WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.660 in a world brimming with complexity few creatures 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:12.839 embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.699 precision she dances from bloom to bloom each 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.399 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:28.800 instinct each act in service to the whole and 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.560 then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.479 of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.460 part poet, they move along their hives with the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.560 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.219 the bee's needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.679 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:05.599 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:12.140 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:23.219 journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love, Be Keep 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:25.459 being presented by our good friends over at Man 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:28.209 Lake. It's fall here in the northern hemisphere 00:01:28.209 --> 00:01:30.969 and that means it's time to get your bees ready 00:01:30.969 --> 00:01:34.290 for winter. If you're in a cold climate, feed, 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:37.569 feed, feed. Decide if wrapping or insulating 00:01:37.569 --> 00:01:39.870 the hives makes sense for you. And no matter 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:43.290 where you live, test and treat if necessary to 00:01:43.290 --> 00:01:46.390 make sure Varroa is under control. Mites and 00:01:46.390 --> 00:01:49.250 the pathogens they carry are the number one reason 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:52.680 for winter hive loss. And speaking of Varroa, 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:55.340 today we're traveling thousands of miles across 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.719 the oceans to meet with Shaden Hinvies, a beekeeper 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.260 on an island that is still Varroa free, and to 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:04.599 find out what they're doing to keep it that way. 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:07.500 If my voice will hold up, how about a bit of 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.419 news from around the world of beekeeping? And 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:13.900 this may be a big one. Greenlight Biosciences 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:18.120 just received EPA approval for Nuroa, the first 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.770 RNA -based treatment for Varroa mites. They describe 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:24.650 it as the first ever nature -based treatment 00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:28.229 specifically designed to combat Varroa. This 00:02:28.229 --> 00:02:31.849 comes at a time when USDA researchers are blaming 00:02:31.849 --> 00:02:35.550 declining efficacy of existing miticides as a 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:39.270 leading cause of honeybee colony loss. You can't 00:02:39.270 --> 00:02:41.409 buy it quite yet. It will be available soon. 00:02:41.650 --> 00:02:44.650 In the meantime, we'll get someone from Greenlight 00:02:44.650 --> 00:02:47.229 Biosciences on the podcast in the next couple 00:02:47.229 --> 00:02:50.840 of weeks to tell us all about it. All right, 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:52.900 let's have some fun. Let's head down under for 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:55.819 a delightful discussion about Ligurian bees, 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:02.360 kangaroos, and a whole bunch more. I'd like to 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:06.439 welcome to the show today, Sean Hindbees. And 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.919 Sean, I think you are further away than anybody 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:12.979 else that we've had on the show before. So congratulations. 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:17.520 I feel honored. That's great. Say hi and tell 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.039 us where you live. Hello everyone who's watching, 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:23.780 wherever you are. I live on an island off the 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:27.939 southern coast of Australia and we call the island 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:31.039 Kangaroo Island and I'm a beekeeper over here 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:34.560 and that's pretty much my sole occupation and 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:37.460 that keeps me very busy. We run about 350 hives. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:41.539 The island is the third largest island off Australia. 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:47.740 It's about 160 kilometers long. I can't work 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:49.159 that out in miles for you. You'd have to work 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.280 that out. And about 90 kilometers wide. So there's 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:54.740 about four and a half thousand people. Yeah. 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.580 I'm going to say roughly 50 miles wide, 90 miles 00:03:57.580 --> 00:04:00.539 long. Okay. Yep. Yep. We have listeners all over 00:04:00.539 --> 00:04:04.520 the world. So metric is great for a lot of people. 