WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.660 May I have your attention, please? The following 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:10.439 is not the real Jeff Fox release. If you have 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.839 ever referred to a presidential election as a 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:24.399 super seizure, you might be a beekeeper. If you 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:31.429 do more splits than a gymnast, You might be a 00:00:31.429 --> 00:00:38.770 beekeeper. If you wash your bee suit once a year, 00:00:38.909 --> 00:00:44.689 whether it needs it or not, you definitely might 00:00:44.689 --> 00:01:00.670 be a beekeeper. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping 00:01:00.670 --> 00:01:04.250 presented by our good friends at Man Lake. Today 00:01:04.250 --> 00:01:08.109 our guest is John Smith from Oklahoma and we'll 00:01:08.109 --> 00:01:11.290 be discussing his experience in both commercial 00:01:11.290 --> 00:01:14.870 and hobby beekeeping, how he got started, and 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:17.189 his beekeeping in many different parts of the 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:20.569 country. But before we jump into that, a listener 00:01:20.569 --> 00:01:23.230 recently sent in his wild and crazy beekeeping 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:25.989 story that really cracked me up. Some of us can 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:28.689 maybe relate to this. He's a little too shy to 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:31.750 come on the podcast, so please bear with me as 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:34.829 I read it. It's pretty long, but here we go. 00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:41.129 Okay, just to give you a little bit of background 00:01:41.129 --> 00:01:46.290 here, we're going to find so many mistakes going 00:01:46.290 --> 00:01:49.670 on in this story. The first of one being he and 00:01:49.670 --> 00:01:53.709 his wife live next door to their in -laws. Okay, 00:01:53.950 --> 00:01:57.340 so here's what's going on. The in -laws got into 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:00.599 beekeeping. He's been into beekeeping much longer 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:02.420 than them. He knows a lot more about it than 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:07.359 they do. They have lost hives over winter and 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.819 there's only one hive left between the two of 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:12.860 them. The in -laws think they know it all. They 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:15.960 think he knows nothing. All right, there's your 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:19.030 setup. Mother's Day weekend, he was thinking, 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:22.110 I have got to get into my hive. I've got to see 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:24.810 what's going on there, check on it. But he just 00:02:24.810 --> 00:02:27.710 hadn't got around to it yet. And at the dinner 00:02:27.710 --> 00:02:30.969 table with the in -laws, mother -in -law says, 00:02:31.189 --> 00:02:33.930 oh, why don't we check on the bees tonight? He 00:02:33.930 --> 00:02:36.229 thought, that sounds really strange. You shouldn't 00:02:36.229 --> 00:02:39.110 go into a bee hive at night. That never happens. 00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:42.810 and nobody talks about it again for a while so 00:02:42.810 --> 00:02:45.629 later on in the evening he puts the kids to bed 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:48.590 and then at nine o 'clock he gets a call saying 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:51.729 hey we're going to check your hive come on over 00:02:51.729 --> 00:02:55.770 oh he's thinking this is a big mistake but he 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:58.870 grabs his veil he grabs his big gloves and he 00:02:58.870 --> 00:03:01.930 runs over he doesn't take time to get a smoker 00:03:01.930 --> 00:03:06.430 or his full b -suit now in his words yep they're 00:03:06.430 --> 00:03:10.120 in my hive father -in -law with a veil, mother 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:12.939 -in -law has nothing on for protective clothing, 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.379 but of course she wasn't going to be handling 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:18.199 the frames. I look around for their supplies. 00:03:18.659 --> 00:03:21.819 No smoker anywhere. I think to myself this is 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:26.030 going to be fun. The feeder is still on and they're 00:03:26.030 --> 00:03:28.389 taking it off to get to the frames. They get 00:03:28.389 --> 00:03:30.990 one frame out and check it. The comb is building 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:34.409 out away from the foundation in a way that they 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:37.469 don't like. I say something about it but they 00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:40.629 ignore me and then comment how their bees hadn't 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:43.689 done that because they used wax foundation. They 00:03:43.689 --> 00:03:46.449 put it back in without fixing the comb. I just 00:03:46.449 --> 00:03:50.550 let them keep walking into their disaster. They 00:03:50.550 --> 00:03:53.280 pull another frame closer to the center. it looks 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:55.919 good has some brood my mother -in -law is all 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:58.520 high and mighty i don't like how little brood 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.879 there is that's not good so this is just the 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:04.180 first of five frames that had come with the nuke 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:07.259 so it's fine they pull another one from the outside 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:10.900 but on the other side to see the build out and 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:13.180 i'm all thinking good they're going to rush this 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:15.620 because they can tell the bees are getting agitated 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:18.899 I've now got bees checking me out, starting to 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:22.040 get mad, and I'm off to the side. They put the 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:24.740 frame back in. My mother -in -law wants to check 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:27.839 for brood in the middle. I think, uh -oh, this 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.959 is going to be the last straw for the bees. They 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:33.199 pull up the frame. My mother -in -law gets in 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.519 there. No veil. pointing her flashlight to see 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:38.980 them. She says the brood looks good now, but 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.819 I can see the bees start to swarm angrily and 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:44.339 they're starting to land on her. Suddenly she 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:47.079 is backing away from the hive. My father -in 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.040 -law, who I think can tell something is wrong 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.540 with the hive's behavior, now is yelling that 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:54.079 he can't see to pull the frame as she left him 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.279 with no light. I'm told angrily by my father 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:00.420 -in -law, you need to get in there. You have 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:03.730 a veil and gloves. Now this is only because I 00:05:03.730 --> 00:05:07.310 was semi -prepared. I grab the flashlight from 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:10.670 her, step in, hold the light knowing full well 00:05:10.670 --> 00:05:13.069 what they've done and that I'm gonna get stung. 