About Bees, Culture & Curiosity
Ron Miksha 110 episodes Nov 4, 2026
About Bees, Culture & Curiosity is a podcast that explores bees in all their variety and the roles they play in agriculture and ecology. Host Ron Miksha talks with guests about bee biology, beekeeping, and the cultural and scientific questions that surround them. The show connects curiosity about nature with practical and ecological insights. Each episode aims to make bee science accessible to general listeners.
Episodes
Canada's Beekeepers at a Crossroads, with Connie Phillips
Behind commercial beekeeping are beekeepers managing colonies, replacing losses, providing pollination and trying to keep their businesses viable. In this episode of About Bees Culture and Curiosity, Ron welcomes Connie Phillips, Executive Director of the Canadian Beekeepers Federation, for a conversation about the people, policies and practical challenges shaping Canadian beekeeping. Connie des
A Little Halloween Buzz
A little Halloween history, a little honey, and some little bees at the door. This short episode chats about the origins of Halloween, honey as a Halloween treat, and dressing unfortunate little children as bees for trick-or-treating. A short, seasonal listen with a bee-themed twist. Season 10 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – A Little Halloween Buzz Support this Podcast! Like
Honey Bump and Pumpkin Bust with Joe
Season 10 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Honey Bump and Pumpkin Bust with Joe Support this Podcast! Like, Follow, and buy me Gallons of Coffee here: ko-fi.com/miksha What makes a great honey year? And why can the same season be difficult for pumpkins? Joe McShaw, owner of Honeymoon Acres in Wisconsin, joins his brother Ron Miksha for a conversation about farming, beekeepi
Yellow-Legged Hornets: Why Bees Stop Foraging
Season 10 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Yellow-Legged Hornets: Why Bees Stop Foraging A hornet hovers outside a hive. It catches a bee. Then something less obvious happens: fewer bees leave to forage. The flowers may still be there, but the colony's food supply begins to falter. The bees have been watching and are paralyzed by fright. In this episode of About Bees, Culture,
Why Join a Bee Society? Scott Steinfeldt on WAS
Season 10 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Why Join a Bee Society? Scott Steinfeldt on WAS What does a bee society offer when beekeeping advice is already everywhere online? Scott Steinfeldt, president of the Western Apicultural Society of North America (WAS), joins me, Ron Miksha, to discuss trusted information, practical education, and the value of a beekeeping community. Sc
More Sugar, Less Protein: Rising CO₂ in Plants and Pollen
Season 10 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – More Sugar, Less Protein: Rising CO₂ in Plants and Pollen More carbon dioxide helps plants grow. But does more plant growth mean more nutritious food? In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, we look at what rising atmospheric CO₂ may be doing to plant chemistry. And to the food eaten by people, insects, and bees.
Why is a Turkey a Turkey?
Season 10 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Why is a Turkey a Turkey? Why is a bird native to North America called a turkey? The answer takes us from Mexico to Spain, Africa, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), France, England, and eventually back across the Atlantic on the Mayflower. Along the way, an American bird gets mistaken for an African one, the English name it after Turke
Killing the Drones
Season 10 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Killing the Drones As autumn arrives, worker honey bees turn against the drones they fed and tolerated all summer. But what triggers their eviction? Is it cold, shorter days, dwindling forage or something else? We explore the strange seasonal ritual known as the killing of the drones, including what happens in tropical colonies and
Building a Better Bee: Brother Adam to DNA
Season 9 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Building a Better Bee: Brother Adam to DNA Brother Adam spent his life trying to build a better bee. Thirty years after his death, we can sequence bee genomes, scan more than 100,000 genetic markers and even edit honey-bee DNA. But have we actually made the bee better? This episode follows the journey from Buckfast Abbey to CRISPR —
Getting Rid of Confusion in Beekeeper-Speak
Season 9 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Getting Rid of Confusion in Beekeeper-Speak What exactly is a bee colony? The answer seems obvious. Until beekeepers, scientists and computers all need to agree. In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, we explore an international effort to create a common language for bees and beekeeping. Researchers working with A
Bees, Climate Change, Catastrophe
Season 9 Episode 10: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bees, Climate Change, Catastrophe The tables are turned. Instead of asking the questions on About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, I become the guest on Brady Podloski's Catastrophe podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about honey bees, native bees, climate change, insect decline, agriculture, and ecological collapse. Are honey
Helicopters, Varroa, Tech Transfer, and a Life with Bees
Season 9 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Helicopters, Varroa, Tech Transfer, and a Life with Bees In today's episode, we interview Matthew Polinsky, Manitoba's Bee Technology Transfer lead. Matthew grew up around commercial beekeeping in Saskatchewan. His father kept bees, his brother keeps bees, and his grandfather Derek Alen was part of an earlier generation of Prairie
The Autumn Flower: Goldenrod, not really too stinky.