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:08.740 How far off the coast of Australia are you? We're 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:12.979 around, I think it's 16 to 18 kilometers off 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:15.659 the coast. So eight, nine miles, something like 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:18.600 that. Anyway, that's going to lead into what 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:22.259 we're talking about today. Australia is such 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:25.279 an interesting place. I've been watching it over 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:28.980 the years because for so many years we were all 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:32.100 jealous that Australia had no Varroa mites. But 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:35.259 you can no longer be jealous. No need to be jealous 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:37.740 anymore. But I believe about three years ago 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:40.000 they were discovered in Australia. Correct me 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.819 if I'm wrong. Yes, that is correct. Yes, and 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:47.019 they've taken over really quickly and I know 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:50.860 the people in Australia the beekeepers They've 00:04:50.860 --> 00:04:53.860 done everything they can think of to eradicate 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:57.579 it. But I believe at this point it's okay We 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:00.459 can't eradicate them. So let's control let's 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:02.500 learn to live with them. Is that pretty much 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:07.000 the scenario? That's a scenario But from conversations 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.600 I've had with people If the eradication program 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.500 was remained in place and everyone abide by the 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:17.319 rules, it was possible that they may have been 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:19.800 able to eradicate it. But people weren't, you 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:22.060 know, people were moving hives illegally and, 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:25.920 you know, over 48 ,000 hives were killed to try 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:28.980 and control it. And it got to the stage, I think, 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:31.439 where they're sort of like, well, you know, what 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.879 do we do now? Basically, people keep moving their 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.019 hive and spreading it. And so I think they just, 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:39.360 they got fed up and decided to well that's it 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.060 we'll just manage it. Well and that's the problem 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:44.600 is them moving if they had all stayed in one 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:47.240 spot I imagine they could have done something 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.199 about it. Do you have people that do pollination 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.680 and move to different areas for pollination? 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:54.920 There's a lot of pollination contracts that happen 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.600 within Australia itself, yes. Here on Kangaroo 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.160 Island, there is no pollination contract. And 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:03.139 for me myself, I actually avoid pollination, 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:06.560 trying to keep my bees off of monocrops and farming 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.339 agricultural land where possible, and just target 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:13.259 the native flower. Good for you. Well, let's 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:15.839 talk about the difference with your island, because 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.660 my understanding is you don't have roa there 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:21.769 yet, correct? No, that is correct. I'm sorry 00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:24.370 to put in the word yet. You don't have a row 00:06:24.370 --> 00:06:28.389 a period. Hopefully you never will. We hope so 00:06:28.389 --> 00:06:32.389 too, but that's a likely possibility in the future. 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:35.250 Yes. You're far enough off the mainland that 00:06:35.250 --> 00:06:38.889 the bees can't fly that far, but you have fairies 00:06:38.889 --> 00:06:42.769 that go over a few times a day. Yeah. Up to 10 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:45.670 to 15 trips a day. How do you keep bees from 00:06:45.670 --> 00:06:48.430 hitchhiking on a ferry? That is the next problem. 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:52.319 We've got bar security officers. on the Cape 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:56.279 before the ferry leaves the mainland, and their 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:58.800 powers are not as strong as we'd like them to 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.000 be. I'm actually meeting with Senator Scriven 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.779 from the Agriculture, she's the Agriculture Minister 00:07:05.779 --> 00:07:09.279 here in South Australia, and are trying to work 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.699 out ways we can strengthen the biosecurity so 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:16.000 that we can take measures to limit the possibility 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.860 of Varroa reaching us eventually. Good luck. 00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:22.610 All I can say is good luck. I hope you're successful. 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:26.550 The hardest thing that I think with Varroa though 00:07:26.550 --> 00:07:29.350 is, from what I've been told, the Varroa mite 00:07:29.350 --> 00:07:32.209 can live about five days without a host. So, 00:07:32.250 --> 00:07:35.029 you know, if a car drives through a swarm of 00:07:35.029 --> 00:07:37.470 bees and they've got Varroa on them and a number 00:07:37.470 --> 00:07:40.089 of bees are trapped in the radiator, that Varroa 00:07:40.089 --> 00:07:42.589 mite could stay there for three or four days 00:07:42.589 --> 00:07:45.370 and be brought to the island on a car. You know, 00:07:45.589 --> 00:07:48.639 it's just, it's that possible. Yeah. It's like 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:52.939 a terrible disease. Yeah. Yeah. It just spreads. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:57.360 So anyway, I wanted to ask you, is there anything 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.220 else that's being done to keep the Varroa away? 