00:05:13.410 --> 00:05:16.069 I watch in horror as my father -in -law insists 00:05:16.069 --> 00:05:19.529 on pulling another frame to check for brood and 00:05:19.529 --> 00:05:22.269 pollen. I can see him starting to get stung in 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:25.629 earnest now. No smoke to mask the smell pheromones 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:28.389 telling the other bees to attack. I know this 00:05:28.389 --> 00:05:31.009 is only going to escalate. I've got them landing 00:05:31.009 --> 00:05:34.290 on me, trying to find flesh to sting. I have 00:05:34.290 --> 00:05:36.790 a good two inch gap between my gloves and my 00:05:36.790 --> 00:05:39.389 short sleeves, so keeping the light steady for 00:05:39.389 --> 00:05:43.029 him is not my priority as I try to keep from 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:46.470 getting that first sting, which I know will compound 00:05:46.470 --> 00:05:49.689 quickly without smoke. He puts the frame back 00:05:49.689 --> 00:05:52.589 in while yelling about light. I finally just 00:05:52.589 --> 00:05:56.399 tell him to close the hive. He puts the top feeder 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.620 back on. I start casting my eyes about looking 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.759 frantically for whoever has the syrup to refill 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.160 it. My brother -in -law, who I didn't know was 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:07.939 there, has run off with it. Wanting to not make 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:11.199 this a complete waste, I chase him down, then 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.980 risk going back in to refill the feeder, which 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:16.860 really was all I originally thought we were going 00:06:16.860 --> 00:06:19.399 to do. But alas, that doesn't help when they're 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.180 already out of the hive trying to sting us. I 00:06:22.180 --> 00:06:24.600 fill the feeder about two -thirds full as I can 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:28.220 tell the bees are in full attack mode now. I 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:30.639 can see my father -in -law has a half dozen stings 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.160 already but puts the lid fully on while smacking 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.720 at his exposed skin and screaming about how the 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:40.610 bees have gotten inside his veil. Turning to 00:06:40.610 --> 00:06:44.129 run, I realize a bee is under my veil also. I 00:06:44.129 --> 00:06:46.990 can feel it climbing on my nose. While I'm booking 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:50.250 it away from the hive, I swipe away the bee and 00:06:50.250 --> 00:06:54.730 feel the veil catch and roll the bee. The buzz 00:06:54.730 --> 00:06:58.490 has stopped. I got her. I think triumphantly, 00:06:58.509 --> 00:07:00.769 knowing that they're going to follow more intently 00:07:00.769 --> 00:07:03.439 if I get that first sting. Thinking that the 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.680 idiots and onlookers would realize that they 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:09.860 need to vacate the area also, I don't say anything 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.240 too assertive for them to leave the area as I 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.480 approach. The bee is back! I hadn't killed it 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:18.300 after all. I smack my nose, knocking my glasses 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:22.160 and veil off, but it heroically stings me right 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.100 next to my nose and way too close to my eye. 00:07:25.370 --> 00:07:28.129 My mother -in -law is now screaming about one 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:31.029 in her hair, but she and the onlookers have stopped 00:07:31.029 --> 00:07:33.990 some 15 feet from the hive to check each other 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:37.449 for bees. I tell my wife to get farther away 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:40.230 and to follow me. She's now decided it's a good 00:07:40.230 --> 00:07:43.170 time to tell me that I need to make sure I got 00:07:43.170 --> 00:07:45.430 all the bees off of me before going back into 00:07:45.430 --> 00:07:48.370 the house. My in -law's house is up the hill 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:51.050 in the other direction, so I assume that they've 00:07:51.050 --> 00:07:55.259 listened and left. At 40 feet I'm still feeling 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:58.339 two or three bees on me. I feel another one land 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:01.560 and it instantly stings me on the jawline. I 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:03.560 arrive back at my deck which has a good light 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:07.779 on and check myself for bees. Suddenly my three 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:10.199 -year -old having heard that we were checking 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.379 the bees comes out of the back door having changed 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:16.560 out of his jammies and into shorts and a t -shirt 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.819 he announces triumphantly he has come to help 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:24.269 with the bees. He had received explicit instructions 00:08:24.269 --> 00:08:27.430 to stay in bed as the bees would likely get really 00:08:27.430 --> 00:08:30.670 mad. I send him tersely back into the house, 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:33.870 knowing I more than likely have some on me. He's 00:08:33.870 --> 00:08:36.429 now crying because he wants to help and I won't 00:08:36.429 --> 00:08:38.950 let him. Getting him through the door, I return 00:08:38.950 --> 00:08:42.309 to inspect myself. He now has his nose pressed 00:08:42.309 --> 00:08:46.009 to the glass, sobbing, so I ask my wife to comfort 00:08:46.009 --> 00:08:49.009 him as I kill another bee before I get stung 00:08:49.009 --> 00:08:52.929 by it. Disposing of yet another bee, I cast about 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:55.289 myself looking for her but she is nowhere to 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:58.330 be found. Yep, she's still back with the others 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:02.149 standing 15 feet from the hive and swatting themselves. 00:09:02.909 --> 00:09:05.470 Convinced I'm now bee free, I go inside the house 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:08.350 to console my son and get him to start walking 00:09:08.350 --> 00:09:11.789 back to bed. When my wife comes in, five minutes 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:15.129 later, I rhetorically ask, where did you go? 