Season 9 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The Autumn Flower: Goldenrod: not really too stinky. Goldenrod is a keystone species for plant, animal, and ecological survival in a huge part of North America. It is also suffering from an unexpected problem, which is hurting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. That's this episode's bonus - the collapse of human civilization.
The American Honey Queen: Bees, Education and Advocacy
Season 9 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The American Honey Queen: Bees, Education and Advocacy Delanie Craighead, the 2026 American Honey Queen, joins Ron Miksha on About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity for a conversation about honey bees, entomology, education, honey and American beekeeping. Delanie's route to the American Honey Queen crown is an unusual one. She studied
The End of the Honey Flow means Trouble
Season 9 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The End of the Honey Flow means Trouble The honey flow is over. The supers have been extracted. We had a nice crop (300 pounds from 2 hives). More than we can eat at one time. Now the trouble begins. Robbing. Varroa. Wasps. Crowding. End of the season blahs. This podcast was Recorded August 2026 in Calgary. Please subscribe, like
The 50% Honey Tariff: When a Market Disappears
Season 9 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The 50% Honey Tariff: When a Market Disappears The bees made the honey. Now who will buy it? A new 50% U.S. tariff on Canadian honey arrived just as Prairie beekeepers began harvesting the 2026 crop. The numbers reveal an uncomfortable imbalance: Canadian honey is only about 2% of U.S. honey imports, but the amount we send south is eq
Too Hot for Bees? Arizona Heat, Drought, and Rescuing Bees
Season 9 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Too Hot for Bees? Arizona Heat, Drought, and Rescuing Bees Southern Arizona is beautiful bee country, but it's tough on bees and beekeepers. Temperatures climb above 100°F, water becomes critical, drought can shut down forage, and the ground itself becomes dangerously hot. In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, Ron ta
Sweet Clover: The Best Honey Plant?
Season 9 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Sweet Clover: The Best Honey Plant? Sweet clover is the best nectar-producing plant. Best honey quality; best for making lots of water-white mild honey. But not everywhere. Here's its story. This podcast was Recorded July 2025 and August 2026 in Calgary. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation.
No Bugs on the Windshield. Is it the Insect Apocalypse?
Season 9 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – No Bugs on the Windshield. Is it the Insect Apocalypse? A summer drive from Calgary to Banff used to leave my windshield covered with insects. A few days ago, the same 250-kilometre round trip left just three bug splatters. Three. It used to be dozens. Is this simply better automobile design, or is it ssigns of an insect apocalypse? I
What if a Part of Canada Leaves? Who gets the bees?
