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May I have your attention please?

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The following is not the real Jeff Vox really.

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If the veil at your wedding, your wedding,

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kept you from being stunned, you might be a beekeeper.

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If you have more than one T-shirt with a bee slogan on it,

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you might be a beekeeper.

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If you learned what working,

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but don't build a stick of furniture,

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you might be a beekeeper.

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Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping podcast,

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presented by our good friends over at Man Lake.

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At Bee Love, we're all about honeybees

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and of course the beekeepers.

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And if you're on the beekeeping adventure,

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we would love to hear from you.

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If you're just thinking about it,

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this is a great place to learn from real-life beekeepers.

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Bee's beekeepers and fun beekeeping stories,

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it's all about the love.

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We're going to start it off today

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with a wild and crazy beekeeping story from Christine.

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And then we're going out to California

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to meet Rob Wright, the CEO of Man Lake,

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and we're going to hear all about his beekeeping journey.

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First, here's Christine.

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I am now a full-time beekeeper,

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but before full-time beekeeping,

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I was a middle school math and science teacher.

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And I like to think I was one of the fun teachers,

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like we did lots of labs in chemistry,

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we would blow stuff up.

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And for biology, when we're working with microscopes,

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I got the brilliant idea to bring in a bunch of bees.

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So I had hives in the backyard at that point.

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And so I went out, it must have been this time of year,

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so fall when it's cold in the mornings,

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but then warms up in the afternoon.

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And in the morning before school,

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I went out and I collected a bunch of dead bees

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from in front of my hive,

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and I put them in a little container,

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and I was going to bring,

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I had like a container, a little Tupperware,

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kind of full of them, probably about 100 bees

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that I was bringing to school

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so that my students could practice focusing their microscopes

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and could have a look at like bee parts up close.

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When I got to school, science was fairly early

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in the morning, so I had my little Tupperware sitting

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on my desk and the bees at this point

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were still not moving, looking very dead.

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And students got their microscopes all set up

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and I started to hand out bees,

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they would bring over a little like Petri dish

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and I'd give them a couple of bees

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and they'd head back to their microscope station.

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And I will never forget the feeling in my gut

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when the first student said,

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"'Teacher, my bee is moving."

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And I guess the first thought was like,

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"'No, you can't be,' and then someone else said,

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"'No, my bee is moving too.'

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And I looked at the little cup of bees left on my desk

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and they're crawling out of the cup and starting to warm up.

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So they had been in Torpor,

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which is like a dormant state that's brought on by cold,

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the insects go through, and when they warm up,

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they really come back to life.

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So it all happened very quickly

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after that first kid said, "'My bee is moving.'"

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And soon we had about 100 bees buzzing up

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towards the lights of the classroom,

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causing all kinds of mayhem in a class full of teenagers

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who are generally quite scared of anything

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that buzzes and stings.

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So was it just mass pandemonium, just,

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ah, people are running and screaming?

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It was half and half.

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There were definitely students who were like,

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out the door immediately.

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And then there were some who were just trying to be chill

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and like, you know, I learned that if you just stay still,

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they won't bother you.

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And then there was a few that were kind of overconfident

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and wanted to start grabbing bees and putting them out.

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And so I was really at that point like focused on them not,

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like, don't touch any bees, we're gonna deal with this

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a different way.

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So there was kind of three different categories

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of how they dealt with it.

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In the end, luckily I had a huge window in my classroom.

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So we turned off the overhead lights

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so that then the dominant light became the window.

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And within a couple of minutes,

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all of the bees were at the window, you know,

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buzzing, trying to find a way out.

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And there were still a lot of bees in there,

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but at least they were contained to one area of the classroom

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and not buzzing all around the students.

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So were you able to open a window so they could go out

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or did you have to catch all of them?

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Yeah, we had to catch most of them.

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The only part that opened was kind of at the bottom corner

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of the window and bees are always gonna go up.

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Like they never find the little outlet.

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So I did enlist the help of a couple of students

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who assured me that they had no bee sting allergies

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and that they were quite confident with it.

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And we just went around with cups and little pieces of paper

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and started scooping the bees into the cups

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and then let them out the window from there.

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That is so awesome.

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Thank you for sharing.

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When I shared it on social media the other day,

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I actually had a parent of one of those students say,

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oh my goodness, I remember my kid telling me about this lab.

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They said it was the best lab ever.

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So that must have been one of the braver students.

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They'll remember that forever.

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They will, so will I.

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That's probably enough for that,

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but just between you and me,

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a mistake never to be repeated, right?

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Yes, absolutely.

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We are so happy to have on the show with us today,

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Rob Wright, CEO of Man Lake.

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The big wig is in the house.

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How are you, Rob?

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I'm good, thank you.

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How are you, Eric?

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I'm great.

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I love to embarrass people just a little bit on their intro.

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Good.

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CEO walks on water and that kind of thing,

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and we all know how great Man Lake is,

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but I'm going to jump right into it.

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Tell us a little bit about your beekeeping journey.

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What got you started?

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Okay, yeah.

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Well, I've always been enthralled by the natural world,

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starting as a kid really,

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and whether it was from my expeditions as a Boy Scout,

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all over the great state of Utah,

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or in fly fishing, which for me was very much about

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being out in the natural world.

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And I've always been somebody who is a birder.

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I like watching birds and have a long list of all the birds

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that I've seen and whose behaviors have been fascinating to me.

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With respect to insects, when I was, boy, a young adult,

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I came across this book by E.O. Wilson.

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I don't know if you've heard of him.

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A well-known entomologist who really made some groundbreaking

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discoveries in studying ants.

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And he wrote this book called Sociobiology,

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which if you haven't read it,

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for me it just changed my whole view of the world.

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It's really his big picture of the CO biology

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is just studying the biology of animals,

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and in this case, insects,

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and trying to understand how the biology of an animal

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influences the societies they end up creating.

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And for me, that was the beginning of a sort of a fascination

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with the insect world.

