23 min•Ep. 108
It’s the beginning of a new year and Jim and Kim are thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. Almost everybody makes a few Resolutions every January – even beekeepers, but many times resolutions are made and never achieved. Kim wants to do better with the bees this season, take better care of the garden, and read a bee book a month this year. Jim also wants to do better with his bees, run fewer colonies, and be better at responding to email he gets from podcast listeners and readers of his journal...
Jan 05, 2023•20 min•Ep. 107
What would you do if you received a call from a neighbor saying that your bee equipment was scattered across multiple yards? What would be YOUR first thought? In today’s episode, Jim invites Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott to the show to talk about bears in the bee yard and how, no matter what… it is always a surprise - especially when your bees are in an area where there are “no bears”. When encountering bears, this saying may come to mind, as you climb out of your vehicle: “If it’s black, ...
Dec 29, 2022•25 min•Ep. 106
Not a lot of people start keeping bees without some outside influence. A relative, neighbor, college class, or getting a job in bees. Jim started out with a college class, to fill electives. Kim got a job working for the USDA because he could grow the plants they needed for bees to visit for a pollination study on soybeans. So how did you get started? A family hobby or business? A neighbor who invited you in? An interest in plants and pollination? Perhaps gardening? Almost every beekeeper has th...
Dec 22, 2022•25 min•Ep. 105
Knowing what you did or saw, added or removed from a colony is useful. Whether that happened earlier in the day or the prior season. Keeping track of what, how why and when you did something in the bee yard, for a specific colony will help keep you from making repeated mistakes. Historical information will help you fine tune your honey bee management. On today's episode, Kim and Jim discuss record keeping. No matter what means you employ to keep those records: hive top, inner cover, notebook(s),...
Dec 15, 2022•23 min•Ep. 104
What beekeeper hasn't nailed together a hive body and thought, "Heck, I can cut these boards myself and it'd be cheaper!" Especially if they already have a wood shop with a table saw and a few other tools. But is it really? What are the pros and cons of building your own equipment? Why should you even try? On today's episode, Jim Tew invites Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today podcast to the show to talk about building your own beekeeping equipment. They both have done it. Are they doing it still? We...
Dec 08, 2022•23 min•Ep. 103
It’s winter time and sure as the sky is blue (or grey – as the case may be), there will be many dead colonies out there next spring. If not in as early as in the few weeks. Winter kills in the US are running something like 40+% right now. A winter killed colony is a time, financial and frustrating thief of bees and honey and equipment. In today’s episode, Kim and Jim discuss Winter Die-Offs and how to inspect the colony remains to determine what may have gone wrong. By finding out what went wron...
Dec 01, 2022•22 min•Ep. 102
On today’s show, Kim and Jim discuss the most common ‘complaint’ a beekeeper who sells honey encounters. This is true whether you are selling from the back of your truck, at a roadside stand or even a local farmer’s market. What do you tell your customer who brings you or asks you about granulated honey in the jar? How you answer this may make the difference between a lifelong customer or someone who never buys honey again. How one addresses this is as varied as there are people who eat honey. F...
Nov 24, 2022•26 min•Ep. 101
Honey Bee Obscura celebrates its 100th episode with this release! Jim Tew and Kim Flottum invite, Beekeeping Today Podcast’s Jeff Ott to join them to take a look at 5,000 years of beekeeping history, sorting out some of the highlights, discoveries, and mistakes, along with some of the people behind it all. Come along as we go from bees in trees, skeps, boles, boxes, hives, back to boxes and finally, back to trees. There’s lots to learn and lots to entertain. All in 24 minutes! We hope you enjoy ...
Nov 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 100
Winter tends to have a bit more time inside than outside and one way to spend that time inside is to catch up on your reading. Jim and Kim talk a bit about the books they read, the authors and publishers they like and where they get the books they read all winter. Along with the new books, they have their preferred “old standby” books they rely on for information on a particular topic to see how management approaches have evolved (or not) over the years. Beekeeping has evolved over the years and...
Nov 10, 2022•21 min•Ep. 99
Why on earth would honey bee foragers go out on a freezing day in winter to collect water? Ice and snow everywhere, but there they are, trying to get a drink and bring some home for their sisters. Why? Kim and Jim explore some of the reasons why. They explore the uses of water by winter bees and where they collect it. Kim and Jim also explore aspects of ventilation, or lack thereof, in the winter. Should a beehive have lots, some or none? Industry experts continue to research. Is too much water ...
Nov 03, 2022•17 min•Ep. 98
Without a doubt, some of the most peaceful places on Earth are bee yards. Tranquil, serene and quiet with only the soft hum of the bees fanning the air through their hives floating on top the silence… Peaceful, except when it is not. Have you ever worked in a distant bee yard, late at night, away from home, cell service, friends, and family? What did you hear? See anything… strange? Did anything go “bump” in the night? How’d it all go for you? On today’s episode Jim and guest co-host, Jeff Ott, ...