Season 9 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – What if a Part of Canada Leaves? Who gets the bees? What if part of Canada separates from the rest of the country? I take a deep dive into this subject because the province of Alberta has a hearty band of separatists who have been arguing for Alberta to leave Canada and either be a separate country, or more likely, become part of the
The 3-in-1 Bee Tree: Linden, Lime, and Basswood
Season 8 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The 3-in-1 Bee Tree: Linden, Lime, and Basswood Discover why linden, lime, and basswood trees have been used and abused for centuries by beekeepers, herbalists, and woodworkers in this About Bees episode. The basswood (aka linden and lime) is one of the world's finest honey trees. Join me, Ron Miksha, as we explore the tree's weird
Joe's Greenhouse and Bees Philosophy
Season 8 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Joe's Greenhouse and Bees Philosophy Today we visit Ron's brother Joe McShaw at Honeymoon Acres in New Holstein, Wisconsin. We'll explore his management philosophy, running a business with family, selling 3,000,000 plants, and working with 14 colonies of honey bees that live beside his 15-acre pumpkin garden. Honeymoon Acres Greenhou
Left Behind: After the Honey Bee Rapture
Season 8 Episode 10: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Left Behind: After the Honey Bee Rapture What happens inside a honey bee hive after a swarm leaves? In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, Ron Miksha follows the parent colony after half the bees depart with the old queen. The story explores why bees swarm, how many bees leave, what remains behind, why swarm queen cell
Scotland through a Beekeeper's Eyes
Season 8 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Scotland through a Beekeeper's Eyes Join me on a journey through Scotland as I explore Edinburgh, Inverness, the Highlands, Loch Ness, and the famous Scottish heather moors. What began as a visit with my daughter, who studies at the University of Edinburgh, quickly became an opportunity to see Scotland through the eyes of a beekeeper.
Black Locust: Appalachia's Gift to World Beekeeping
Season 8 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Black Locust: Appalachia's Gift to World Beekeeping One of Europe's most famous honey trees actually came from the Appalachian Mountains of North America. In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, we follow the remarkable story of Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust, also known across Europe as "acacia." Originally a minor
World Bee Day, No Mow May, and Do Bees Dream?
Season 8 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – World Bee Day, No Mow May, and Do Bees Dream? It's No Mow May, World Bee Day is coming up, so, of course, I was wondering if bees dream. Recorded in Calgary, May 2026 Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site About Ron Miksha: https://about-be
Tupelo Honey: Swamps, Bees, and Southern Taste
Season 8 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Tupelo Honey: Swamps, Bees, and Southern Taste In this episode of About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, we travel into the flooded river forests of Florida and Georgia to explore the remarkable story of tupelo honey - one of the rarest and most celebrated honeys in North America. Produced mainly from the blossoms of the Ogeechee tupelo
Wild Bee Care in the Spring
Season 8 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Wild Bee Care in the Spring This podcast episode featured Ilan Domnich, the native bee stewardship specialist with the Alberta Native Bee Council, discussing how to support native bees in spring. Ilan explained that Alberta has 370 species of native bees, with 70% overwintering underground and 30% in plant stems or elsewhere, emphasi
Can Magnets Help Honey Bees Survive Winter?
Season 8 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Can Magnets Help Honey Bees Survive Winter? In this episode, we examine the unusual controversial question of whether electromagnetic fields affect honey bees. We begin with the broader idea that the bees' world is surrounded by weak natural and artificial electromagnetic signals. The discussion includes Schumann resonance (the low-fr
More than Packages
Season 8 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – More than Packages Bees can arrive in packages. Putting them into snow-covered hive boxes is exciting. We'll install packages and chat bees and more on this episode. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.