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It did not lead me immediately to beekeeping.

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I only got involved with beekeeping

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once I started working with Man Lake.

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But I have to say, after a crash course

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that was somewhat painful, I dedicated beekeeper

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and just fascinated by the whole thing.

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It can be painful in more ways than one.

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Yeah, for sure.

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A crash course in beekeeping.

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Yeah, yeah.

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But you kept at it.

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By the way, you live in beautiful Santa Barbara, right?

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I do, yes.

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That is awesome.

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You did mention you're from Utah, but you've moved west

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since then.

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So how did you get into it?

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Did you mention the crash course?

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Did somebody just say, boom, Rob,

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here's 10 hives for you, go.

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Well, it reminds me.

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So when I was younger, I lived in Taiwan

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for a couple of years.

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And before going to Taiwan,

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I took a crash course in Chinese.

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And for me, that means just reading everything

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I can get my hands on and studying the language

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and everything.

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And I was like, oh, I got this.

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And I went to Taiwan and got in a taxi cab

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and they couldn't understand a word I said.

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And that whole experience reminds me of my journey

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with beekeeping because when I started getting involved

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with Man Lake, I started reading everything

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I could get about bees.

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As I think most experienced beekeepers will tell you,

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that's probably not the most effective way

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to get started keeping bees.

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So anyway, one of my colleagues, thank you, Eric Foster,

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drove a colony down from his home near Woodland, California

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and gave it to me here in Santa Barbara.

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And yeah, it took me a few months to kill it

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with a lot of hard work.

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And I felt really bad about it.

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And that was my question.

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We all make mistakes.

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I don't know about you, but I learned more from the mistakes.

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Yeah, for sure.

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I've killed plenty too and I hate to admit it,

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but it's true.

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Yeah, I felt really bad about it.

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And I still blame Eric because he drove the bees down

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on 110 degree day.

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And so I liked to tell him that it was because

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the queen was pretty stressed by the time she showed up

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at my house, but I think it was just mismanagement

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on my part is probably the truth.

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Well, I don't think starting off reading books

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is a bad thing, but it's only one little piece of the puzzle.

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Yes.

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The hands on means everything.

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It really does.

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And there's so many places to learn now,

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besides classes and bee clubs, which are great places to start.

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We've talked about this already on this podcast,

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but there are a lot of good videos on YouTube.

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Yeah.

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There's also a lot of bad ones, be very careful.

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Yeah.

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And there's some great books out there.

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We've been trying to contribute to the videos out there

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and develop some educational content.

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And for me, that was a big deal.

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And it was informed by my own journey

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because I found it very difficult to learn

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what I needed to know to be effective at beekeeping.

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I know how four colonies, and that's probably as many

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as I want to have, but I just love going out

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and looking at the bees.

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What kind of challenges have you found?

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Well, I had a hive just this week that was robbed very

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aggressively.

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I've been trying to figure out how to put a stop to that

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without losing the colony.

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So we'll see if I'm successful or not.

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I think you mentioned to me previously

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that you've caught some swarms too.

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Is that correct?

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Yeah, this spring I caught three swarms

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and I kept one of them myself and two of the others

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I gave to some friends who were interested in beekeeping

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and they're still going strong.

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So that was fun.

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I enjoyed that.

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Was that in swarm traps or were they out on a tree somewhere?

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Yeah, I took an old nuke box that I wasn't using

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and I kind of adapted it into a swarm trap

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and got all three of them in the same trap over a course

262
00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:17,700
of about two weeks, I'd say.

263
00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:20,460
That is a very satisfying thing, isn't it?

264
00:11:20,460 --> 00:11:22,620
It is, really, it really is.

265
00:11:22,620 --> 00:11:24,460
It is really fun.

266
00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:26,740
I got some more than a few times in that process

267
00:11:26,740 --> 00:11:28,420
but I got three colonies out of it

268
00:11:28,420 --> 00:11:30,740
and they're all thriving.

269
00:11:30,740 --> 00:11:34,860
Well, before I caught my first swarm, I was told,

270
00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:37,060
and again, you can't believe everything you hear

271
00:11:37,060 --> 00:11:41,100
about beekeeping, I was told that swarms are so docile

272
00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,180
because of course they're not defensive

273
00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:46,060
protecting their home.

274
00:11:46,060 --> 00:11:49,100
And so why would they come out and sting you?

275
00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:51,980
I've since heard that about one in 10

276
00:11:51,980 --> 00:11:54,620
can be quite aggressive and defensive

277
00:11:54,620 --> 00:11:56,660
and I've stumbled over one of those.

278
00:11:56,660 --> 00:11:58,700
That's interesting, I had the same experience.

279
00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:00,740
The first one, I think I must have read the same thing

280
00:12:00,740 --> 00:12:02,580
that you did about them not being defensive.

281
00:12:02,580 --> 00:12:04,820
So the first one that I caught,

282
00:12:05,540 --> 00:12:08,740
I put the swarm trap up in a palm tree in my front yard

283
00:12:08,740 --> 00:12:11,460
and it was like 10 feet up the tree

284
00:12:11,460 --> 00:12:13,700
and I could see that I had some bees in there

285
00:12:13,700 --> 00:12:16,100
and I let them establish themselves for a few days

286
00:12:16,100 --> 00:12:18,460
but then I climbed up the ladder early in the morning

287
00:12:18,460 --> 00:12:20,500
on a cool morning when they weren't flying

288
00:12:20,500 --> 00:12:23,420
and I thought, oh, they're not gonna be defensive

289
00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:25,380
and put one arm around the thing

290
00:12:25,380 --> 00:12:27,540
and climbing down the ladder and they just,

291
00:12:27,540 --> 00:12:28,940
yeah, I got quite a few stings

292
00:12:28,940 --> 00:12:31,940
but I managed to hang onto it without dropping it.

293
00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:34,420
They had already moved in, that was now their home.

294
00:12:34,420 --> 00:12:35,260
Yeah, exactly.

