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 --> 00:00:59.740 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:05.599 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:12.120 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:23.459 journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.079 presented by our great friends and partners in 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:29.620 beekeeping. Man Lake. The Big Island of Hawaii 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:32.480 is home to some of the best queen bee breeders 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.620 in the world. Today we're going to have a conversation 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:38.480 with one of the best of the best, Rebecca Cronus 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:41.760 from Hawaiian Queen Company. I recently visited 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:44.439 their facility then had a chance to sit down 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:46.920 and discuss what goes into the queen producing 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:50.219 business, how it's done, why genetics matter, 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:52.879 and why the Big Island may be the best place 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:56.680 on the planet to raise queens. First, a big shout 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:59.040 out to 9 -year -old Nicholas Bart of Santa Rosa, 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.659 California. If you haven't heard his story yet, 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.420 let me just give you a brief summary. The city 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:07.400 of Santa Rosa stirred up a hornet's nest of outrage 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.479 after ordering a 9 -year -old boy to remove a 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.710 4 -H beekeeping project from his home. But after 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:16.129 the beekeeping community and other residents 00:02:16.129 --> 00:02:19.009 accused officials of overreacting, it appears 00:02:19.009 --> 00:02:22.150 the city is reconsidering its position. Here's 00:02:22.150 --> 00:02:24.930 a little more detail. When Nicholas Bard first 00:02:24.930 --> 00:02:27.669 began raising bees in his backyard as a 4 -H 00:02:27.669 --> 00:02:30.930 project, he had no idea what a learning experience 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:34.110 it would be. An incredible one, he said. It's 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:36.289 probably the biggest and best decision I've ever 00:02:36.289 --> 00:02:39.949 made. His parents, Zachary and Sarah, they help 00:02:39.949 --> 00:02:42.349 him, especially when the heavy boxes need to 00:02:42.349 --> 00:02:45.610 be lifted. In fact, the entire family fell in 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:48.330 love with the bees. But at some point, a general 00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:51.830 fear of bees led Santa Rosa to ban beekeeping. 00:02:52.389 --> 00:02:55.229 And in March, after a neighbor complained, the 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:57.750 bards received a letter calling Nicholas's 4 00:02:57.750 --> 00:03:02.830 -H project an illegal home occupation. The letter 00:03:02.830 --> 00:03:06.330 demanded the removal of the bee colony and threatened 00:03:06.330 --> 00:03:09.360 that a warrant would be issued. In the city's 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:12.259 ordinance it classifies honey bees in the category 00:03:12.259 --> 00:03:15.819 of property nuisances. The bards appealed the 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:19.199 decision but the city stood firm. I think maybe 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.460 they just thought they would enforce it on us 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:24.439 and the problem would go away said Zachary Bard. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.560 So we had them look back 30 years and you know 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.120 what they have never enforced the code until 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:33.800 now. That's when the beekeeping community got 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.500 involved including Etta Marie Peterson who mentors 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.259 young beekeepers throughout the county and is 00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:44.199 affectionately known as Sonoma's queen bee. Peterson 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.180 estimated there are more than 100 hives currently 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:50.199 in Santa Rosa and she said it seemed like the 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:53.819 city officials she spoke to were surprised to 00:03:53.819 --> 00:03:56.240 even discover that beekeeping was illegal in 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:00.669 their city. I said, this boy is nine years old. 00:04:00.930 --> 00:04:04.009 This is not an occupation. It's a learning experience 00:04:04.009 --> 00:04:07.349 through 4 -H. Peterson said the next guy up the 00:04:07.349 --> 00:04:10.030 line disagreed and said that Nicholas had to 00:04:10.030 --> 00:04:13.469 get rid of the bees. And I said, oh my goodness, 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:16.750 we have got to do something about this. But now 00:04:16.750 --> 00:04:18.750 it looks like there's been a change of heart, 