Dandelion: The Bee Plant That Doesn't Need Bees
Season 8 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Dandelion: The Bee Plant That Doesn't Need Bees Dandelions show up early. In many places, they're the first thing people notice in spring. Bright yellow, everywhere at once, and full of bees. It's easy to assume they are the first and best food source for honey bees. They aren't. Before dandelions bloom, bees are already working. Alder
Apitherapy and the Joy of Bee Stings
Season 8 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Apitherapy and the Joy of Bee Stings Happy World Apitherapy Day, March 30, marked on the birthday of the founder of apitherapy, Filip Terč. Oh, and I heard that it's also Ron Miksha's birthday. Recorded in Calgary during March 2026 Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://
Spring 2026 Trailer and News Briefs
Season 8 Episode 0: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Spring 2026 Trailer and News Briefs Starting off Spring 2026 with a preview of the season ahead plus some chat about 12 recent bee news stories. From the United Kingdom, Bee brain model offers insights into next-gen AI. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/bee-brain-study-offers-insights-into-next-gen-ai/ Social encapsulation
March is Orange Blossom Month
Season 7 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – March is Orange Blossom Month Orange Groves, Honey Bees, and a Vanishing Industry Orange blossom honey begins in the groves—but those groves are disappearing. In this episode, beekeeper and writer Ron Miksha explores the history, biology, and quiet decline of North America's citrus landscape. From Florida's once-million acres of ora
Bee Poop, Yellow Rain, and the Bee Gut
Season 7 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bee Poop, Yellow Rain, and the Bee Gut Honey bees refuse to defecate inside their hive all winter—and when the first warm day arrives, thousands of bees take a sudden cleansing flight. In this episode, we explore one of the stranger realities of beekeeping: the honey bee digestive system and the dramatic spring event known as the cl
February means Almonds
Season 7 Episode 10: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – February means Almonds Most California almond pollination takes place in late February and earlier March. In this episode, we look at the world's largest mass migration of livestock and the problems honey bees encounter during pollination season. We also examine how almonds are pollinated (looking closely at the flowers) and why honey
The Apiary in a Box
Season 7 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The Apiary in a Box I had a great chat with Herman van Reekum of Beekeeping Innovations and BeeCube. BeeCube is what it sounds like, a cube of bees, an apiary in a box. We discuss the advantages of the BeeCube as well as new developments that Herman is involved in - a beekeeper's app (Bee the Bee) for recording and analyzing bee colony
Wintering at minus 50 in Singles!!
Season 7 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Wintering at minus 50 in Singles!! Let's go way up north to the Yukon with beekeeper Etienne Tardif. He experiments with wintering - in single storey hives - through minus 50 temperatures. His secrets, which he is happy to talk about, include carbon dioxide control guided by sophisticated monitoring. If you don't know how important tig
Sylvia Plath, the Beekeeper's Poet
Season 7 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Sylvia Plath, the Beekeeper's Poet Today's podcast is more about Bees and Culture, less about Beekeeping Curiosity. Today, February 11, is the anniversary of the death of a great poet, Sylvia Plath. The daughter of a bee scientist, Sylvia led a short life spent writing about love, loss, disappointment, and nature. Don't skip this epis
Organic Beekeeping on the Prairies
Season 7 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Organic Beekeeping on the Prairies Tracey Smith, Executive Director of Organic Alberta, tells us about building up her beautiful Alberta honey farm, starting from two packages, and creating a sustainable farm and business over a ten-year period. Then, in three devastating years, viruses crashed all her colonies. We talk about how she
Start the Year with New Bees!
Season 7 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Start the Year with New Bees! In this episode, Ron Miksha and his brother Joe McShaw discussed Joe's greenhouse business and beekeeping operations. They covered topics including making beeswax crayons, installing bee packages, and the challenges of wintering bees in northern climates. Joe shared his simple approach to beekeeping, w
Arizona is Swarming
Season 7 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Arizona is Swarming It's been a bit wetter than last year in Arizona and the bees are swarming. I know that because I chatted with my niece, Monica King, who is based just outside Tucson. We talk about swarming, some serious pesticide damage, swimming pools, and bee rescue work. Southern Arizona Beekeepers Association https://www.s
What's Blooming in January?