295
00:12:35,260 --> 00:12:36,820
And that's why they were defensive.

296
00:12:36,820 --> 00:12:39,900
When they're out on a tree limb, they shouldn't be as bad.

297
00:12:39,900 --> 00:12:40,740
Right.

298
00:12:40,740 --> 00:12:44,260
But you cannot guarantee anything with that.

299
00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:46,540
So I had someone on the show recently

300
00:12:46,540 --> 00:12:49,380
that's from even further south in California

301
00:12:49,380 --> 00:12:51,020
than where you are.

302
00:12:51,020 --> 00:12:53,300
And he was saying that most of the bees

303
00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:55,940
that they deal with are Africanized

304
00:12:55,940 --> 00:12:57,500
at least to some point.

305
00:12:57,500 --> 00:12:58,340
Yeah.

306
00:12:58,340 --> 00:13:00,260
Have you found the same where you are?

307
00:13:00,260 --> 00:13:03,100
Yeah, earlier this spring,

308
00:13:03,100 --> 00:13:06,340
I requeened three of the four colonies

309
00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:09,460
mostly because they were pretty aggressive.

310
00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:11,700
Yeah, to the point where I really couldn't go out there

311
00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:14,820
at all without them just being in my face.

312
00:13:14,820 --> 00:13:17,940
So yeah, I have had that experience

313
00:13:17,940 --> 00:13:21,460
and I don't know if that's,

314
00:13:21,460 --> 00:13:22,860
I don't know if that's universal here

315
00:13:22,860 --> 00:13:24,940
but I've definitely felt that.

316
00:13:24,940 --> 00:13:27,980
Well, my understanding is there is a lot of it

317
00:13:27,980 --> 00:13:30,580
and they've interbred so much now

318
00:13:30,580 --> 00:13:33,540
with our Italians and Carniolans

319
00:13:33,540 --> 00:13:35,940
and whatever species or races are out there

320
00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:39,660
that they're actually getting a little better

321
00:13:39,660 --> 00:13:42,380
but I'm sure one colony to the next

322
00:13:42,380 --> 00:13:44,300
there's gonna be differences.

323
00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:46,940
Yeah, yeah, where I live,

324
00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:49,300
there seem to be a lot of,

325
00:13:49,300 --> 00:13:52,540
and I was reading this article about the feral colonies

326
00:13:52,540 --> 00:13:56,460
and whether their swarms from managed colonies

327
00:13:56,460 --> 00:14:00,300
or whether they've survived long term as wild colonies.

328
00:14:00,300 --> 00:14:02,580
But I see a lot of wild colonies around here

329
00:14:02,580 --> 00:14:04,460
where I live mostly in oak trees.

330
00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:07,140
It's pretty interesting, lots of bees here.

331
00:14:07,140 --> 00:14:09,300
And they're there where they're set up permanently.

332
00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:11,820
They're just not just migrating somewhere.

333
00:14:11,820 --> 00:14:13,540
It looks that way.

334
00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:14,940
Yeah, yeah.

335
00:14:14,940 --> 00:14:17,300
Well, that should be pretty easy to catch swarms

336
00:14:17,300 --> 00:14:18,700
then I would think.

337
00:14:18,700 --> 00:14:20,340
Well, I think that's why I was,

338
00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:22,260
I got three in such a short period of time.

339
00:14:22,260 --> 00:14:24,420
There are just a lot of colonies around here.

340
00:14:24,420 --> 00:14:26,340
Tell me some of the other things you've learned.

341
00:14:26,340 --> 00:14:27,860
About bees?

342
00:14:27,860 --> 00:14:30,860
Yeah, whether it was the hard way or the easy way.

343
00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:33,500
Well, oh, that's a really good question.

344
00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:36,620
You know, I think the thing that I learned the hard way

345
00:14:36,620 --> 00:14:38,140
is that when in doubt,

346
00:14:38,140 --> 00:14:41,060
you probably should err on the side of feeding the bees.

347
00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:44,020
I get the sense from interaction with other people,

348
00:14:44,020 --> 00:14:45,180
especially hobbyists,

349
00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:48,580
that maybe that doesn't happen quite so much.

350
00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:51,140
But then I was talking to one of my colleagues

351
00:14:51,140 --> 00:14:54,780
who keeps 10 hives on his property

352
00:14:54,780 --> 00:14:58,420
and had a commercial beekeeper establish a new bee yard,

353
00:14:58,420 --> 00:15:00,380
a mile or two from his house,

354
00:15:00,380 --> 00:15:02,620
and put 50 colonies there,

355
00:15:02,620 --> 00:15:05,620
and they immediately robbed his 10 colonies

356
00:15:05,620 --> 00:15:06,620
and wiped them out.

357
00:15:06,620 --> 00:15:08,780
So maybe it's not just the hobbyists

358
00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:10,460
who aren't feeding their bees enough.

359
00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:11,940
But yeah, I think that's the one thing

360
00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:13,780
that I learned in my first year

361
00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:16,180
is that I think I just didn't feed them enough

362
00:15:16,180 --> 00:15:17,660
and at the right times.

363
00:15:17,660 --> 00:15:20,100
So that's always on my mind.

364
00:15:20,100 --> 00:15:21,300
You know, I was checking to make sure

365
00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:22,340
they have enough stores.

366
00:15:22,340 --> 00:15:24,540
And like I said, I've kind of aired on the side

367
00:15:24,540 --> 00:15:26,500
of being more generous with the feed.

368
00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:30,380
Other than that, yeah, initially I was very intimidated

369
00:15:30,380 --> 00:15:32,100
by testing for mites.

370
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:33,260
I just didn't want to, you know,

371
00:15:33,260 --> 00:15:35,380
get a cup full of bees and kill them.

372
00:15:35,380 --> 00:15:37,540
And I wasn't sure I was taking them from the right place

373
00:15:37,540 --> 00:15:40,140
and wasn't sure I was counting the mites thoroughly.