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:18.759 Dumbfounded, she replies, We were all checking 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:22.399 each other for bees. I had gotten stung farther 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.179 away from the hive than where they had been standing. 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:28.860 My father -in -law got at least a dozen stings. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:31.559 I'm sure most of those after we had closed the 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.559 hive. A few got his face too. All right, final 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:38.100 chapter here. Later that night they called and 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:40.960 told us how they now believe in smoke and they 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:44.840 were going to double check. on their impression 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:47.580 that night was maybe not the best time to check 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:51.259 the hive. Also mentioning to my wife that they 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:53.740 were looking to buy at least one full bee suit 00:09:53.740 --> 00:09:58.259 now. Okay, lots of lessons learned. Now, what 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:03.919 do you say we get to our guest? I'd like to welcome 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.679 to the show today John Smith, and that is your 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:11.419 real name, isn't it John? Yes it is. Thank God 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:15.610 it's not John Doe. And you're in Oklahoma. And 00:10:15.610 --> 00:10:19.210 so, hey, welcome to the Midwest, everybody. Yep, 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:22.370 Oklahoma, south of Oklahoma City. Do you have 00:10:22.370 --> 00:10:25.509 kind of crazy winters there as far as beekeeping? 00:10:26.169 --> 00:10:29.610 Overall, it doesn't really get all that cold 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:34.149 mid teens. And, you know, we might get lows down 00:10:34.149 --> 00:10:37.700 to just below zero, but very rarely. is that 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:43.120 the case? Unfortunately, we get ice. So overall, 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:45.980 the winters aren't terrible, but you got to deal 00:10:45.980 --> 00:10:49.679 with the ice. So. Yeah, they do sound pretty 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.100 rough. Hey, when you and I were talking earlier, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:54.820 I found it interesting that you had done beekeeping 00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:58.059 in a number of different locations, including 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:01.779 Texas, Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota. 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:06.500 now Oklahoma. And I believe, correct me if I'm 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:08.519 wrong, you worked for a commercial beekeeper 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.779 for a time? Yeah, so I worked for a commercial 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:15.860 beekeeper about two years after I started beekeeping 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:21.840 in 2010. and I worked for a person who he had 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:26.500 approximately 10 ,000 hives and I got to learn 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:30.419 the kind of the pollination routes and kind of 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:33.360 the commercial style of beekeeping. Well the 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:35.159 first thing that I want to learn from you and 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:37.419 we're going to talk about all kinds of topics 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:41.539 today by the way including wild and crazy beekeeping 00:11:41.539 --> 00:11:44.320 stories that's where you and I first met. But 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:46.340 I'd like to hear what it's like when you're working 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:50.440 for a commercial beekeeper. What is a year like? 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:53.480 Like, what are you doing in September? What are 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.139 you doing in November? What are you doing in 00:11:56.139 --> 00:11:57.960 March, April, May, that kind of thing? Would 00:11:57.960 --> 00:11:59.980 you just sort of take us through the calendar? 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:05.120 Yeah. So typically honey harvest is in August. 00:12:06.170 --> 00:12:09.389 And August, early September, mite treatments 00:12:09.389 --> 00:12:12.470 go in right after the honey harvest. So that's 00:12:12.470 --> 00:12:15.129 kind of where we decide, are these guys queenless? 00:12:15.710 --> 00:12:19.549 Are they small? Did they swarm? That type of 00:12:19.549 --> 00:12:23.789 stuff. So around that period of time, August, 00:12:23.870 --> 00:12:26.539 September. That's that's kind of where I don't 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:28.259 know if you've ever listened to Bob Binney But 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:31.259 he says your season starts in August and that's 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:33.480 kind of one of the things I learned so getting 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.940 the mites under control testing so on and so 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.899 forth by Around this is this is for Wisconsin, 00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:44.179 Minnesota. So by around middle of November they 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:48.019 will get loaded onto a trailer and hauled down 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:52.379 south whether it be Florida or Texas was typically 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:56.259 where I went And then you more or less start 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.980 feeding the heck out of them by middle of December 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:02.519 and testing for mites, keeping everything like 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:07.039 that under control. And then we would load them 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:10.820 up end of January, beginning of February, and 00:13:10.820 --> 00:13:14.340 then they would go over to California. I've only 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:20.080 pollinated almonds in California. beginning of 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.460 March ish somewhere in that area sometimes it's 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:24.620 a little later they would get loaded back up 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:27.220 and hauled back to Texas or Florida where we 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:30.879 would go on ahead and we'd start splitting and 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:35.379 making nukes up and then from there they would 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.379 either go on to different pollination contracts 00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:42.820 or they would go back to Wisconsin Minnesota 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:45.799 back where back home and then you basically you 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:50.159 know get them up there in April Mayesh and take 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:53.840 them out to your outyards. Make sure they're 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.879 good on mites and whatnot if you need to retreat. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:03.220 Typically we used Apivar in the fall more commonly 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:07.559 and we used Formic in the spring because it gave 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.480 you a little better knockdown. But usually if 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.259 you keep the mites low all year you don't really 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:16.299 run into too much trouble. Then you just repeat, 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:21.120 you harvest, you put boxes out throughout June, 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:25.500 July and pull them in August, September. It's 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:29.139 a full -time job. Yeah, beekeepers are the hardest 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:32.740 working people, especially the commercial beekeepers. 00:14:34.250 --> 00:14:37.149 Yeah, I don't envy that. I wanted to stress one 00:14:37.149 --> 00:14:39.230 of the first things that you said, and that was 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:41.929 making sure that the mites were under control 00:14:41.929 --> 00:14:44.769 starting early, like in August, something like 00:14:44.769 --> 00:14:47.110 that. And I know a lot of beekeepers have made 00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:51.220 the mistake that I have too, going, oh. I'll 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:53.419 check before winter because I don't want mites 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:56.840 in winter. And so come October, yep, got mites. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.139 Let's put some treatment on now. And folks, you 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:02.100 got to start a lot earlier than that. Keep them 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:04.299 under control. In fact, all year long, keep them 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:07.039 under control. Yeah. And one thing I will say, 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.580 that was my biggest, that was the best thing 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:15.000 I learned from going from just a hobbyist. to 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.639 a sideliner is working with a commercial outfit 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:21.960 to where they were very critical upon keeping 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:25.360 the mite numbers low. If we had 2 % mite counts, 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:29.179 that was way too high, basically. So they were 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:32.720 very critical on that. And it was always taken 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.759 into account that if you've got sick bees, they're 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.080 never going to be very productive. And that's 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:42.399 what I've seen, too. Then at what point did you 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.039 decide, hey, instead of working for this great 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.220 company, I think I want to do some of this on 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:50.980 my own and become a sideliner? How many hives 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:55.879 did you get up to? 2010, I started with two hives. 00:15:56.519 --> 00:16:01.720 In spring of 2011, I had lost both of them. I 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:03.879 would say failure to treat and failure to feed. 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:08.720 Quick break to thank our presenting sponsor, 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:12.690 Man Lake. I've found that Man Lake has absolutely 00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:15.230 everything I need to take care of the health 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:18.049 of my bees. Mite checks and treatments, beetle 00:16:18.049 --> 00:16:20.850 management, hive health and nutrition, pollen 00:16:20.850 --> 00:16:24.509 substitutes, food and feeders, and the knowledge 00:16:24.509 --> 00:16:27.409 base to help you know how to use it. Including 00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:31.049 Bella, their AI beekeeping genius. Just look 00:16:31.049 --> 00:16:32.990 for her icon in the bottom right hand corner 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:36.809 of your screen at manlakeltd .com. While you're 00:16:36.809 --> 00:16:39.490 there, don't forget your discount code MLBlove. 00:16:39.500 --> 00:16:42.879 It's in the show notes. For $10 off your first 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:51.220 $100 purchase. Then 2011, I think I bought five 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:55.179 packages and I was started working with the commercial 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.039 operation a little bit, you know, just helping, 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:59.919 helping in the spring split and stuff like that. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:03.240 Cause I was, I was wanting to learn a lot. And 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:09.059 by 2013, I believe I had around 50 colonies that 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:15.720 I had 2014. And by this point I had had very 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:18.559 good results. I was coming out of winter with 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:21.539 a 10 % loss, you know, a 10 % loss rate. So I 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:24.799 had very good results. And I went from around 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:31.220 50 up to 200, 250, somewhere in that range. And 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:34.119 then I started working with the commercial beekeeper 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:37.099 more and we were basically just including my 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:42.400 yards into his rounds. And he got me into pollination 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:46.980 around the 2013ish, 2014 mark. And that's kind 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:49.859 of where I did that for another five years. You 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:51.740 jumped in pretty fast. Do you recommend that 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:55.420 for other people? If you have a good mentor, 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:57.579 I don't think it's a problem. If you're just 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:00.640 going in it alone, I would suggest against it 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:06.369 because I got a lot of breaks in regards to somebody 00:18:06.369 --> 00:18:09.569 who they would buy a truckload of equipment so 00:18:09.569 --> 00:18:13.349 I could get commercial prices on all my equipment. 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:17.890 And I also had knowledge if I wanted to ask a 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:20.730 question or I was pondering an idea, I could 00:18:20.730 --> 00:18:25.210 just shoot a text or give my mentor a call and 00:18:25.210 --> 00:18:27.849 he would be more than happy to help me in any 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:30.109 way, shape or form. And that's the same way with 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:33.019 like queens and whatnot too. I raise them as 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:37.500 well and I did supply myself and some of his 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:40.700 queens as well. So we all kind of work together. 