00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:21.899 which could lead to a change in the law. We received 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:26.240 over 100 emails from people in support of beekeeping 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:29.060 in the city said Santa Rosa Public Information 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:32.160 Officer Misty Wood. We decided that instead of 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.819 going through that process we were going to find 00:04:34.819 --> 00:04:38.079 a better path forward and that path forward was 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.540 a staff initiated zoning code amendment. Wood 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:44.300 said staff is now consulting with a local beekeeping 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:47.379 group to draft a new ordinance that would allow 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:50.790 limited beekeeping within the city limits. She 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:52.649 said it will probably be submitted to the City 00:04:52.649 --> 00:04:55.670 Council for approval sometime next year. In the 00:04:55.670 --> 00:04:58.870 meantime, Nicholas gets to keep his beehive. 00:04:59.550 --> 00:05:02.750 And in wrapping up, I love this little Nicholas, 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:05.569 when he was asked which ran smoother, his beehive 00:05:05.569 --> 00:05:08.910 or City Hall, he said a beehive definitely. I 00:05:08.910 --> 00:05:11.730 mean they don't have waste, they're not bullying 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:15.069 anybody, and they don't even fight at all. So 00:05:15.069 --> 00:05:17.509 maybe this is just a good lesson for all of us. 00:05:17.810 --> 00:05:20.310 If you're having problems with your local government 00:05:20.310 --> 00:05:23.269 over some outdated ordinances, get involved. 00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:25.629 Get your whole beekeeping community involved 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:29.370 and see what you can accomplish. All right, now 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:32.370 sit back, relax as we spend more time on the 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:35.250 Big Island with another great and interesting 00:05:35.250 --> 00:05:42.459 beekeeper. Hey, I'd like to welcome to the show 00:05:42.459 --> 00:05:46.240 today Rebecca Cron. How are you Rebecca? I'm 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.620 doing well. Thank you so much for having me Eric 00:05:48.620 --> 00:05:51.759 and I appreciate you taking the time for us to 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:54.620 talk for a while today because A couple of days 00:05:54.620 --> 00:05:57.199 ago I got to spend a little time with you and 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.540 your husband Luis at your beautiful place in 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:04.040 Captain Cook on the Big Island of Hawaii at Hawaiian 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:07.740 Queen Co. That's you guys and you are a big Queen 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:11.819 producer and and really well known. as one of 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:14.160 the best out there and that's what we're going 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:17.259 to be talking about today is everything A to 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:21.439 Z about how to produce queens, what makes a good 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.060 queen, so that there's going to be good helpful 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:27.600 information both for people listening who may 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.379 need to buy some queens either for a commercial 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:33.339 operation or even as a hobby beekeeper if they 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:36.439 need a few queens or if you want to produce some 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:39.029 of your own queens. I'll bet Rebecca is going 00:06:39.029 --> 00:06:43.670 to share some good tips. So that said, Rebecca, 00:06:44.410 --> 00:06:47.170 give us a little background because your company's 00:06:47.170 --> 00:06:49.589 been around for a while, your second generation. 00:06:49.769 --> 00:06:54.310 Give us a little history. Yeah, great. So Hawaiian 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:59.649 Queen was founded in 1997 by my father, Michael 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:03.779 Cronus. He started it basically from ground zero. 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:08.699 He had been a beekeeper previously and saw a 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:11.500 perfect opportunity for producing queens in Hawaii. 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:14.680 Hawaii is a very unique place for producing queen 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:17.540 bees because of our weather. So we can produce 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:21.019 queens early in the year. We start shipping in 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:25.980 January when most of North America is still very 00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:31.939 cold. able to produce queens in time for the 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:34.939 spring pollination, most specifically for the 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:39.319 almonds in Northern California. But Hawaiian 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.879 Queen was started by my father. He since has 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.339 passed away. My husband and I took over several 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:49.220 years ago and have kept the business running. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.120 We have many, many years of experience in producing 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.759 queen bees that we've learned from my father 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.300 and from other really great employees that we 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:03.939 have, longtime employees that work with us in 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:07.399 this process. And I need to just interject a 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:10.300 quick apology. I believe I pronounced your last 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:13.920 name, Crone, and it's Cronus? Correct, yes, no 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.899 problem. It is a problem. I need to get this 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:19.759 stuff right, so I'm sorry about that. No worries. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:21.939 Doesn't sound like a Hawaiian name, by the way. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:26.339 How many queens do you produce every year? You 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:28.959 know, it depends on the year, like anything in 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.899 agriculture, but it's roughly around 60 ,000. 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:35.659 I know there are other queen producers on this 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:38.580 island that people have heard of, and I'm sure 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:41.980 they're all good, but... I'm trying to think 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:44.259 of a nice way to say this. I'm just going to 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:47.320 say it flat out. Why are yours the best? Or as 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:52.279 we say here, noca oi. So we focus specifically 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:55.120 on quality queens. So we're not a huge producer 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.659 of queens that makes us able to produce very 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:01.179 quality queen bees. We focus on the genetics. 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:04.299 That is fundamental in our operation. For the 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:07.919 last over 20 years, we've worked with Dr. Joe 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:12.980 Latchaw. He's out of Ohio. and he brings genetic 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:18.159 material, semen, over to Hawaii Island and artificially 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:21.759 inseminates all of our breeder queens. So that's 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:24.620 really specific to Hawaiian queen. We're able 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:27.679 to carry the genetics that Joe very carefully 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:32.159 selects in our line of queens. So we produce 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:36.279 Italians and Carniolans, and they all come from 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:40.419 Latchaw stock. Our queens are bred for gentleness, 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.379 productivity, and being able to hold up under 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:46.480 commercial conditions. I know many of your listeners 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:50.799 are hobby or sideline beekeepers. Many of our 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:53.740 customers are in that category, but a lot of 00:09:53.740 --> 00:09:57.440 them are commercial. And our queens go to places 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:59.700 where they have to work really hard for pollinating 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:02.600 contracts. Our queens are good for that type 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:05.659 of commercial environment. And I would imagine 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:08.799 if they're strong enough to hold up in a commercial 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:13.179 environment, they're strong enough for a hobbyist 00:10:13.179 --> 00:10:16.840 where it's a lot easier on them. Maybe I should 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.139 put it that way. Yeah, your hobby beekeepers 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:21.399 will love our genetics because they're so gentle. 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:25.179 I mean, most of our employees, they don't even 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:27.360 go out in a bee suit a lot of the time. They're 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:30.100 very, very gentle. All right, let's get into 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:33.080 the process. Tell us... maybe what a calendar 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:37.240 year is like for you. When are you doing what? 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.379 And you mentioned the winter months you're producing 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:43.659 the most bees, especially to be sent to the almonds. 