374
00:15:40,140 --> 00:15:42,300
And I just kind of stuck with it.

375
00:15:42,300 --> 00:15:44,540
And now I feel much more comfortable

376
00:15:44,540 --> 00:15:46,020
with that whole part of it.

377
00:15:46,020 --> 00:15:49,060
My understanding is that a lot of hobbyists neglect that.

378
00:15:49,060 --> 00:15:50,580
Probably for the same reason that I did,

379
00:15:50,580 --> 00:15:52,860
I just didn't feel comfortable with it.

380
00:15:52,860 --> 00:15:55,220
So yeah, I think I've learned how to handle

381
00:15:55,220 --> 00:15:57,340
that a little better too.

382
00:15:57,340 --> 00:15:58,900
That's really true.

383
00:15:58,900 --> 00:16:01,460
Tell the hobbyist or the beginner right now

384
00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:03,900
why that is so important.

385
00:16:03,900 --> 00:16:06,780
Well, yeah, I think that if you think your colony

386
00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:10,620
doesn't have mites, you're almost 100% fooling yourself.

387
00:16:10,620 --> 00:16:13,020
The number of mites, depending on the time of year

388
00:16:13,020 --> 00:16:15,940
and what's going on, if you don't keep the mites

389
00:16:15,940 --> 00:16:18,500
under control, it's just a matter of time

390
00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:20,300
until you lose the colony.

391
00:16:20,300 --> 00:16:22,300
Yeah, as beekeepers, I think it's our obligation

392
00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:23,380
to stay in front of that.

393
00:16:23,380 --> 00:16:25,700
Otherwise you're just condemning the bees

394
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:27,780
to untimely death.

395
00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:30,180
So yeah, I'd say that to all new beekeepers,

396
00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:31,780
you just have to figure out how to deal

397
00:16:31,780 --> 00:16:33,700
with the mite situation.

398
00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:35,460
And we've got tools for that.

399
00:16:35,460 --> 00:16:37,420
There are many ways to approach it.

400
00:16:37,420 --> 00:16:39,180
If you don't like using chemicals

401
00:16:39,180 --> 00:16:41,180
or non-chemical ways to do it,

402
00:16:41,180 --> 00:16:43,340
there are just a lot of ways to approach it.

403
00:16:43,340 --> 00:16:46,260
And not all of them are as effective as others,

404
00:16:46,260 --> 00:16:49,020
but I think you owe it to yourself as a beekeeper

405
00:16:49,020 --> 00:16:51,460
to inform yourself about it and choose a method

406
00:16:51,460 --> 00:16:53,620
and follow up with it.

407
00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:56,540
And that can lead to controversial things.

408
00:16:56,540 --> 00:16:58,220
I don't know how your bee club is,

409
00:16:58,220 --> 00:17:02,420
but if the treatment-free topic comes up,

410
00:17:02,420 --> 00:17:05,140
all of a sudden you can have people taking sides

411
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:06,660
and jockeying for position.

412
00:17:06,660 --> 00:17:09,300
And I think the bottom line is,

413
00:17:09,300 --> 00:17:11,820
none of us want to treat our bees.

414
00:17:11,820 --> 00:17:13,260
Yeah, yeah.

415
00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:17,340
But if we've tried to do it without doing anything

416
00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:19,420
and just ignore it and say,

417
00:17:19,420 --> 00:17:22,540
oh, I'm treatment-free or I'm organic,

418
00:17:22,540 --> 00:17:26,340
therefore my bees are gonna do great no matter what,

419
00:17:26,340 --> 00:17:27,700
they're gonna be dead.

420
00:17:27,700 --> 00:17:28,540
Yeah.

421
00:17:28,540 --> 00:17:30,860
In most places they're gonna be dead.

422
00:17:30,860 --> 00:17:33,540
And especially in places like,

423
00:17:33,540 --> 00:17:35,340
well, and I don't know how it is where you are,

424
00:17:35,340 --> 00:17:39,300
but where I am, where it gets very cold in the winter,

425
00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:41,700
the mites just weaken the hives.

426
00:17:41,700 --> 00:17:44,300
That's the way I look at it.

427
00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:46,580
They're more prone to disease.

428
00:17:46,580 --> 00:17:49,140
I mean, winters can be tough

429
00:17:49,140 --> 00:17:51,420
and you want them as strong as they can be.

430
00:17:51,420 --> 00:17:54,060
And if they're weak in any way, shape or form,

431
00:17:54,060 --> 00:17:55,940
whether it's mites or not enough food

432
00:17:55,940 --> 00:17:58,020
or a bad queen or something else,

433
00:17:58,020 --> 00:18:00,060
they're not likely to survive.

434
00:18:00,060 --> 00:18:03,660
So do everything that you can to help them survive.

435
00:18:03,660 --> 00:18:06,020
And there are more naturalistic,

436
00:18:06,020 --> 00:18:10,380
more holistic types of ways of treating for mites.

437
00:18:10,380 --> 00:18:13,260
And there's very few people that have figured out

438
00:18:13,260 --> 00:18:15,180
how to completely raise bees

439
00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:17,020
without some sort of treatment.

440
00:18:17,020 --> 00:18:17,860
Yeah.

441
00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:21,180
So do your research, see what you're comfortable with,

442
00:18:21,180 --> 00:18:23,940
use your intuition, see what's gonna work for your bees.

443
00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:26,940
And then as you get experience,

444
00:18:26,940 --> 00:18:28,340
you'll start to figure it out.

445
00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:29,180
Yeah.

446
00:18:29,180 --> 00:18:30,860
And in my role at Man Lake,

447
00:18:30,860 --> 00:18:32,820
I try to stay abreast of the developments

448
00:18:32,820 --> 00:18:34,940
that are coming from all over the place

449
00:18:34,940 --> 00:18:37,580
in terms of new approaches to treating for mites.

450
00:18:37,580 --> 00:18:39,140
And there are some new things coming

451
00:18:39,140 --> 00:18:43,500
that I think will be very effective

452
00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:45,420
and are not as harsh on the bees.