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:43.940 Let's talk about queens. As long as you brought 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:46.039 up queens, let's talk about that a little bit. 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.859 I know you have some experience raising queens. 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:51.680 What kind of method do you like to use? Tell 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:55.259 me a little bit about your preferences and also 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:59.660 the kind of breeds you like. So I mostly did 00:19:00.360 --> 00:19:03.079 Carniolans and Italians. They were mutts by the 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:06.259 time I got done with them, or they made it and 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:08.920 whatnot. But Carniolans and Italians were the 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:14.079 most popular. And I would basically start grafting 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:19.500 the end of middle of May, end of May. I used 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.720 starter finishers. I did not move the cells from 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.160 a starter to a finisher. I made all my mating 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:28.279 nukes and stuff like that. You know, I did all 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:30.440 that stuff. I would actually, what I would do 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.720 is I would take an actual five frame nuke and 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.380 run a little piece of half inch plywood, dado 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:38.599 that out. And then I had my nukes that when I 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:40.140 was done with them, I could just pull that out 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:44.960 and it was a nuke again. I only run approximately 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:49.160 150 to like 250 queens a year, but that was to 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:52.440 satisfy myself and my local beekeeping clubs. 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:55.599 Realistically what it takes, this was a learning 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.779 experience, strong hives. You want to, for your 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:02.400 starters and your finishers, they need to be 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.400 strong. I would usually do it in 10 frame boxes 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:09.140 and I would be swapping out frames of brood, 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:12.559 capped brood would have eight or nine frames 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.220 of caproot in a hive at all times. There were 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:18.519 too many bees in the box, basically, is how it 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:22.420 played out. I could easily start and finish 50 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:26.720 cells in that colony every about two weeks -ish. 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.059 I think a queen emerges on day 16. So I would 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:34.099 swap them out about every 12 to 13 days. Okay. 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.619 Wow. You're cooking through this stuff, John. 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:40.109 What else do you think would be important for 00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:44.549 people to learn about from your experience? Grow 00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:48.910 with your bees would probably be my biggest suggestion. 00:20:49.309 --> 00:20:52.809 Uh, I know when I first got started, I had a 00:20:52.809 --> 00:20:55.089 mentality of like, I wanted to, you know, I wanted 00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:58.509 to be a commercial beekeeper and have a thousand 00:20:58.509 --> 00:21:01.329 colonies or that type of stuff. It's not really 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:04.690 worth it to do that. In my opinion, I grew very 00:21:04.690 --> 00:21:08.650 fast. You know, I went from 10 to 50 in a year 00:21:08.650 --> 00:21:12.029 and that's, that's a big jump. But if you grow 00:21:12.029 --> 00:21:15.160 with your bees, and you know you double every 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:17.559 year, it doesn't take you very long to get to 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.740 250 or 300. So that's what I would suggest is 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:25.700 growing with your bees and if you can, go work 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:28.240 with a commercial beekeeper for a year or two 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.259 if you're interested in that type of stuff because 00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:35.019 they are such a plethora of knowledge that you 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:38.809 really don't. you can't get unless you're working 00:21:38.809 --> 00:21:42.569 with them. You can read books and watch videos, 00:21:43.029 --> 00:21:46.250 but it's different than hands -on, being out 00:21:46.250 --> 00:21:48.990 there, seeing the sights and all that type of 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:52.509 stuff. Did you find that some of the things that 00:21:52.509 --> 00:21:55.509 you learned just came with experience? I'm thinking, 00:21:55.690 --> 00:21:58.839 for example, If you've got a hobbyist, a fairly 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:01.720 new beekeeper and they're in their hives for 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:05.420 maybe they've got two hives. And so they're in 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:09.900 there for an hour a month or something like that. 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:11.940 I mean, they're going to have a hard time finding 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:14.200 a queen. They're going to have a hard time spotting 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:17.740 problems, things like that. What kinds of things 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:21.220 can you learn by being in hives all day every 00:22:21.220 --> 00:22:24.700 day? Well, one thing you can learn, in my opinion, 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:27.920 which is very important as well, is you don't 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:30.539 need to see the queen. Like, I know that's a 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.980 big thing with new people, because I've taught 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:36.400 quite a few people, family members included, 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:39.259 about they want to get into bees. And that's 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:42.019 great. I always suggest that they do it. But 00:22:42.019 --> 00:22:44.940 when they say, oh, you know, I don't see the 00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:48.500 queen or I can't find her. And I said, well, 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:53.579 do you see