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:47.279 Give us an idea of what's going on all year. 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:49.779 Because when I was there and this was October, 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:53.899 it was not all that busy. You sounded like you 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:56.379 were just ready to ramp up for your busy time. 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:01.419 That's right. Yeah. So Our season really runs 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:05.799 from producing big time as January through the 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:09.139 middle of June. That's when we are opening yards. 00:11:09.379 --> 00:11:12.980 We started January with opening many of our mating 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:17.440 yards. We have eight to nine mating yards. And 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:20.259 we start steadily opening them in January so 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:22.639 that we are at our peak production by March, 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:25.419 which is the busiest time of year for shipping 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:27.980 queen bees. That's when the biggest demand is 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:32.039 on the U .S. mainland and into April for Canada. 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:35.960 So we ship all over the mainland U .S. and, as 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:39.399 I mentioned, into Canada via UPS or FedEx. You 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.220 know, after June, we're still we're still shipping, 00:11:42.340 --> 00:11:44.320 but we're starting to close down our mating new 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.299 yards, some of them. So right now in October, 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:50.600 we're planning. It's amazing how much planning 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:53.100 is involved in producing queen bees. You really 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:56.639 have to have a year calendar to coordinate everything 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:59.700 that has to go into producing your queens. So 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:02.259 right now we're planning our calendar on how 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:05.340 to open all the yards with our employees, with 00:12:05.340 --> 00:12:09.120 our manager, and we are getting everything ready. 00:12:09.309 --> 00:12:12.350 to produce the Queen. So there's a lot of cleaning 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:16.029 up and just shop work that goes into it. So that's 00:12:16.029 --> 00:12:19.269 October. That's when also we get all of our H2A 00:12:19.269 --> 00:12:23.149 employees back. We have a lot of local US workers, 00:12:23.210 --> 00:12:25.750 but we augment our workforce with international 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:29.289 workers. So our visa begins now in October for 00:12:29.289 --> 00:12:31.750 them. So there's a lot of coordination where 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:35.350 that's concerned. They come in, we start getting 00:12:35.350 --> 00:12:39.549 the groundwork in place for grafting. making 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:42.789 sure that our cell builders and our breeders 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:44.509 are in good condition, making sure everybody's 00:12:44.509 --> 00:12:47.190 getting fed if they need to be fed. January, 00:12:47.549 --> 00:12:50.409 we hit the ground running. It's just an endless 00:12:50.409 --> 00:12:55.330 cycle of grafting and catching queens, grafting 00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:57.690 and catching queens through, like I said, the 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:01.110 middle of June. And then things start to die 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:03.289 down a little bit. In the process, we're obviously 00:13:03.289 --> 00:13:07.669 treating for mites, keeping out an eye for small 00:13:07.669 --> 00:13:10.639 hive beetle. Those are two. big pests that we 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:14.320 always have to keep an eye on here. It's harvesting 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.440 honey, pulling honey. We've got the three main 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.539 flows during the year. Our bees have access to 00:13:20.539 --> 00:13:22.860 natural pollen and nectar almost year -round. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.299 So starting in January, really starts in February, 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:30.639 but that's when our macadamia blossom honey starts 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:34.120 to come in. And that's so great for our queens, 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.200 for the production of our queens, because when 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:37.980 there's natural pollen and nectar out there, 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.980 there's so much there's so much more willing 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:44.200 to get started in producing queens. The bees 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.399 get really happy. They get outside and start 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.120 pulling in that pollen and the nectar from the 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:53.539 macnuts. That flow goes into our Lihua honey, 00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:57.740 which starts in June. My personal favorite, by 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:02.120 the way. Yeah, it's lovely. Lihua honey is a 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:06.500 flower on an endemic tree called the Ohia tree. 