453
00:18:45,420 --> 00:18:50,500
So just read the magazine, stay in touch with what's going on

454
00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:52,780
because there are always new things coming up.

455
00:18:52,780 --> 00:18:55,940
And I think that over time as beekeepers,

456
00:18:55,940 --> 00:18:58,540
we'll get a hold of this subject

457
00:18:58,540 --> 00:19:00,340
or we'll get a hold of the mites in a way

458
00:19:00,340 --> 00:19:03,300
that maybe we're not quite there yet.

459
00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:04,620
And then the next challenge will come

460
00:19:04,620 --> 00:19:07,060
and we'll have to deal with that one too.

461
00:19:07,060 --> 00:19:07,980
Yeah.

462
00:19:07,980 --> 00:19:09,620
I was talking to somebody this morning

463
00:19:09,620 --> 00:19:11,420
that's over in France

464
00:19:11,420 --> 00:19:15,420
and he was telling me about the yellow-legged hornets.

465
00:19:15,420 --> 00:19:16,260
Yeah.

466
00:19:16,260 --> 00:19:17,220
I believe that's what they're called.

467
00:19:17,220 --> 00:19:18,060
Yeah.

468
00:19:18,060 --> 00:19:18,980
It's a huge problem over there.

469
00:19:18,980 --> 00:19:19,820
It is.

470
00:19:19,820 --> 00:19:21,740
And they've had a couple of instances

471
00:19:21,740 --> 00:19:23,780
of having them down in the south here.

472
00:19:23,780 --> 00:19:26,500
I hope we can take care of it before it gets too bad.

473
00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:28,460
But if not, we'll learn some things

474
00:19:28,460 --> 00:19:29,900
from our friends overseas

475
00:19:29,900 --> 00:19:32,380
and we'll deal with that one

476
00:19:32,380 --> 00:19:34,780
and then we'll deal with the next one after that.

477
00:19:34,780 --> 00:19:35,620
That's right.

478
00:19:35,620 --> 00:19:36,460
Yeah.

479
00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:38,100
But for you and I that haven't been doing this

480
00:19:38,100 --> 00:19:39,980
for generations,

481
00:19:39,980 --> 00:19:41,940
it's interesting talking to people

482
00:19:41,940 --> 00:19:46,740
that maybe grew up 50 years ago beekeeping

483
00:19:46,740 --> 00:19:49,980
and they're just like, it was so easy back then.

484
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:50,820
Right.

485
00:19:50,820 --> 00:19:54,260
The California State Beekeepers Association

486
00:19:54,260 --> 00:19:56,420
meeting up in Reno yesterday

487
00:19:56,420 --> 00:19:59,060
and was talking to a bunch of commercial beekeepers.

488
00:19:59,060 --> 00:20:02,140
And yeah, some of the old-timers talk about those days

489
00:20:02,140 --> 00:20:04,700
before 1987 when the mites showed up

490
00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:08,300
and it sounded a lot easier than it is today for sure.

491
00:20:08,300 --> 00:20:09,700
The good old days.

492
00:20:09,700 --> 00:20:10,900
Yeah, the good old days.

493
00:20:10,900 --> 00:20:11,740
Yeah.

494
00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:13,180
They're always better.

495
00:20:13,180 --> 00:20:14,020
Yeah.

496
00:20:14,020 --> 00:20:14,860
All right.

497
00:20:14,860 --> 00:20:17,380
I want to hear about what gives you joy in beekeeping.

498
00:20:17,380 --> 00:20:19,100
What do you love about bees?

499
00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:21,940
Oh my gosh, I just love watching the bees.

500
00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:23,300
I find myself sitting,

501
00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:25,940
you know, I don't want to disturb them too much,

502
00:20:25,940 --> 00:20:28,060
but even just sitting watching the entrance,

503
00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:30,340
what the bees are bringing back into the hive,

504
00:20:30,340 --> 00:20:33,180
what the behaviors of the bees are at the front.

505
00:20:33,180 --> 00:20:35,260
We had a few hot days this summer

506
00:20:35,260 --> 00:20:37,460
and I loved watching the bees bearding

507
00:20:37,460 --> 00:20:40,300
and what they were doing when they were trying

508
00:20:40,300 --> 00:20:41,620
to cool down the hive.

509
00:20:41,620 --> 00:20:43,900
But yeah, I think that one of the moments

510
00:20:43,900 --> 00:20:46,180
that really sticks out for me is when Eric,

511
00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:48,300
my colleague brought that first hive that I got

512
00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:51,900
down from Sacramento and helped me set it up

513
00:20:51,900 --> 00:20:55,140
on my property and we opened the hive

514
00:20:55,140 --> 00:20:57,540
and he was showing me some things inside the hive

515
00:20:57,540 --> 00:21:02,540
and we watched as a new bee emerged from a capped cell.

516
00:21:03,060 --> 00:21:06,860
And it just, you know, the wonder of a new life starting,

517
00:21:06,860 --> 00:21:09,700
whether it's a human, a dog, a bee, whatever it is,

518
00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:12,020
is just an amazing thing to watch.

519
00:21:12,020 --> 00:21:15,340
And to see that bee emerge from the capped cell

520
00:21:15,340 --> 00:21:19,540
and just immediately get about her business was,

521
00:21:19,540 --> 00:21:21,180
it's just awe-inspiring.

522
00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:23,340
So yeah, I love to watch the bees.

523
00:21:23,340 --> 00:21:26,860
I just, I think I find them endlessly fascinating.

524
00:21:26,860 --> 00:21:28,420
Do you have any grandkids?

525
00:21:28,420 --> 00:21:29,620
No, not yet.

526
00:21:29,620 --> 00:21:32,700
I have two kids and one's 14 and one's 12.

527
00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:33,780
Oh, okay.

528
00:21:33,780 --> 00:21:35,060
You're a long ways off.

529
00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:36,260
Yeah, yeah, hopefully.