eggs and larvae? Are they making the 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:56.430 roar, the queenless roar? and usually if they 00:22:56.430 --> 00:22:59.069 say well no I see eggs and I see larva and stuff 00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:01.450 I'm like well she's in there just you don't need 00:23:01.450 --> 00:23:04.130 to see her you know she's doing her job and you 00:23:04.130 --> 00:23:07.609 just let her be because too many people will 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:10.789 go through and manipulate frames and unintentionally 00:23:10.789 --> 00:23:14.829 cause harm when it's really unnecessary and that 00:23:14.829 --> 00:23:18.309 was one thing I learned I personally don't rip 00:23:18.309 --> 00:23:22.309 into a hive any farther than if I see a few eggs 00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:25.049 that's fine that's all the more I need to see 00:23:25.210 --> 00:23:27.930 Yeah, I would suggest don't be in the hives too 00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:32.309 much and look at the signs around the hive to 00:23:32.309 --> 00:23:34.430 see if they're looking for queens and whatnot. 00:23:34.990 --> 00:23:38.369 I've heard the term over -inspecting. There's 00:23:38.369 --> 00:23:40.690 under -inspecting and over -inspecting. We need 00:23:40.690 --> 00:23:42.609 some kind of a nice balance right in the middle. 00:23:43.289 --> 00:23:46.430 Yeah, the over -inspecting is just as bad, if 00:23:46.430 --> 00:23:49.220 not worse, in my opinion. Yeah. Because then 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:51.180 you get bees that are mad at you, and then you 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:54.960 get stung, and a bad experience leaves a bad 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:57.420 taste. Well, you're ripping their house apart. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:00.680 You're probably smoking them to death. It's going 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:02.500 to put them back every time you get in there. 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:04.940 So you need to have a good reason and a plan 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:07.220 every time you get in. I couldn't have said it 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:09.940 better myself. Hey, I'm just curious, if you 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:14.119 don't mind, why did you decide not to be a commercial 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:17.529 beekeeper? Why did I consider not to be? That's 00:24:17.529 --> 00:24:21.009 a question I've asked myself too. Realistically, 00:24:21.690 --> 00:24:24.750 I didn't like the management aspect of it more 00:24:24.750 --> 00:24:27.349 than anything. That was the worst part. I really 00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:30.789 liked being in the bee yard and working with 00:24:30.789 --> 00:24:36.609 the bees. I didn't like having to set up locations 00:24:36.609 --> 00:24:39.250 and having to buy stuff and having to pay your 00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:42.309 employees and stuff like that. And that's the 00:24:42.309 --> 00:24:45.930 main reason why. Overall, I'm more of the type 00:24:45.930 --> 00:24:48.309 of person who would much rather be in the bee 00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:51.329 yard working with the bees than sitting behind 00:24:51.329 --> 00:24:54.329 a desk and on a telephone talking to clients 00:24:54.329 --> 00:24:56.910 and talking to customers and stuff like that. 00:24:57.569 --> 00:24:59.329 All right. The first time you and I talked, you 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:01.309 were telling me about an experience that you 00:25:01.309 --> 00:25:07.829 had with some very hot queens. Okay. Let's put 00:25:07.829 --> 00:25:10.809 that in perspective. We're talking about beekeeping 00:25:10.809 --> 00:25:13.779 here when we're talking about hot queens. Tell 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:16.160 me what was going on. This was one of those wild 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:21.299 and crazy stories. Okay. Well, uh, so it was 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:23.740 middle of March ish and I got a telephone call 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:26.200 from my mentor and mind you, I'm a thousand miles 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:29.319 away and he says, Hey, I'm going to need your 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:32.480 help. And I was like, Oh, okay. Well, you know, 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:35.200 what, what do we need? He's like, can you be 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:39.970 down to Houston by tomorrow? And I'm like, Yeah, 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:42.910 I can. So I got on a plane and then I flew down 00:25:42.910 --> 00:25:45.930 there and I figured out that he, we were talking 00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:50.250 back and forth and he had approximately 700 splits 00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:53.769 that were way too aggressive. They were bad. 00:25:53.990 --> 00:25:56.250 You couldn't, you couldn't be in the bee yard 00:25:56.250 --> 00:26:01.450 without getting just mauled to death. So I was 00:26:01.450 --> 00:26:04.329 talking to him and I had never worked with really 00:26:04.329 --> 00:26:07.740 hot bees before. And he, you know, we were sitting 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:09.680 in the truck. I remember that, that morning we 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:11.740 were sitting in the truck and he's like, well, 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:14.059 let's make sure you're zipped up. And we pulled 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:17.279 into the, into the off the field road and they 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.359 were already starting to hit the truck. And this 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:22.460 is, you know, it's, it's six 30 in the morning. 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:25.480 Sun's just starting to come up. We had a heck 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:27.779 of a day. Cause the first day we went through 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:31.859 and we had to fix these, these hives. So it was 00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:35.339 us and five other people, I think four other 00:26:35.339 --> 00:26:39.460 people. Basically we took the colonies for double 00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:41.500 deeps and just split them like right in half. 00:26:41.819 --> 00:26:45.619 One side went to a new pallet and then put lids 00:26:45.619 --> 00:26:48.400 on all the other colonies that we took the top 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:52.240 box off of. And then that next morning we went 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:55.259 back through and I wasn't checking the hives 00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:58.759 to see which ones were queen right, but basically 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:01.819 they would just pop the lid and you could hear 00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:04.079 if they're queenless. And then that lid would 00:27:04.079 --> 00:27:07.190 get turned over if it was queenless. And if the 00:27:07.190 --> 00:27:10.309 other one was not, it got left alone. And then 00:27:10.309 --> 00:27:13.430 we had another person coming behind them, putting 00:27:13.430 --> 00:27:16.309 new queen cages into the boxes that were queen 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:19.190 -less. We left them alone for a day. And then 00:27:19.190 --> 00:27:22.049 the next day, we went and shook out all of the 00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:26.990 boxes that were queen -rate. And that was a new 00:27:26.990 --> 00:27:29.809 experience for me. And I don't wish to ever relive 00:27:29.809 --> 00:27:33.430 that. When you say you shook them out into something 00:27:33.430 --> 00:27:36.509 on the ground, what did you do? on the ground. 