In this episode Ken and John have come across a little red devil with legs in their recent inspection that prompts their first discussion about the Mighty Varroa Mite. This is just the foreshadowing of a much larger discussion that will be had in a multiple future episodes.
The guys take the time to bask in their 5 seconds of fame after learning an online blog ranking list put The Hive Jive as the #2 beekeeping podcast to listen to in 2019. They also discuss the merits and pitfalls of social media in beekeeping. And, we check in with Ken to see what he finds most interesting after having his bees for two months.
John kicks things off with a challenge to all of you, and he offers up Ken’s Honey as the reward! On a more serious note, it’s HOT out there! How does the heat affect the bees, and how do they cope? Plus, one more time around the block on how to know when to feed during the summer dearth, and what to feed. What are you waiting on? Download the episode and press play already!
In this episode of The Hive Jive, John and Ken discuss the mystery of the vanishing queen during the summer dearth. Did you really lose your queen, or can you just not spot her? The guys also address some listener questions that concern other hive issues at the beginning of the Summer Dearth.
John and Ken take you on a long and winding road of various beekeeping topics in an episode that is far from just ten minutes long. Just when you think they might wrap it up, the guys make sharp detour while jumping from topic to topic. From using honey for wound care, to brood reduction during a dearth, and even neighborhood beekeeping disasters… you’re bound to find something of interest.
The summer dearth is fast approaching; do you know what to do? For that matter, do you know what it means? John and Ken discuss how this time of year might affect your colonies and what you can do to help them out. There might even be some talk of bears… oh my!
In what might be the shortest episode to date, John and Ken tackle a couple more listener questions. Does freezing drone brood frames help reduce varroa? Do you have to clean out the cells after, or can the bees? How do we know bees can’t see red? What do they see in its place? Should you own a red bee suit? Tune in to find out!
With all the buzz in the news lately over bees interrupting baseball games, Ken and John reach out to Dirk Morgan, savior of the bees during the Cincinnati Reds game. Ken also gives John an update on how the topbar hives are progressing.
In this episode special guest Larry Weishuhn joins Ken and John to discuss how bees are a very important part of wildlife and habitat conservation. Every living thing is connected in some way, and sometimes we just have to stop and take a really close look at how our actions and what we do can impact everything else around us.
In this episode of The Hive Jive, John and Ken discuss the difference of Supering vs Nadiring when adding new boxes to your hive. They also break down the concept of making splits if you want to increase your colony numbers.