530
00:21:36,260 --> 00:21:39,580
I have some grandkids and I'm just, every year I'm like,

531
00:21:39,580 --> 00:21:42,140
I, you know, in case they come up,

532
00:21:42,140 --> 00:21:44,660
I should really get a bee suit in case they're interested.

533
00:21:44,660 --> 00:21:47,420
So some little ones, I'm definitely doing that.

534
00:21:47,420 --> 00:21:48,260
Yeah.

535
00:21:48,260 --> 00:21:51,500
Come spring, gonna get some junior size bee suits.

536
00:21:51,500 --> 00:21:52,340
Yeah.

537
00:21:52,340 --> 00:21:54,460
Put the kids in them if they're not afraid.

538
00:21:54,460 --> 00:21:55,300
Absolutely.

539
00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:57,420
And I don't think they will be

540
00:21:57,420 --> 00:21:59,660
and let them get a feel for that.

541
00:21:59,660 --> 00:22:01,660
It's fun seeing new people around the bees

542
00:22:01,660 --> 00:22:02,540
for the first time.

543
00:22:02,540 --> 00:22:05,980
Yeah, one of the things I've done is taken my kids up

544
00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:08,340
to our Sacramento location

545
00:22:08,340 --> 00:22:11,380
when we're doing our package bee distribution.

546
00:22:11,380 --> 00:22:14,060
And, you know, we'll work the bees for the weekend

547
00:22:14,060 --> 00:22:16,860
and mostly it's just taking the packages

548
00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:18,860
and labeling them appropriately

549
00:22:18,860 --> 00:22:20,620
and getting them off to the post office

550
00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:23,500
or handing them out to people who come for pickups.

551
00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:25,980
And the kids just, they look forward to it every year.

552
00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:26,820
They love it.

553
00:22:26,820 --> 00:22:27,660
That's cool.

554
00:22:27,660 --> 00:22:28,500
Yeah.

555
00:22:28,500 --> 00:22:33,060
Well, we are absolutely positively not gonna turn this

556
00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:35,420
into an infomercial for Man Lake.

557
00:22:35,420 --> 00:22:36,260
Okay.

558
00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:38,620
But I'm gonna give you a minute

559
00:22:38,620 --> 00:22:42,220
to just tell us a little bit about Man Lake because

560
00:22:42,220 --> 00:22:43,060
Sure.

561
00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:45,140
You're sort of the big dog.

562
00:22:45,140 --> 00:22:47,620
How many locations do you have?

563
00:22:47,620 --> 00:22:49,420
Give us a little bit about you.

564
00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:51,020
Man Lake is such a great business

565
00:22:51,020 --> 00:22:54,340
and I don't view myself as the big dog at all.

566
00:22:54,340 --> 00:22:56,380
Maybe I'm sort of the air traffic controller

567
00:22:56,380 --> 00:22:57,380
or something like that.

568
00:22:57,380 --> 00:23:01,020
But we have so many incredible associates

569
00:23:01,020 --> 00:23:04,500
who are incredibly dedicated to the world of beekeeping

570
00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:05,820
and to our customers.

571
00:23:05,820 --> 00:23:08,900
We've got a lot of them who are active beekeepers themselves

572
00:23:08,900 --> 00:23:12,100
and just have as much love for beekeeping as any of us.

573
00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:15,700
We have six locations around the country.

574
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:17,900
Two of them are manufacturing facilities

575
00:23:17,900 --> 00:23:19,500
and distribution centers.

576
00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:21,980
The rest are distribution centers.

577
00:23:21,980 --> 00:23:25,660
And all six of them have retail locations as well.

578
00:23:25,660 --> 00:23:27,140
So you can go into our showroom

579
00:23:27,140 --> 00:23:31,380
and get to know the products and buy them on the site.

580
00:23:31,380 --> 00:23:33,260
So most of our commercial business,

581
00:23:33,260 --> 00:23:35,820
we ship directly to the commercial customers.

582
00:23:35,820 --> 00:23:37,900
Some of them come and pick up their orders

583
00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:39,500
from our locations.

584
00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:41,460
And then when it comes to the hobby customers,

585
00:23:41,460 --> 00:23:45,620
most of our business goes from our website or our online app.

586
00:23:45,620 --> 00:23:48,780
And then we also have a call center

587
00:23:48,780 --> 00:23:51,180
where we take a lot of orders by phone.

588
00:23:51,180 --> 00:23:54,660
So we're pretty evenly split in selling

589
00:23:54,660 --> 00:23:58,100
to commercial customers and hobbyist customers.

590
00:23:58,100 --> 00:24:00,780
Our volume to commercial customers is higher,

591
00:24:00,780 --> 00:24:03,940
largely because we sell feed by the truckload.

592
00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:07,260
But when it comes to equipment and all the other categories,

593
00:24:07,260 --> 00:24:09,860
it's pretty evenly split between hobbyists

594
00:24:09,860 --> 00:24:11,940
and commercial customers.

595
00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:14,060
The thing that I've been trying to foster at Man Lake

596
00:24:14,060 --> 00:24:18,660
is just to really fan the flames of that love of beekeeping

597
00:24:18,660 --> 00:24:22,260
and to try to play a role in the community of beekeeping

598
00:24:22,260 --> 00:24:23,940
that's a positive thing.

599
00:24:23,940 --> 00:24:25,900
So trying to develop new products,

600
00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:28,500
to listen to customers about what we can be doing better.

601
00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:32,940
And to just always get a little better every day,

602
00:24:32,940 --> 00:24:35,420
the whole idea of continuous improvement.

603
00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:37,660
So that's what we're doing at Man Lake.

604
00:24:37,660 --> 00:24:40,580
And there's just a lot of dedication amongst the employees

605
00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:45,500
and a lot of eagerness to continue to get better.

606
00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:48,260
I can brag for you a little bit if you want.

607
00:24:48,260 --> 00:24:48,820
Sure.