00:27:36.769 --> 00:27:40.150 Yep. Oh man. The queen right colonies basically 00:27:40.150 --> 00:27:43.349 got shook out onto the ground and those boxes 00:27:43.349 --> 00:27:46.289 got combined back with the colony that had a 00:27:46.289 --> 00:27:50.009 queen, a new queen in it. And yeah, it was blotting 00:27:50.009 --> 00:27:52.450 out the sun. Like you had to wipe your veil off. 00:27:52.890 --> 00:27:55.470 It was really bad. I've never seen that before, 00:27:55.470 --> 00:27:58.509 but that was, I guess, one of the most efficient 00:27:58.509 --> 00:28:00.809 ways to do it because you can't go through 700 00:28:00.809 --> 00:28:03.470 colonies and try and find each individual queen. 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:08.299 But yeah, that was one really crazy beekeeping 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:11.180 story that I've had. And I wish that upon nobody. 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:14.039 I think you just answered my earlier question 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:16.440 about why did you decide not to be a commercial 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:18.980 beekeeper? I learned a really good lesson that 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:23.220 day. And it was, if you're going to be doing 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:25.539 something like that, you've got to be able to 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:29.119 take a curve ball. And that was a heck of a curve 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:33.420 ball, because. Yeah. it, it, it was, it was terrible. 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:36.940 That's the nicest way to put it. It was, I don't 00:28:36.940 --> 00:28:38.880 know how many times I got stung, you know, you 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:40.559 get stung in the gloves and I had a good suit 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:43.039 on and everything like that, but that's, that's 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:45.180 just how they did it. We taped up our legs. I 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.779 remember that was one thing I did. I didn't do 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:48.680 it right away because you know, you're wearing 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:51.579 your boots and whatnot, but they can still figure 00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:54.160 out ways to get in. These were strong colonies 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:56.480 too, cause they were, they had, they had come 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:58.869 back from almonds about a month earlier. they 00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:02.730 were fairly strong so you you got to deal with 00:29:02.730 --> 00:29:04.869 that too and I don't know if you know anything 00:29:04.869 --> 00:29:07.329 about bees where the bigger they get the more 00:29:07.329 --> 00:29:10.049 pushy they can get but that's kind of what I've 00:29:10.049 --> 00:29:12.910 noticed. Well when you told me they were in Houston 00:29:12.910 --> 00:29:16.450 I assumed maybe they had Africanized genetics 00:29:16.450 --> 00:29:19.549 and that's why they were so onry but if they 00:29:19.549 --> 00:29:21.670 had been out in almonds with you did they have 00:29:21.670 --> 00:29:24.369 that kind of personality then? No these were 00:29:24.369 --> 00:29:27.339 these were splits. these were new queens that 00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:30.660 they had introduced into splits. The old hives 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:32.579 were not like that. These were the splits that 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:35.940 were coming back. But they, we usually made splits 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:38.480 pretty strong because if you make them strong, 00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:43.140 you can get a secondary nuke off of them instead 00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:47.920 of, cause we sold nukes in May 15th -ish. So 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:49.880 if you make them strong, if you put, you know, 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:52.619 four or five frames of brood plus a queen cell 00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:55.990 within a month, you can make another nuke off 00:29:55.990 --> 00:29:59.670 of them. Gotcha. Okay, so folks, if you want 00:29:59.670 --> 00:30:04.109 to have a real experience, find 700 really angry 00:30:04.109 --> 00:30:07.950 beehives, pull them in half, shake them out all 00:30:07.950 --> 00:30:11.109 over the ground. I can't even imagine. When you 00:30:11.109 --> 00:30:14.470 say blacked out the sun, I believe you. Yeah, 00:30:14.609 --> 00:30:16.849 I mean, you know, because these are these are 00:30:16.849 --> 00:30:19.609 all healthy bees and they're all wanting to kill 00:30:19.609 --> 00:30:22.529 anything that moves. So it was bad enough. To 00:30:22.529 --> 00:30:24.150 be honest with you, I don't know where the Queens 00:30:24.150 --> 00:30:27.089 came from. I wasn't going to push any buttons 00:30:27.089 --> 00:30:30.150 on anybody, but yeah, they were hostile to say 00:30:30.150 --> 00:30:33.250 the least. Sounds like they came from hell personally. 00:30:33.750 --> 00:30:37.490 Yeah. You're in Utah, correct? Yeah. So where 00:30:37.490 --> 00:30:40.430 do you guys get your Queens and packages and 00:30:40.430 --> 00:30:42.730 stuff from? Well, you can get some local ones 00:30:42.730 --> 00:30:45.410 here. A lot of people get them from California. 00:30:45.930 --> 00:30:49.210 So people that have been in almonds and either 00:30:49.210 --> 00:30:51.450 kept their bees out there and then shook them 00:30:51.450 --> 00:30:55.609 into packages or or made nukes out there and 00:30:55.609 --> 00:30:58.849 bring them here. They usually come here in April 00:30:58.849 --> 00:31:02.390 sometime is pretty average. So, yeah, both from 00:31:02.390 --> 00:31:06.369 out of state and from here. And I prefer ones 00:31:06.369 --> 00:31:09.329 from here because they've been proven to be able 00:31:09.329 --> 00:31:12.200 to overwinter here and deal with our climate. 