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:05.000 I mean, you can inspect cars and people. I don't 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:08.319 know how closely, how reasonable that is. I mean, 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.000 you probably have hundreds of cars going back 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.079 and forth every day. Possibly at times, almost 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.569 a thousand cars a day, possibly. I think that 00:08:16.569 --> 00:08:20.290 the ferry holds, I think about 80, 80 to 90 cars, 00:08:20.290 --> 00:08:24.009 I think. And, and if they're doing 10 trips a 00:08:24.009 --> 00:08:26.170 day, then there's close to a thousand cars there 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:29.110 a day, traveling to the island. We're going to 00:08:29.110 --> 00:08:31.050 try and ask if there's a wash down station. So 00:08:31.050 --> 00:08:33.629 if someone pulls up and the inspector notices 00:08:33.629 --> 00:08:35.169 that there's some bees in the radiator, that 00:08:35.169 --> 00:08:37.350 they get a chance to take a car up and wash the 00:08:37.350 --> 00:08:40.570 radiator out or something, something like that. 00:08:40.629 --> 00:08:44.340 You know, it's, it's nerve wracking and uh, We 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:46.879 don't want to go down the path of using chemicals 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.919 to manage Varroa, so we're going to have to try 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.299 and work out ways of doing it a little bit more 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:54.460 organically. All right, let's talk about your 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:57.500 island. I hear you have an unusual kind of bee. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.299 Well, for us it's not unusual, but apparently 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:04.080 for other people it is. So we have what's known 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.860 as the Ligurian Bee. It was imported to the island 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:12.200 back in 1884, and at that time that is when the 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:16.350 island was settled. uh, by the colonialists from, 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:19.590 from England. And, uh, and they were trying to, 00:09:19.669 --> 00:09:22.250 they settled New South Wales, they settled Victoria, 00:09:22.350 --> 00:09:24.690 they came around the Bight and they started to 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:27.509 settle South Australia. And they realized there 00:09:27.509 --> 00:09:31.029 was no honeybee on Kangaroo Island. So they imported 00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:35.269 a number of hives from Liguria in Italy. So it's 00:09:35.269 --> 00:09:38.929 an Italian bee. And, um, in 1885, the island 00:09:38.929 --> 00:09:43.409 was declared a a bee sanctuary to preserve the 00:09:43.409 --> 00:09:46.149 genetics of the Ligurian bee. But be mindful, 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:49.210 at that stage, there was no honeybee on the island 00:09:49.210 --> 00:09:53.730 until the Ligurian bee was introduced. And because 00:09:53.730 --> 00:09:56.309 we have a very Mediterranean type climate, very 00:09:56.309 --> 00:09:59.289 similar to Italy, the Ligurian bees have done 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:02.409 very well here. And I know of recent, within 00:10:02.409 --> 00:10:05.549 the last, I think, 10 years, we've been DNA tested 00:10:05.549 --> 00:10:08.450 with other patches of Ligurian bee around the 00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:11.259 world. and we've been recognized as the most 00:10:11.259 --> 00:10:13.659 pure strain of Ligurian bees left in the world. 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:17.460 Tell me about the Ligurian bees. Are they friendly? 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.539 Are they mean? What are they like? No, no, they're 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:24.120 a gentle bee. They're very hygienic. Some of 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.559 their hygienic abilities are some of the strongest 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.720 that many researchers have seen anywhere. We're 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:35.299 hoping that they may actually be... a help to 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:37.820 controlling Varroa long term. There's a beekeeper 00:10:37.820 --> 00:10:39.879 over here that breached Queens that has sent 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:41.720 some bees off to some other countries. I think 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:44.200 the Philippines he sent them off to, he's received 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:46.500 letters back stating that they've been helping 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:50.360 with the control of Varroa within some of their 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:54.159 hives. So their hygienic ability is very, very 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.740 high. And they're also quite a good producer. 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:00.360 Probably not as good as the aggressive type bees, 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.250 but... We've found that the Lagerian bees are 00:11:03.250 --> 00:11:05.070 very, very productive. We can, we can have some 00:11:05.070 --> 00:11:07.029 pretty good honey flows sometime. And what do 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:11.090 they forage on, on your island? So we were about 00:11:11.090 --> 00:11:15.250 a third national park. Uh, so it's nothing but 00:11:15.250 --> 00:11:18.190 native flora and fauna. I shouldn't say fauna. 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:22.049 Fauna is my flora and fauna. Yeah, fauna is animals, 00:11:22.169 --> 00:11:24.529 isn't it? Thinking about it. I'd stick with flora 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:28.409 if I were you. Yeah, that's true. And, um, and 00:11:28.409 --> 00:11:32.120 so. Being a third national park, that's a huge 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:35.019 amount of land that is just native, what we would 00:11:35.019 --> 00:11:39.460 call scrub or bushland. A lot of reserves, a 00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:43.860 lot of native heritage land, and a lot of landowners 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:46.919 that have their livestock here also keep lots 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:52.419 and lots of patches of native wild trees present. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:55.419 Tree clearing isn't a common practice here. The 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:58.299 trees that protect the paddocks also play an 00:11:58.299 --> 00:12:00.240 important part in the agriculture. Tell me a 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.679 little bit about your bee business. Are you making 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.840 money just on honey since you're not doing pollination 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.379 or do you have other ways of... So we are making 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:10.879 money with honey. Obviously there is no pollination 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:14.100 paid contracts. There are people that produce 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:18.279 canola crops here and fava beans and lupins and 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.740 all the myriad of plants that need some form 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:24.169 of pollination. but there's no contract for it. 00:12:24.250 --> 00:12:27.129 We have a very high population of feral colonies, 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:30.289 which obviously Varroa would play a big impact 00:12:30.289 --> 00:12:33.450 on if it ever did get here. We are GM -free. 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:36.350 There are no GM crops allowed on Kangaroo Island 00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:39.549 currently, so that also ticks a few boxes, I 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:43.730 think. We run about 350 hives. Going back to 00:12:43.730 --> 00:12:47.350 just before 2020, we were producing somewhere 00:12:47.350 --> 00:12:53.100 between 20 and 25 tonne per season. 2020, we 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:55.759 had the largest bushfire ever on Kangaroo Island 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.879 and it burnt just on half of the island. Pretty 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:02.259 much all the national parks and so forth were 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:05.879 taken out, which consists of about 70 % of our 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:08.539 productive area. Since the fires, we're sitting 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:10.799 on somewhere between five and nine tonne per 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:12.919 season. We still haven't yet recovered from that. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.419 The trees are still in regrowth. Since the fires, 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:19.059 we've gone into a drought situation. And so there's 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:22.000 just not as much regrowth as there could be. 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:24.019 So the trees are being halted in that regards. 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:27.919 As you know, 2020, we were hit with COVID. So 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.039 after the fires, we had to diversify because 00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:32.879 there was no real honey for at least 18 months. 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:35.419 And so we sort of went down the line of doing 00:13:35.419 --> 00:13:38.460 beekeeping tours and experiences. We opened a 00:13:38.460 --> 00:13:40.179 farm gate shop so that we could have people come 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:42.320 to the farm so we can do a bit of retail. And 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.679 then COVID stopped all that. So because everyone 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.509 was locked down. We just basically went along 00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:49.830 with COVID and did what we had to do and we've 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:52.009 worked our way through that. The tourism business 00:13:52.009 --> 00:13:53.970 has taken off. We're doing really well with that. 00:13:54.129 --> 00:13:55.710 That's providing an extra income, which we didn't 00:13:55.710 --> 00:13:58.509 have, but we don't have as much honey as we used 00:13:58.509 --> 00:14:01.889 to. And so we play it by ear and go from there. 00:14:02.070 --> 00:14:04.169 We do currently supply about 40 to 50 stores 00:14:04.169 --> 00:14:07.470 on the mainland, which I go to Adelaide. Adelaide 00:14:07.470 --> 00:14:10.590 is the capital center of South Australia. Go 00:14:10.590 --> 00:14:12.850 to Adelaide once a month and do my deliveries 00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:15.350 there. So we've sort of got our fingers in lots 00:14:15.350 --> 00:14:17.710 of little holes. We do retail, we do wholesale, 00:14:17.889 --> 00:14:21.070 we do tourism. It's provided enough income to 00:14:21.070 --> 00:14:24.090 stay in the black, which is good. Glad to hear 00:14:24.090 --> 00:14:27.350 it. We had somebody on the show recently in Hawaii 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:31.070 and the agritourism is an important part of their 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:33.250 business there as well. So I'm glad it's worked 00:14:33.250 --> 00:14:36.149 out for you. Sorry, I can't help but ask probably 00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:38.669 the dumbest question ever. It's called Kangaroo 00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:40.669 Island. Does that mean you have a lot of kangaroos 00:14:40.669 --> 00:14:43.460 on the island? We do. We actually have two pet 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:49.759 kangaroos ourselves. If I stand up a little bit 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.240 and just show you off my porch here, we've got 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:54.139 to look out over the farm a little bit. And if 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:55.320 you look down the hill a little bit, you see 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:57.179 the two kangaroos having a bit of a play there. 00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:00.679 They're just under that big tree. So they're 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.720 two of our pet kangaroos. So it was called Kangaroo 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:05.720 Island because when the island was settled... 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:08.500 That was probably a lot of the diet of the settlers. 