Season 7 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – What's Blooming in January? What's Blooming in January? Not much. Unless you're in the deep south, west coast, or Hawaii. We look at these places and we look at how to feed bees in colder areas. Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in January 2026. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast
139 Ways your Bees Can Die
Season 7 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – 139 Ways your Bees Can Die Enjoy this quick overview of 139 honey bee pathogens and pests that should be keeping you awake at night. Have fun! Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in January 2026. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site About
Ten Bee Predictions for 2026
Season 7 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Ten bee predictions for 2026 Here we go. I might be wrong more than right, but it's still worth a think. 1. I expect more bees declines, but not kept honey bees. 2. Honey bee colony numbers will surprise researchers. 3. Climate-driven phenological mismatches will dominate ecology news. 4. In the USA, lax rules will allow easier re
2026 Short Trailer
Season 7 Episode 0: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – 2026 Short Trailer This trailer, our introduction to Season 7, sets the stage for season 7, the About Bees podcast's next 12 episodes. Our winter season. A great time to get caught up. Enjoy. Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in January 2026. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast web
2025: Ten Bee News Stories
Season 6 Episode 12 About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – 2025: Ten Bee News Stories Links to our ten featured news stories from 2025: 62% Bee Losses Honey Bee Health https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/survey-reveals-over-1-1-million-honey-bee-colonies-lost-raising-alarm-for-pollination-and-agriculture/ Washington State study on colony losses https://news.wsu.edu/news/2025/03/25/honey-b
Bees or Greenhouses?
Season 6 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bees or Greenhouses? Bees or Greenhouses? Which would make more money as a business? Ron chats with his brother Joe of Honeymoon Acres, a Wisconsin greenhouse business. We engage in a race to the bottom. I make the case that beekeeping is definitely the less profitable business. Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in December 2025.
A Langstroth Christmas
Season 6 Episode 10: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – A Langstroth Christmas Let's look at the inventor of the modern North American beehive. It's Christmas and it's L.L. Langstroth's birthday. Hope you enjoy this! Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in December 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com
A Candid Chat with Alberta's (former) Agriculture Minister
Season 6 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – A Candid Chat with Alberta's (former) Agriculture Minister In this episode, I enjoy a conversation with the Honorable Oneil Carlier, former Agriculture Minister of Alberta. Alberta is cowboys and ranching and enormous forests and wheat fields and wide-open spaces. Alberta, where I live, is also the biggest honey-producer in Canada. All
Buzz Pollination in the Greenhouse
Season 6 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Buzz Pollination in the Greenhouse I was looking around for something in bloom here in December to talk about on this podcast, but I didn't feel like stepping outside into the deep snow and arctic temperatures. Then I realized that greenhouses are full of blooming plants – pollinated by bumble bees, mostly. So, that's what we're doing
What's it like to run 6,000 hives of bees?
Season 6 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – What's it like to run 6,000 hives of bees? What is it like being responsible for 6,000 colonies, a couple dozen employees, and 150 apiary locations? And producing and selling over a million pounds of honey each year? Here's your chance to find out. We visit with Murray Hannigan of Hannigan Honey. The operation is in Saskatchewan, eig
Is All Manuka Honey Fake?
Season 6 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Is All Manuka Honey Fake? Is all manuka honey fake? I used to think that manuka is overrated. Not much there, there – if you know what I mean. Yes, of course I'm a cynic, or at least a skeptic. But follow along with this episode and see why I changed. It's a path of discovery. We will cover the fraud fights, the discovery of manuka's
Philosopher-Beekeeper Richard Taylor
Season 6 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Philosopher-Beekeeper Richard Taylor Dr. Richard Taylor's 106th birthday memorial is this week. That's as good of an excuse as any to open up his best-selling book, The Joys of Beekeeping, and chat about his life as a commercial beekeeper and philosophy professor. We look at his life and explore his thoughts on being a better beekeepe