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:15.680 It's like I've always thought, oh, I've got to 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:18.839 get some of those Kona queens because I love 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:21.259 Hawaii. Let's get some of that Hawaii genetics 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:24.559 here. But I don't know, can they handle a winter 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:27.839 in Utah in the mountains? I mean, I'm at 5 ,700 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:31.680 feet where I live and have colonies here. And 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.079 they've got to be pretty tough bees. Yeah. And 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:36.980 that's one thing I have learned is because I 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:40.230 used to use a lot of Florida queens. And that 00:31:40.230 --> 00:31:44.809 was always my concern was, well, I was back on 00:31:44.809 --> 00:31:49.150 the Minnesota Wisconsin border, and I wondered 00:31:49.150 --> 00:31:52.609 if they would be able to winter as well. And 00:31:52.609 --> 00:31:55.849 I actually found it wasn't all that big of a 00:31:55.849 --> 00:31:58.609 deal. As long as they had enough food, they're 00:31:58.609 --> 00:32:02.190 pretty resilient. And I know I'm way oversimplifying 00:32:02.190 --> 00:32:06.430 because in Kona, it's not like they have Kona 00:32:06.430 --> 00:32:09.599 genetics. Right. I mean, honey bees aren't native 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:14.140 there either. So frankly, they could take carniolans 00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:17.059 or Russians or anything over there and raise 00:32:17.059 --> 00:32:20.019 them there. And they do it there because the 00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:22.720 weather is so great all year round. I get that. 00:32:22.740 --> 00:32:25.059 I'm just sort of oversimplifying that genetic 00:32:25.059 --> 00:32:27.980 thing. Hey, before I let you go, you've done 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:31.299 enough beekeeping. I'll bet you have a wild and 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:33.339 crazy story that's going to make us laugh. Can 00:32:33.339 --> 00:32:37.460 you think of one? My first real experience with 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:40.160 working with a commercial beekeeper, I was more 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:43.619 or less the labor. This would have been in 2011. 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:48.599 I was pulling honey. And I had no idea of what 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:51.160 was going on. I was just basically doing what 00:32:51.160 --> 00:32:54.380 I was told. And that's fine. But I didn't have 00:32:54.380 --> 00:32:58.099 a suit. So my mentor gave me a suit, which was 00:32:58.099 --> 00:33:02.119 a single layer, almost like an overall type of 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:07.279 suit, a single layer. And I was trying to count 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:09.579 the stingers in my back by the end of the day, 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:14.720 but I ran out at 350. In your back or in the 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:17.569 back of your suit? It was in the back of my suit, 00:33:17.730 --> 00:33:20.009 but the stinger still goes through because you're 00:33:20.009 --> 00:33:24.769 sweating and the suit sticks to you. Then he 00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:27.490 jokingly says, oh, you should probably buy a 00:33:27.490 --> 00:33:31.549 ventilated suit so you don't get stung. I'm like, 00:33:31.690 --> 00:33:33.230 well, I guess you could have just told me that, 00:33:33.250 --> 00:33:34.869 but I probably would have been too broke to buy 00:33:34.869 --> 00:33:38.049 one. I'm using the money I made today to put 00:33:38.049 --> 00:33:41.259 an order in for a ventilated suit. So were these 00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:43.559 bad enough? I mean, were these regular stings? 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:46.039 Like you, you've got all the venom and everything 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:48.720 through the suit. No, they, they weren't, they 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.799 weren't like I was getting dosed a hundred percent 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:52.680 of the venom. They were, they were just stuck 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:54.819 in the suit and when the suit would lay down 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:57.220 on top of your back, it would like stick to you 00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:58.779 because it's a hundred degrees out, you know, 00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:01.880 and I'm sweating and picking up, you know, 60 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:03.660 pound boxes and throwing them up on the back 00:34:03.660 --> 00:34:06.619 of the truck. Yeah, well, that's what I had assumed. 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:08.940 But if you had actually taken that many stings 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:12.179 your first day, I wanted to ask you how you survived 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:15.820 it and how you felt that night. Yeah, no, I was 00:34:15.820 --> 00:34:19.519 I was actually very sore, but it was I wasn't 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:21.440 getting the full venom. They were stinging the 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:24.059 suit and I'd pull it out. You know, I'd feel 00:34:24.059 --> 00:34:27.550 it. Yeah. But yeah, you don't get immune to the 00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:30.869 response of something stinging you, so. No, you 00:34:30.869 --> 00:34:33.329 may get immune to the venom, but not to the pain 00:34:33.329 --> 00:34:35.570 of the sting. You're still getting stabbed with 00:34:35.570 --> 00:34:39.150 a needle. That was my first kind of, I laugh 00:34:39.150 --> 00:34:43.070 about it because, well, I mean, we can all relate 00:34:43.070 --> 00:34:46.309 to being stung a few times, but when you get 00:34:46.309 --> 00:34:49.469 stung repeatedly over and over, and then you 00:34:49.469 --> 00:34:53.369 have the pheromone on you. So every time you 00:34:53.369 --> 00:34:55.750 walk into the bee yard and pull a box off, you 00:34:55.750 --> 00:34:58.329 get to experience it again. That is just one 00:34:58.329 --> 00:35:01.769 of those terrible welcome to beekeeping, John. 00:35:02.210 --> 00:35:05.550 Yeah, I definitely I learned my lesson though. 00:35:05.610 --> 00:35:08.690 It only took it only took one one time and I 00:35:08.690 --> 00:35:11.110 went and got a ventilated bee suit that next 00:35:11.110 --> 00:35:13.989 day. So then I didn't have to get stung at all. 00:35:14.469 --> 00:35:16.550 All right. Hey, John, I really appreciate you 00:35:16.550 --> 00:35:19.809 being with me today. Any last thoughts? Any wisdom 00:35:19.809 --> 00:35:21.809 that you'd like to leave with our listeners? 00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:25.420 I would like to suggest that people get into 00:35:25.420 --> 00:35:29.639 beekeeping. It's a wonderful hobby that you can 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:33.000 learn something new from every day. You'll never 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.360 learn everything about bees, so I would suggest 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:37.539 everybody take a peek at it and get into it. 00:35:37.820 --> 00:35:40.219 Amen. Thanks a lot. We'll talk to you again soon. 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:46.079 Thank you very much. Thanks again for joining 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:48.679 us here on Bee Love Beekeeping, presented by 00:35:48.679 --> 00:35:52.880 Man Lake. Remember right now to follow or subscribe 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:56.320 and share this podcast. Also a quick shout out 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:59.519 to Vita Bee Health for their support. Vita's 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:02.780 Varroa Control range of products includes Apistan, 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:07.159 Apigard, and now Varroxan Extended Release Oxalic 00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:10.800 Acid Strips. Thanks guys. Enjoy spring everybody. 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:13.739 Enjoy your bees. And remember, if you're not 00:36:13.739 --> 00:36:16.300 just in it for the honey or the money, you're 00:36:16.300 --> 00:36:19.989 in it for the love. See you next week. you