608
00:24:48,820 --> 00:24:51,500
For people that haven't listened to the episode with Andrew

609
00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:55,060
Wagner down in Florida, it was really cool

610
00:24:55,060 --> 00:24:57,980
to hear how you guys are helping out beekeepers that

611
00:24:57,980 --> 00:25:01,660
have been hurt by the hurricanes down there.

612
00:25:01,660 --> 00:25:04,780
Very quietly behind the scenes.

613
00:25:04,780 --> 00:25:06,180
That's why I say I'll brag for you

614
00:25:06,180 --> 00:25:07,900
since you're not going to do it yourself.

615
00:25:07,900 --> 00:25:08,700
Well, thank you.

616
00:25:08,700 --> 00:25:12,180
And you talk about Andrew, he's a great example.

617
00:25:12,180 --> 00:25:16,260
We met the Greer Good two and a half years ago.

618
00:25:16,260 --> 00:25:19,780
And Andrew has just worked so hard to foster that relationship

619
00:25:19,780 --> 00:25:22,740
and to make sure that we were able to bring them

620
00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:25,700
into the world of beekeeping in the most effective way

621
00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:29,140
possible when there are disasters that affect beekeepers.

622
00:25:29,140 --> 00:25:31,620
And gosh, it's just blood, sweat, and tears

623
00:25:31,620 --> 00:25:34,500
that he spent without really any thanks for it.

624
00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:37,940
And I think it's been very, very effective.

625
00:25:37,940 --> 00:25:39,900
And we've now got this ongoing partnership

626
00:25:39,900 --> 00:25:41,980
with the Greer Good that I think will

627
00:25:41,980 --> 00:25:46,260
be an ongoing benefit to beekeepers all around the country.

628
00:25:46,260 --> 00:25:48,460
Maybe one other thing to mention about Man Lake

629
00:25:48,460 --> 00:25:55,100
is that we've really been trying to lean into this role of not

630
00:25:55,100 --> 00:25:57,380
only providing products, but trying

631
00:25:57,380 --> 00:26:01,420
to provide information that's going to help beekeepers succeed.

632
00:26:01,420 --> 00:26:03,420
And as I got to know the industry,

633
00:26:03,420 --> 00:26:06,100
I sort of looked around and asked myself,

634
00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:08,940
well, where do you get good information?

635
00:26:08,940 --> 00:26:13,060
And I used to go on YouTube and try to find the right video.

636
00:26:13,060 --> 00:26:15,220
And there's some really good videos out there.

637
00:26:15,220 --> 00:26:17,220
But a lot of times, the thing you need to know

638
00:26:17,220 --> 00:26:19,980
is embedded in a 40-minute video.

639
00:26:19,980 --> 00:26:22,500
And maybe 39 minutes of that video

640
00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:25,140
are not relevant to the thing that you're struggling with.

641
00:26:25,140 --> 00:26:27,660
So I really wanted to make it easier for beekeepers

642
00:26:27,660 --> 00:26:29,180
to find answers.

643
00:26:29,180 --> 00:26:32,940
And there's not really any money in it for Man Lake.

644
00:26:32,940 --> 00:26:35,380
But I just feel like in our role,

645
00:26:35,380 --> 00:26:38,660
we should be trying to help people succeed in the hobby.

646
00:26:38,660 --> 00:26:40,220
One of the things that really bothered me

647
00:26:40,220 --> 00:26:44,620
is that I heard that new beekeepers, pretty much 50%

648
00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:47,060
of them drop out in the first year or two.

649
00:26:47,060 --> 00:26:48,300
From what I could tell, it's mostly

650
00:26:48,300 --> 00:26:50,620
because it's just a difficult hobby.

651
00:26:50,620 --> 00:26:53,060
So we've done a bunch of things to try to contribute

652
00:26:53,060 --> 00:26:55,900
to making it easier to become a beekeeper,

653
00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:58,260
including our monthly beekeepers buzz,

654
00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:00,820
where we're trying to get out, hey, if you live in this region,

655
00:27:00,820 --> 00:27:02,980
here's what you should be thinking about this month,

656
00:27:02,980 --> 00:27:06,460
including our AI chatbot, which I don't know if you've tried it,

657
00:27:06,460 --> 00:27:10,980
but Bella, our chatbot on the website, she is incredible.

658
00:27:10,980 --> 00:27:13,620
And I challenge everybody to try to stump her,

659
00:27:13,620 --> 00:27:17,060
because she gives really good answers to beekeeping questions.

660
00:27:17,060 --> 00:27:19,660
We have over 50 people who answer the phones.

661
00:27:19,660 --> 00:27:21,700
And we actually started a program where

662
00:27:21,700 --> 00:27:24,820
we pay for their training to become master beekeepers.

663
00:27:24,820 --> 00:27:27,220
And the whole motivation behind that

664
00:27:27,220 --> 00:27:29,260
is when people call up with a beekeeping question,

665
00:27:29,260 --> 00:27:31,380
we want to be able to give them good advice.

666
00:27:31,380 --> 00:27:33,460
That was my motivation also to partner with you

667
00:27:33,460 --> 00:27:36,140
in getting this podcast going.

668
00:27:36,140 --> 00:27:40,420
We're trying to do as much as we can to help beekeepers succeed.

669
00:27:40,420 --> 00:27:42,180
And hopefully in the long run, that'll

670
00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:44,700
be good for Man Lake as a business, too.

671
00:27:44,700 --> 00:27:46,860
It almost just felt like our responsibility

672
00:27:46,860 --> 00:27:51,300
as the leading equipment supplier to do that.

673
00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:55,220
So yeah, I guess other than that, Eric, that's pretty much it.

674
00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:57,140
Yeah, I have one last question for you.

675
00:27:57,140 --> 00:27:57,460
Yeah.

676
00:27:57,460 --> 00:27:58,740
And you've heard the podcast.

677
00:27:58,740 --> 00:27:59,700
You know what's coming.