Oct 27, 2022•22 min•Ep. 97
When you’ve been keeping bees for decades, sometimes you do things because that’s the way you’ve always done them, right? But the world continues to change. It has to keep up with whatever is going on wherever it’s happening. And because the world is changing, every minute of every day, doing the "same ole same ole" just because that’s what you’ve always done isn’t for maybe isn’t the best choice. Beehive insulation is one of those things that maybe bees need, or don’t. And what about insulation...
Oct 20, 2022•17 min•Ep. 96
Does your state Agriculture Department have a bulletin they share with everybody on the phenology, or bloom dates, of the wild flowers, trees and shrubs that grow in your state? Today Kim and Jim discuss the chart used by Ohio beekeepers. Ohio’s chart shows what is blooming each month, the adult and larvae bee population in a hive, and what beekeepers should be doing relative to space management in their hives. It’s a great tool to have for beekeepers in your state so they can know ahead of time...
Oct 13, 2022•20 min•Ep. 95
Beekeepers have a love/hate relationship with their smokers. Beekeeper families don’t have split emotions… they tend HATE smokers and their lingering ‘perfume’. How beekeepers manage their smokers impacts more than their bees. In today’s episode, Kim and Jim talk about smokers. Arguably more so than a veil, the quintessential identifier of a beekeeper is a smoker. It is in the hand of every trope, every caricature of a beekeeper. In fact it is so emblematic, you can go into many antique shops an...
Oct 06, 2022•20 min•Ep. 94
Jim has pails of crystalized honey, but only wants enough liquid honey for his oatmeal this morning. How does he get that to work? Kim has a lot of good ideas. There are pail blankets, band heaters, boxes and more to warm a pail to liquid honey on the market, including our sponsor, Betterbee . Kim’s his friend Buzz, who made a warming box out of foam insulation, a lightbulb and a couple nails to hold it together. Cheap, easy, and it works. This is the time of year that liquifying honey comes hom...
Sep 29, 2022•21 min•Ep. 93
One of the first pieces of equipment a new beekeeper buys is a bee suit. If they don’t buy a bee suit, they will at least buy a veil. Stings on the face are not only painful (and memorable to all who see it), they can be dangerous if it is directly to one’s eye or around the eyes. In today’s episode, Jim Tew and Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast , talk about the different types of protective clothing available to beekeepers today. New beekeepers should at the very least , start with a veil...
Sep 22, 2022•22 min•Ep. 92
Moving boxes full of honey is usually a lot of work. The bees aren’t happy, the boxes are heavy, it’s hot and you have all your gear on to be safe. The one sure way to make this easier is to use devices that have wheels. Two-wheelers, carts, your truck, all make moving boxes of honey less work. Once the supers are off and the bees out, you need to get them to your honey house, whether it’s a garage for storage until extraction, your kitchen (for probably the last time) or an specially built hone...
Sep 15, 2022•27 min•Ep. 91
Harvesting your honey crop isn’t about keeping bees , in fact, it is hard work. It’s when you start questioning your spring decision to expand your number of colonies. On the other hand, it’s a good measure of how well you kept bees during the season. And there are a lot of ways to convince the bees they should share what they have made this season, mostly due to your stewardship. Removing well capped, honey filled frames can be complicated but easy, or uncomplicated and a lot of work. The uncom...
Sep 08, 2022•19 min•Ep. 90
So, what’s that thing you put between two supers to give additional space between top bars below and bottom bars above so there’s room for…something you want to add to the hive. Is it a spacer, a rim, or what? Kim has always called it a ‘rim’ and thought he had one until this week. Because it’s getting time to think about winter feeding, and he always used a rim to make room for the pollen patties he feeds, couldn’t find it. He looked in a few catalogs, but could not find them listed. Jim simply...
Sep 01, 2022•21 min•Ep. 89
Post-harvest time is a good time to look for wax moth in your colonies. Believe it or not, wax moths are around pretty much all of the time. On today’s episode, Kim and Jim discuss wax moths! Strong colonies keep them pretty much under control, but weak colonies sometimes can’t keep up and soon they’ll have more wax moth larvae than honey bees. Stored equipment is another challenge. Some beekeepers will freeze supers after harvest to kill any moth larvae before storing them away for the winter. ...
Aug 25, 2022•21 min•Ep. 88
Towards the end of the season, it’s a good idea to take a look at the equipment and other management tricks you’ve been using all summer while it’s still fresh in your mind. Today, Jim and Kim talk about how well the veils they use worked this summer, and the bee suits they occasionally wear (did you know a good way to wash a smokey, propolis covered bee suit is to use a pressure sprayer?) and is that old smoker good for another year, or not? There’s a lot to consider… How’s your location workin...
Aug 18, 2022•16 min•Ep. 87