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:11.779 They were hunting and eating the kangaroos because 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:14.720 there's a large population of them here. So I 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:19.340 guess, anciently, the kangaroos swam that eight 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:22.159 or nine miles from the mainland over. Kangaroos 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.259 can swim, but I don't think that they swam to 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:28.659 the island. When the island broke off of the 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:31.200 mainland, however many thousands of years ago, 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:36.259 you'll find there's actually They're a subspecies 00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:39.220 of the Western Grey Kangaroo on the mainland. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.440 So over here, they're more brown. They're thicker 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:44.600 set. They're not as skinny as the ones on the 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:46.840 mainland. They're a subspecies of the Western 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:50.379 Grey, which would have been on the island when 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:52.559 the island broke off from the mainland. If you're 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:54.940 a beekeeper like me, we're getting into that 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:58.139 favorite time of year, honey harvest. But it 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:00.799 can be a lot of work. That's where Man Lake comes 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.309 in. They have everything you need to make the 00:16:03.309 --> 00:16:07.330 job easier, cleaner, and more efficient. Removal 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:11.250 aids, refractometers, uncapping tools, extractors, 00:16:11.590 --> 00:16:14.529 tanks, wax melters, even the jars and labels. 00:16:14.850 --> 00:16:17.129 Plus they have free shipping on glass containers. 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:20.409 Whether you're a hobbyist with two hives or a 00:16:20.409 --> 00:16:23.409 full -blown commercial operation, Man Lake has 00:16:23.409 --> 00:16:26.950 it all. And don't forget your discount code MLBlove10. 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:30.090 It's in the show notes. For $10 off your first 00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:33.549 $100 purchase. Here I've gotten totally off track. 00:16:33.570 --> 00:16:37.059 We're talking about the wrong animal today. Normally 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:40.159 I've got bees. I'm wondering what else we can 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.600 learn from you. Do you have any other pests there? 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.220 Small high beetles, anything like that? Straight 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:49.840 after the fires, there was a big push to feed 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:51.879 the wildlife because when half an island burns 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:54.159 out, there's not the feed there to help feed 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.779 the wildlife. So there's a lot of fruits and 00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:00.120 vegetables brought to the island and spread out 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.340 the paddocks for the wildlife to eat for quite 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:07.319 a period of time. And not long Probably a year 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:10.559 after that happened there was a beekeeper out 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.859 west who found several hives that had small hive 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:16.059 beetle in it. Now for small hive beetle to get 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:18.579 the western end it would have to have been brought 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:21.740 to the island by either someone bringing a hive 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:25.740 over illegally or the small hive beetle coming 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:30.349 from an area where it was found in the fruit 00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:32.329 that was brought to the island. So apparently 00:17:32.329 --> 00:17:34.630 small hive beetle can be found in fruit sometimes. 00:17:34.849 --> 00:17:37.970 So that's a possibility. But those hives that 00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:42.210 it was found in were frozen. They were put into 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:46.430 a freezer. And we haven't found small hive beetle 00:17:46.430 --> 00:17:49.630 on the island since. It just sounds too easy. 00:17:50.069 --> 00:17:53.630 Except for the fires and COVID and the fact that 00:17:53.630 --> 00:17:56.390 you're trying to keep feroa out of there. Sounds 00:17:56.390 --> 00:17:59.319 like a pretty easy place to keep bees. Yeah, 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:01.519 well, we don't have European fowl brood. We've 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.839 only had ASB on the island for the last I think 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.920 two years and So there's a small patch of the 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:09.640 island where it's been there was one beekeeper 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.579 found it in his hives and he'd spread it to a 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:15.799 few different areas and so several beekeepers 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.740 ended up getting a few hives and there's an outbreak 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.240 in the main township called Kingscote here on 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.559 the island and they haven't quite eradicated 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:27.670 it properly, but all the honey samplings and 00:18:27.670 --> 00:18:31.250 everything that's gone in lately, there's been 00:18:31.250 --> 00:18:35.250 no detection of AFB at the moment. It might be 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:37.890 lurking in the background, but we're hoping long 00:18:37.890 --> 00:18:40.529 term to eradicate it from the island again. Yeah. 00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:42.950 I wonder how in the world it got there. Tell 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:46.589 me about your honey. Is it just a regular, what 00:18:46.589 --> 00:18:49.670 we call wildflower honey, meaning that these 00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:52.049 are out foraging on all kinds of things and it's 00:18:52.049 --> 00:18:56.809 just a nice sweet amber kind of color? Our honeys 00:18:56.809 --> 00:19:00.869 vary a lot. So a lot of our trees are Eucalyptus, 00:19:01.009 --> 00:19:06.069 Melaleucas, a lot of Australian native scrubland. 