Brother Joe: Bees & Greenhouses
Season 6 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Brother Joe: Bees & Greenhouses Joe and I talk about neonicotinoids (and other poisons), problems with wax worms, the greenhouse business, our oldest brother, David, and innovations, a BrainPopping drink, politics, economics, and "Why be good?" Hope you enjoy this episode. Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in October 2025. Honeymoon
A Halloween Shorty
Season 6 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – A Halloween Shorty Do you celebrate Halloween? Beekeepers should. Listen to find out why. Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in October 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/ Finally:
Down in October
Season 6 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Down in October It's October and things are shutting down here in North America - at least the part of North America that's north of Mexico. Just before it all ends, there are a few final bursts of flowers to treat pollinators of all shapes and sizes. Today, we talk about Asters, the stars of fall, and Brazilian Pepperbush and Melaleu
Apimondia 2025
Season 6 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Apimondia 2025 Ron is back from Apimondia Scandinavia 2025. If you missed this world bee event, listen up as we walk through the Global Honey Bar, hundreds of posters, the mega-exhibition hall, and the heart of the conference - the presentations. This is not an exhaustive review, but this overview will give you a sense for the dizzyin
The Autumn Flower: Goldenrod. Plus a bonus - the end of human civilization
Season 5 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The Autumn Flower: Goldenrod. Plus a bonus - the end of human civilization Goldenrod is the keystone species for plant, animal, and ecological survival in a huge part of North America. It is also suffering from an unexpected problem, which is hurting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. That's this episode's bonus - the collapse
Bright Shiny Bees
Season 5 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bright Shiny Bees Our guest today is Ilan Domnich of the Alberta Native Bee Council. We dig deeply into the care and appreciation of native bees in North America. Bright green bees, yellow-faced bees, bees that make cellophane (sort of), mine into the sand, plus tiny, tiny bees. Bees that turn their blood into wine? This episode is
Apimondia: The World's Bee Meeting
Season 5 Episode 10: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Apimondia: The World's Bee Meeting This short introduction to Apimondia will be of interest to all beekeepers, whether attending Apimondia 2025 in Copenhagen or not. I hope you are among those going to the conference! Apimondia 2025: https://apimondia2025.com/ Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulat
Beekeeping along Canada's Sunshine Coast
Season 5 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Beekeeping along Canada's Sunshine Coast Canada has a sunshine coast. That's where I met up with my friend Steve Clifford. Steve is a honey producer (mostly Himalayan blackberry honey) and he produces and sells queens and nucs. It's a really different part of Canada - a rainforest where it seldom snows, but summers can get hot and
Chile for Avocado Pollination, Queen Production, and Adventure
Season 5 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Chile for Avocado Pollination, Queen Production, and Adventure Today's guest is Francisco Rey, a Chilean beekeeper and avocado farmer. We talk about the country of Chile, Francisco's 43 years of beekeeping, queen breeding, Francisco's friendship with researcher John Kefuss, Francisco's family-run bee farm, avocado pollination, avoc
Buckwheat: Our Favourite August Honey Plant
Season 5 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Buckwheat: Our Favourite August Honey Plant Buckwheat is quirky. Both the plant and the honey. We look at both - plant and honey - in today's podcast. Especially the black, chokingly-strong honey. Buckwheat, though often mistaken for a cereal grain, is actually a member of the Polygonaceae family, kin to rhubarb and sorrel. First c
Laura Sends us Deep into the Beekeeping Groove
Season 5 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Laura Sends us Deep into the Beekeeping Groove This wide-ranging beekeeping podcast takes us from Wales to New Zealand and then Alberta, Canada, with beekeeper Laura Barritt. We look at commercial beekeeping in New Zealand and touch on Sir Edmund Hillary, manuka honey, queen breeding, package shaking, honey producing by under super
World's Most Interesting Bee Museum - and more...