678
00:27:59,700 --> 00:28:01,300
I think I do.

679
00:28:01,300 --> 00:28:05,060
Any kind of wild and crazy or embarrassing or painful beekeeping

680
00:28:05,060 --> 00:28:07,060
story that you want to share with us?

681
00:28:07,060 --> 00:28:09,220
You know, I do have some painful ones,

682
00:28:09,220 --> 00:28:12,820
but I feel like that's a little more common.

683
00:28:12,820 --> 00:28:15,380
So I'll give you an uncommon one.

684
00:28:15,380 --> 00:28:17,700
You may not have heard one like this before.

685
00:28:17,700 --> 00:28:18,300
And I don't know.

686
00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:20,940
It's just a little point of interest, I guess.

687
00:28:20,940 --> 00:28:24,140
So my bees are close to the ocean.

688
00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:26,980
And I am obsessed with surfing.

689
00:28:26,980 --> 00:28:30,620
I go out and surf most mornings as the sun's coming up.

690
00:28:30,620 --> 00:28:33,740
One morning, I was out surfing, and it was a warm day.

691
00:28:33,740 --> 00:28:35,860
So the bees were already flying.

692
00:28:35,860 --> 00:28:39,220
And it was a slow day in the ocean.

693
00:28:39,220 --> 00:28:42,460
And I was sitting there waiting for a wave.

694
00:28:42,460 --> 00:28:44,940
And I saw a bee in the water.

695
00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:47,540
And I thought, oh, that's one of my bees.

696
00:28:47,540 --> 00:28:48,780
She's drowning.

697
00:28:48,780 --> 00:28:50,140
I better save this bee.

698
00:28:50,140 --> 00:28:52,060
So I scooped the bee up out of the water.

699
00:28:52,060 --> 00:28:55,500
And just as I did that, the most beautiful wave

700
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:59,380
that I'd seen in weeks was coming right towards me.

701
00:28:59,380 --> 00:29:01,460
And so I've got this bee in my hand.

702
00:29:01,460 --> 00:29:03,340
And I'm desperate to catch this wave

703
00:29:03,340 --> 00:29:05,940
because surfers are as obsessed with waves

704
00:29:05,940 --> 00:29:08,100
as beekeepers are with bees.

705
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:11,180
So I had this existential crisis where it's like,

706
00:29:11,180 --> 00:29:14,540
do I save the bee or do I catch the wave?

707
00:29:14,540 --> 00:29:16,020
Yeah.

708
00:29:16,020 --> 00:29:17,260
And it was just a split second.

709
00:29:17,260 --> 00:29:18,740
I had to make a decision.

710
00:29:18,740 --> 00:29:20,220
Because if I was going to paddle, the bee

711
00:29:20,220 --> 00:29:22,140
would go back in the water and drown.

712
00:29:22,140 --> 00:29:25,140
So I had this moment where I was like, I can't miss this wave.

713
00:29:25,140 --> 00:29:27,460
So I put the bee on my nose.

714
00:29:27,460 --> 00:29:29,460
And I'll get out of here.

715
00:29:29,460 --> 00:29:31,020
And paddle, I caught the wave.

716
00:29:31,020 --> 00:29:32,020
That is awesome.

717
00:29:32,020 --> 00:29:32,940
I caught the wave.

718
00:29:32,940 --> 00:29:34,020
I surfed the wave.

719
00:29:34,020 --> 00:29:36,220
And as we say, kicked off the back of the wave

720
00:29:36,220 --> 00:29:38,260
and lowered myself back down onto my board.

721
00:29:38,260 --> 00:29:39,580
And the bee was still right there.

722
00:29:39,580 --> 00:29:41,220
And then she flew away.

723
00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,580
And yeah, I thought that was awesome.

724
00:29:43,580 --> 00:29:45,060
Best day ever.

725
00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:46,260
Yeah.

726
00:29:46,260 --> 00:29:48,100
For me, that was like nothing else

727
00:29:48,100 --> 00:29:49,060
had to happen that day.

728
00:29:49,060 --> 00:29:51,460
And everything was going to be good.

729
00:29:51,460 --> 00:29:52,940
That is an awesome story.

730
00:29:52,940 --> 00:29:55,220
All right, Rob from Man Lake.

731
00:29:55,220 --> 00:29:57,020
Appreciate you being with me today.

732
00:29:57,020 --> 00:29:59,820
Thank you, Eric.

733
00:29:59,820 --> 00:30:02,340
By the way, next time you're shopping for Man Lake,

734
00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:05,060
take advantage of the podcast discount.

735
00:30:05,060 --> 00:30:10,460
All you have to do on checkout is using the code MLBLOV10.

736
00:30:10,460 --> 00:30:11,540
It'll be in the show notes.

737
00:30:11,540 --> 00:30:12,060
Don't worry.

738
00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:18,100
You can check it there to get $10 off your order of $100 or more.

739
00:30:18,100 --> 00:30:20,020
Thank you so much for listening.

740
00:30:20,020 --> 00:30:21,820
And if you like what you hear, do us a favor.

741
00:30:21,820 --> 00:30:23,940
Hit that follow or subscribe button

742
00:30:23,940 --> 00:30:26,940
and be sure to share this podcast with a friend.

743
00:30:26,940 --> 00:30:28,660
We are building a community here.

744
00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:30,300
And we want to hear from you.

745
00:30:30,300 --> 00:30:33,460
Send your crazy stories, guest recommendations,

746
00:30:33,460 --> 00:30:35,180
new gadgets, or anything else you'd

747
00:30:35,180 --> 00:30:40,580
like to hear about on the show to Eric at BLOVBEAKEAPING.COM.

748
00:30:40,580 --> 00:30:44,380
And remember, if you're not just in it for the honey or the money,

749
00:30:44,380 --> 00:30:45,780
you're in it for the love.

750
00:30:45,780 --> 00:30:46,740
See you next week.

751
00:30:46,740 --> 00:30:51,740
[(MUSIC PLAYING)]