00:19:06.809 --> 00:19:10.250 Some of our coastal honey can almost be a mauve 00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:14.369 purple color or a deep red. Often it's just an 00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:16.529 amber color. Yes, sometimes we have a light. 00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:19.009 Our sugar gums and our cup gums are quite a light 00:19:19.009 --> 00:19:21.829 color. We don't get anything really, really clear 00:19:21.829 --> 00:19:24.069 and we don't get anything really, really dark. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.640 Yeah, but that red color sounds interesting. 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:30.859 Yeah, well, it's sort of a deep red, deep red, 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:34.299 almost a slight purpley color at times. That's 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:36.640 the coastal flower. There's a couple of plants 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:40.660 there, the bubealibush, the coastal heath. A 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:42.740 few of them really give it a dark color and a 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:46.200 really amazing flavor. I just got back from Appamondia 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:49.660 and they had the world honey tasting bar. So 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:51.740 there were countries from all over the world, 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:55.180 including Australia. In Australia, I'm trying 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:57.140 to remember. I know they had a few different 00:19:57.140 --> 00:20:00.259 kinds of honey. Is there something called Burberry 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:03.720 or something like that? It's possible. It's possible, 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:06.099 but we don't have it on Kangaroo Island. Now, 00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:08.279 just for you to understand, I've never kept bees 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:10.579 on the mainland. I've only ever kept bees while 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:13.299 on Kangaroo Island. I've been keeping bees crass 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:17.500 for 25 years. And so there's lots of things I'm 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:19.720 not aware of that happen on the mainland because 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.079 we just don't do it here. Do you have any swarm 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:25.190 removal needs? Yes, yes, I spent a lot of time 00:20:25.190 --> 00:20:27.609 playing with that. I have a YouTube channel which 00:20:27.609 --> 00:20:32.609 I'm very, very slow in adding videos to of me 00:20:32.609 --> 00:20:36.529 removing swarms and from buildings and barbecues 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:38.490 and I've got a list of things I've got to edit 00:20:38.490 --> 00:20:40.670 to put up. But we have a bit of fun with that. 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:45.230 I do a little bit of TV presentation occasionally. 00:20:45.509 --> 00:20:47.369 A few shows come through and get a video of me 00:20:47.369 --> 00:20:50.150 doing an experience with them and done a UK show 00:20:50.150 --> 00:20:53.490 last year and yeah. Dapple a little bit with 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:55.910 the with the film crews. All right. Give me a 00:20:55.910 --> 00:20:58.269 link to that YouTube channel We'll post it for 00:20:58.269 --> 00:21:02.470 you. So Ki living honey our YouTube forward slash 00:21:02.470 --> 00:21:06.750 Ki for kangaroo island. So Ki living honey We'll 00:21:06.750 --> 00:21:09.750 stick it in the show notes. So people don't have 00:21:09.750 --> 00:21:13.789 to try to remember be keeping that long I'm guessing 00:21:13.789 --> 00:21:16.190 you've got some kind of a wild and crazy story. 00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:18.630 Have you ever had anything crazy happen to you? 00:21:18.930 --> 00:21:22.660 Yeah I've got lots of little stories. Nothing 00:21:22.660 --> 00:21:27.619 really big stands out to me. But you know, when 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:29.519 I first was starting out with bees, I probably 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.900 had 10 hives. There was one hive that was so 00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:36.000 aggressive, I almost gave up beekeeping. And 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.640 I would actually wear two suits to go through 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:42.160 the hive. And I was still fearful. Since then, 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:45.099 you know, I hardly even put a veil on and... 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:47.690 I never wear gloves and I've got holes in all 00:21:47.690 --> 00:21:50.289 my clothes. I've been stung pretty much on every 00:21:50.289 --> 00:21:55.029 part of my body at some stage. And the most painful 00:21:55.029 --> 00:21:57.769 areas is like the inside your nostrils and on 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.549 your eyelids and, you know, little things like 00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:03.950 that. The groin area isn't as painful as other 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:08.289 areas. But that's all part of having holes in 00:22:08.289 --> 00:22:11.450 your pants when you're out with the bees. Learn 00:22:11.450 --> 00:22:15.640 by experience. Oh yeah, that's right. I've been 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:17.799 out with people moving bees and it was pitch 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:20.220 black and all of a sudden the box twists and 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:22.519 all the bees fly out and you're covered in bees 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:23.779 and they're attacking you because they don't 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:26.259 like to be moved obviously. But then there's 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:28.700 other times, you know, you're sitting down, you're 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:31.640 going through a hive, you've got 20 cows just 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:33.420 sitting behind you, watching what you're doing 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:35.619 and then you've got the... that the trees next 00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:37.079 to you, and then you've got the ocean in the 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:40.299 distance, and it's just beautiful weather, and 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:41.900 just, you know, sometimes you wouldn't want to 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:45.059 be doing anything else. It's an amazing lifestyle. 