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:10.509 It's a Native Hawaiian species and it produces 00:14:10.509 --> 00:14:14.470 beautiful white creamy honey And that's a short 00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:16.889 flow and then we move into Christmas berry, which 00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:19.429 is where we are now So we just actually finished 00:14:19.429 --> 00:14:22.649 extracting our probably our last round of Christmas 00:14:22.649 --> 00:14:25.470 berry for this year So as you can see, we've 00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:28.690 got we've got you know Honey and pollen and nectar 00:14:28.690 --> 00:14:31.629 coming in almost all year long, which is great 00:14:31.629 --> 00:14:35.590 for producing queens So yeah, just a lot of coordination. 00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:38.210 I don't know if that answered your question Yeah, 00:14:38.490 --> 00:14:42.450 that's a lot. Yeah, that's definitely a full 00:14:42.450 --> 00:14:45.049 -time, full -time, full -time business. When 00:14:45.049 --> 00:14:50.090 you're very busiest and you have all the workers 00:14:50.090 --> 00:14:52.309 in, about how many employees do you have at that 00:14:52.309 --> 00:14:56.789 time? About 14. I know that Queens is the main 00:14:56.789 --> 00:15:00.429 part of your business, but I saw your honey house. 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.889 It was beautiful. You can obviously extract a 00:15:03.889 --> 00:15:07.610 lot. Do you extract three different times in 00:15:07.610 --> 00:15:09.990 the year based on those flows, or do you just 00:15:09.990 --> 00:15:14.289 mix it all together? No, we do. I mean, we do 00:15:14.289 --> 00:15:17.129 extractions as needed, but there's three distinct 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:19.629 flows. And yes, we keep them separate. Yeah. 00:15:19.769 --> 00:15:24.169 I mean, they get into the drum labeled as a separate 00:15:24.169 --> 00:15:28.190 varietal, if that makes sense. Give us an idea 00:15:28.190 --> 00:15:31.029 of the flavor profile. Start with the macadamia 00:15:31.029 --> 00:15:36.070 nut. Yeah, mac nut is an amber honey. It's very 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:40.330 kind of rich and mellow. It's very smooth. It 00:15:40.330 --> 00:15:45.610 crystallizes relatively quickly. The lehua is 00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:49.210 very light and sort of floral. It's totally unique. 00:15:49.429 --> 00:15:52.309 It's unlike any other honey I've ever had. And 00:15:52.309 --> 00:15:55.870 it crystallizes very, very smoothly. So it's 00:15:55.870 --> 00:15:58.029 almost like a creamed, a naturally creamed honey. 00:15:58.730 --> 00:16:01.049 And then our Christmas Berry, which is my personal 00:16:01.049 --> 00:16:04.870 favorite, has got a little bit of a, almost like 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:07.669 a little bit of a bitter taste to it. It's an 00:16:07.669 --> 00:16:10.809 amber honey as well. Some people say it has like 00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:13.230 almost like a little bit of a spicy quality to 00:16:13.230 --> 00:16:16.970 it. Christmas Berry is, it's not a member of 00:16:16.970 --> 00:16:19.870 the Pepper family, but it's kind of in that vein. 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:21.759 So I don't know if that has anything to do with 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:24.720 it, but I really like it. I'm gonna have to try 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.159 more of that one. Give it a chance. I get hooked 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:31.240 on the Lehua and don't branch out far enough 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.620 like I need to. So Christmas Berry, that's the 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:37.350 next one I'm going to get. Do you find, you know, 00:16:37.429 --> 00:16:39.529 some people are really kind of soars and they 00:16:39.529 --> 00:16:42.169 take different honeys with different cheeses. 00:16:42.629 --> 00:16:45.070 Do you do any of that? Do you find like the Christmas 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:47.789 Berry is really great with sharp cheese or anything 00:16:47.789 --> 00:16:50.230 like that? Yeah, Christmas Berry lends itself 00:16:50.230 --> 00:16:53.129 really well to savory applications. So it's great 00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:56.070 in salad dressings or in marinades. I don't know, 00:16:56.070 --> 00:16:58.769 I just, I think it has has a little bit of that, 00:16:58.769 --> 00:17:01.750 um, almost brown sugar taste to it. So that's 00:17:01.750 --> 00:17:06.160 very nice. I'll bet it's good on pizza. Maybe. 