Season 5 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – World's Most Interesting Bee Museum - and more... I am just back from a quick trip to central Europe, where I visited bees in Slovenia and family in Hungary. You don't want to miss what this curious beekeeper has to say about what he saw! Among other things,, I explored the world's most interesting beekeeping museum. What would yo
Bees, Greenhouses, and 18-hour Work Days
Season 5 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bees, Greenhouses, and 18-hour Work Days It takes 18-hour workdays to keep a greenhouse that produces 3 million plants a year, and to keep a dozen hives of bees on the side to pollinate a10-acre pumpkin patch. Our guest is Joe McShaw, of Honeymoon Acres in Wisconsin. Joe is Ron's youngest brother, so we have a lot of fun on this ep
Ask Me Anything for July 2025
Season 5 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Ask Me Anything for July 2025 Ask me anything. I start off with a powerful phrase you can always use when a pesky new beekeeper wants advice with their bees. Keep this phrase in your toolkit. Also, just a bit about putting supers on and taking supers off. Summer management questions, answered in this AMA. This episode was recorde
July's Best Honey Plant
Season 5 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – July's Best Honey Plant What's July's best honey plant? In much of the northern hemisphere, if the soil is sweet alkali, the answer is sweet clover. It's a spectacular honey plant, one of the best in the world, but it originated far away from the western plains. It's invasive. Wild. Part of today's episode considers what this mean
Beekeeping on Canada Day
Season 5 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Beekeeping on Canada Day It's Canada Day, up Canada way, on the first day of July. We talk bees, sunshine, swarms that refuse to be retrieved, and of course Stompin' Tom Connors. Enjoy, eh? This episode was recorded in July 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://
Slovenia, the Country that Buzzes
Season 4 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Slovenia, the Country that Buzzes In preparation for a trip to central Europe, I have been learning about beekeeping in the small country of Slovenia. I always learn a lot about beekeeping by looking at beekeeping in other parts of the world. It's amazing how many good ideas, and a few bad ones, I pick up this way. Anyway, I wrote a
Late Spring Beekeeping
Season 4 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Late Spring Beekeeping Rain brings flowers, flowers bring nectar, nectar brings bees, beekeepers make honey. We are getting heavy rains here, so, of course Ron is predicting a big honey flow. This gets Bidzina's attention. He is thinking about making comb honey with upside-down glass jars, but Ron throws cold water on the idea. Find
Judging your Honey
Season 4 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Judging your Honey Today we judge your honey. Not by flavour, but by the tiniest nuances of bottle fill and floating specks of bee smoker ash. Our guide is the accomplished Calgary honey judge, Linda Symmes. If you have ever considered participating in the fine art of preparing for a honey competition, we spill some secrets from the h
Spring Honey Bees
Season 4 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Spring Honey Bees Bidzina and Ron talk about the status of their hives, leading to a discussion about dandelion honey, which Ron's colonies produced in abundance this year. An intense early flow can lead to swarming, which happened to some of Bidzina's hives. Two migratory beekeeping mishaps are mentioned – one in Oregon, the other in
Alberta Native Bees in Trouble
Season 4 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Alberta Native Bees in Trouble We chat about the troubles facing native bees with Alberta Native Bee Council (ANBC) Executive Director Megan Evans. Pollinators of all sorts are essential to the health and success of our environment. Understanding the habitats and lifecycles of the 371 known species of bees in Alberta is the first step
Thousands and Thousands and Thousands of Queens
Season 4 Episode 4: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Thousands and Thousands and Thousands of Queens Dedicated to the memory of Florida queen breeder David Miksa This episode was recorded two days before David Miksa passed away. His son Ted and I chat about this remarkable beekeeping family and about queen breeding in general. We jump right into our conversation, catching up with Ted a
Bee Thievery
Season 4 Episode 3: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bee Thievery Pay close attention and you may pick up a few clues to reduce honey bee hive thefts. Listen even more closely and you may pick up tips on how to steal colonies. But please don't. It's not worth time in the big house. We also chat about the apiary in a box (BeeCube), Apimondia's upcoming conference in Denmark, Ron's queen-r
A Rose among the Bees
Season 4 Episode 2: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – A Rose among the Bees With Rose, our conversation starts with a bee walking on Ron's neck, progresses to a stash of wax, some bee work, civilization, parasites, and beeswax, beeswax church candles, bees coming to America, mead, monks, America's first pauper (who was a beekeeper), tomato pollination, Rose's training of dogs to find f
Philosophy of Bee Happiness
Season 4 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Philosophy of Bee Happiness With Daniel Miksha, we try to unravel the philosophy of happiness. We barely touch on our intended theme (Can bees be happy?), but we lay some of the essential groundwork. This episode was recorded in April, 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast websit
Season 4 Trailer
Season 4 Trailer: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Season 4 Trailer A quick preview of Season 4! How will we treat for mites? Is spring honey any good in the north? (Ron doesn't think so.) And Bidzina muses about building a cabin where paying customers can enjoy the air exhausted by honey bee colonies. This episode was recorded in March, 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow.
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