00:22:45.539 --> 00:22:49.220 We have our ups, we have our downs, and story 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:52.519 -wise, yeah, there's lots of stories, lots of 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.259 stories. How about with some of the tourists 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:57.500 that you have? You do some kind of tours of your 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:01.460 apiary, and what do you do with them exactly? 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:06.259 So we'll have what we call an education tour 00:23:06.259 --> 00:23:08.900 which is talking about the bees and their life 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:11.720 cycle and what we do as beekeepers and why we 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:14.019 do it and how we do it and that's an education 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:16.900 thing. It takes about an hour. We show them the 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:19.099 facility and how it all works and how the extraction 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.779 and the packing works and then they have a tasting 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:23.940 and then they have an opportunity to buy some 00:23:23.940 --> 00:23:26.700 product if they'd like to. If we're doing an 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:29.559 experience Once we've done the tour with them, 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.299 we then take them out. We've got six hives here 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.019 near the house that we will take them through 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:37.299 the hive and show them everything we talked about. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:40.519 Everything from seeing the nectar, the honey, 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.079 the pollen. We watch a bee being, you know, hatching 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:47.259 from its cell. We check out the workers, the 00:23:47.259 --> 00:23:50.299 drones, the queen. We go through the whole cycle 00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:53.859 and we, you know, for me, I'm not one that pushes 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.039 time, you know, you've got to be in by nine, 00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:58.799 out by 11 type thing. If they want to talk and 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:01.640 ask questions, we'll spend two, three hours going 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:04.319 through it all. And they lead with their mind 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.119 completely blown, you know? And then they end 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:08.759 up wanting to have a beehive too. And so then 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:12.200 I can supply them some bees later. And lots of 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:14.059 things are happening that way too. Yeah, sounds 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.960 great. Do you ever have some of those people 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:20.359 that sort of panic? They can't all be calm and 00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:22.660 collected. No, no, no. Some people come through 00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:26.059 to do it to try and face their fears. And so 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:28.210 there's some people and some... But I get them 00:24:28.210 --> 00:24:30.690 all to hold frames of live bees. They're all 00:24:30.690 --> 00:24:32.430 suited up. They've got gloves on. You know, the 00:24:32.430 --> 00:24:34.230 chance of getting stung is very slim. And we've 00:24:34.230 --> 00:24:36.390 only ever had one sting in the field in the last 00:24:36.390 --> 00:24:38.410 five years. And that's because one lady decided 00:24:38.410 --> 00:24:40.509 to not wear socks. And that was a choice that 00:24:40.509 --> 00:24:43.750 she made. I've had one family group came through. 00:24:44.089 --> 00:24:46.410 If the father was to get stung, he would have 00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:48.609 to be rushed off to hospital because he was anaphylactic 00:24:48.609 --> 00:24:51.710 and he could possibly die. And so he was going 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.660 to do the tour inside the shed. and that the 00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:56.759 rest of his family go off and do the experience 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:58.599 part of it. I said to him, I said, if you'd like, 00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:00.279 I can put a suit on you and you can watch from 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:02.460 the car park. And so he said, yeah, you will 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:04.720 do that. Well, by the end of the experience, 00:25:04.779 --> 00:25:06.980 he was actually in there holding frames of bees 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:09.259 too. And his mind was blown. And you know, it 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:12.539 literally changes people's lives when they see 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:15.480 one little insect and the impact that they make 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:18.720 on us as humans. Leave us with one thought. Why 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:22.440 do you love bees? Why do I love bees? It's something 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.420 I've sort of fallen into. All right. So when 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:27.799 I first started, I was in a job. I was a tire 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.440 fitter and we're a liner in a workshop. We've 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:33.619 got five children. We lived on the farm here. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:37.440 And in my job, there was no option of earning 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:40.180 more income. So we were always trying to find 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:44.000 ways of saving money. So, you know, we've got 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.799 milking goats. So in the morning before the kids 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:47.259 went to school, I'd milk the goats and they'd 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:49.619 have fresh warm milk on their breakfast. There's 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:52.480 the chickens for the eggs and the meat. We had 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:54.940 our cows, we'd butcher our own livestock, we'd 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:57.559 butcher our own sheep. We'd eat the kangaroos, 00:25:57.640 --> 00:25:59.900 we'd grow a lot of our own vegetables. And then 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:01.680 getting a beehive was just another thing for 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:04.240 us to sort of save a bit of money. That's where 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:06.660 it all started. And then I just fell in love 00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:09.500 with how they work, what they produce, what they 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.740 do for us. And so one became five and 10 and 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:15.460 20. In the beginning stages, we actually had 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:17.660 no electricity on our home. So back in 2000, 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:20.339 we lived here with five children. no electricity, 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:23.019 not even a generator for the house. We only had 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:26.019 gas lanterns, gas stove, gas hot water, and everything 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:28.960 was gravity fed. We don't have mains water. We 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:30.880 don't have mains sewage. It was whatever we can 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:34.700 collect and get rid of ourselves. And so the 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:38.220 bees have has been, it's pulled me out of where 00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:41.359 I was to where I am now. We were able to sell 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:44.579 the honey to another beekeeper. And so we built 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:46.960 our numbers up. So I'd work the bees on the weekend 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.829 and And then we had the job in the week and then 00:26:49.829 --> 00:26:52.430 I weaned off of the job and worked in bees longer 00:26:52.430 --> 00:26:55.069 and longer. Eventually we were full time. And 00:26:55.069 --> 00:26:57.450 now we've got an income here that's sustained 00:26:57.450 --> 00:27:01.069 just quite comfortably. And I just love the smells, 00:27:01.410 --> 00:27:04.750 the sounds, the environment, the produce that 00:27:04.750 --> 00:27:09.210 they make. It's transformed my life and I watch 00:27:09.210 --> 00:27:11.630 it do the same to other people. Great answer. 00:27:11.930 --> 00:27:14.329 Sorry. I said that was the last question, but 00:27:14.329 --> 00:27:17.289 I've got one more. You mentioned eating kangaroos. 00:27:17.430 --> 00:27:19.809 What do they taste like? Well, whenever someone 00:27:19.809 --> 00:27:21.829 says they eat meat, everyone says it tastes like 00:27:21.829 --> 00:27:24.890 chicken, but kangaroo does not taste like chicken. 00:27:25.109 --> 00:27:27.210 Are you familiar with what lamb tastes like? 00:27:27.589 --> 00:27:32.009 Yes. So it's stronger than lamb and it's going 00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:35.809 down the path possibly of deer. It's a bit gamier, 00:27:35.990 --> 00:27:40.190 but it's not as strong as wild pig. If you sort 00:27:40.190 --> 00:27:43.259 of know what I mean. Can you tell me what honey 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:47.200 tastes like? Yeah, it's sweet. Harder question. 00:27:47.339 --> 00:27:49.779 Just tell me what salt tastes like. Yeah, that's 00:27:49.779 --> 00:27:52.319 right. That's exactly right. But when it comes 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.359 to salt, I can't tell what it tastes like, but 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:58.400 everything you add it to tastes better. Kangaroos, 00:27:58.500 --> 00:28:01.839 we would have a lot of kangaroo mince when the 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:04.339 kids were young. You don't actually notice the 00:28:04.339 --> 00:28:06.019 difference when you add your vegetables and your 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:07.799 spices and your herbs and all that sort of stuff. 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:11.519 So it's not an overpowering meat. but it's definitely 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:14.420 stronger than lamb, but probably not, probably 00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:17.680 not as strong as goat. Okay, gamey and needs 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:20.940 salt. Alright, Sean Hinvis, thanks so much for 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:23.180 being with me today. I appreciate it. Loved having 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:24.599 a chat with you. All the best and all the best 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:27.259 for your, your show and what you do. Thank you. 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:33.339 Thanks for joining us on Be Love Beekeeping presented 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:36.420 by Man Lake. If you like this content I hope 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:39.319 you'll share it with a friend, follow and subscribe 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:42.779 to this podcast and even sign up for our newsletter 00:28:42.779 --> 00:28:46.150 at BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out 00:28:46.150 --> 00:28:48.710 to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate 00:28:48.710 --> 00:28:51.750 them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:56.009 includes Epistan, Epigard, and now Veroxen, Extended 00:28:56.009 --> 00:28:59.869 Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys. And 00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:02.369 remember, if you're not just in it for the honey 00:29:02.369 --> 00:29:05.349 or the money, you're in it for the love. See 00:29:05.349 --> 00:29:06.109 you next week.