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:09.539 You haven't had honey on pizza? I have not had 00:17:09.539 --> 00:17:12.880 honey on pizza, no. OK, it's time for you to 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.059 try honey on pizza. Well, I mean, I guess if 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:17.059 you're mixing, you know, honey and cheese, that's 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:20.960 not super of a far far idea. And you don't like 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:23.059 spread on a big thick layer. You just sort of 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:26.579 drizzle it over it and it can be fabulous. It 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:30.079 can really add to the flavor. We we have definitely 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:32.140 tried it with like a manchego cheese is very 00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:36.259 nice. or macadamia nut with goat cheese is really 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:39.700 good, or with a brie. I think those are all really 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:43.220 nice cheeses. So you are the connoisseur. I like 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:45.700 that. One of the things that we were talking 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:50.059 about when I was down at your place was it's 00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:53.380 important that you introduce queens in the right 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:58.039 way. Now talk about that a little bit, both for 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:01.220 the commercial beekeeper and for the hobbyist 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:04.750 that hasn't done much of it. Yeah, longest conversation 00:18:04.750 --> 00:18:10.490 with my customers all the time and It's so important 00:18:10.490 --> 00:18:14.329 introducing a queen bee into a host hive is a 00:18:14.329 --> 00:18:16.690 little bit of Almost maybe more of an art than 00:18:16.690 --> 00:18:18.529 a science a lot of the time You have to really 00:18:18.529 --> 00:18:21.529 read so many different cues into how the host 00:18:21.529 --> 00:18:24.309 type will be accepting that new Queen Are you 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:27.509 a beekeeper who loves sharing tips, asking questions, 00:18:27.730 --> 00:18:29.930 and showing off your latest honey haul? Then 00:18:29.930 --> 00:18:33.150 join The Hive, introducing the Man Lake beekeeping 00:18:33.150 --> 00:18:36.809 community on Facebook, your new go -to for everything 00:18:36.809 --> 00:18:40.039 honey bees. Whether you're struggling with mites, 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.059 trying a new winterization method, or just need 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:46.259 to know what that weird thing on your frame is, 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.720 our group is a supportive, spam -free zone for 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.559 beginners and pros alike. Stop scrolling through 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:55.339 endless forums and connect directly with beekeepers 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.359 and the professionals at Man Lake in one buzzing 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:00.900 place. We'll put a link to it down in the show 00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:06.490 notes. Just click over and join up. So in general, 00:19:06.910 --> 00:19:10.650 beehives prefer a queen that is produced by their 00:19:10.650 --> 00:19:14.109 own colony. So introducing a new queen, what 00:19:14.109 --> 00:19:16.509 you're doing is bringing in new pheromones from 00:19:16.509 --> 00:19:19.269 a queen that they don't know. And so that in 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:23.089 and of itself can be complex. They know that 00:19:23.089 --> 00:19:26.670 she is not one of theirs. So what we try to do 00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:30.150 is make that process as smooth as possible. The 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:32.109 first thing you got to know is when you're making, 00:19:32.390 --> 00:19:34.829 most of our customers are making splits or divides 00:19:34.829 --> 00:19:38.369 and introducing that new queen into them. You 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:41.910 want to make sure that that divide is not next 00:19:41.910 --> 00:19:45.069 to the hive that you split it off from. So that's 00:19:45.069 --> 00:19:47.029 the first thing. You know, a lot of people move 00:19:47.029 --> 00:19:49.670 it to a different yard, for example. You want 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:52.869 that split to be about two thirds power, meaning 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:56.970 it's not like a huge, strong split. We found 00:19:56.970 --> 00:20:01.190 that when the bees are less strong, they're more 00:20:01.190 --> 00:20:04.309 receptive to a new queen. You know, a lot of 00:20:04.309 --> 00:20:07.009 beekeepers, old timers will tell you that when 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:09.049 you make that divide, if you're making multiple 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:13.130 divides, you can take frames from different colonies 00:20:13.130 --> 00:20:17.089 and mix them up. So it's almost like the bees 00:20:17.089 --> 00:20:20.269 in that new split, none of them own the queen. 00:20:20.349 --> 00:20:22.589 They're all kind of a mix from different colonies. 00:20:23.230 --> 00:20:27.980 You can also... spray the split with some Bee 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:31.700 Healthy or some customers I've heard will mix 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:34.440 some water with like peppermint oil or a little 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:37.359 bit of vanilla extract and spray it over the 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:39.619 divide so that you're kind of masking that pheromone 00:20:39.619 --> 00:20:42.799 that the queen is bringing with her. Once you 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.339 introduce the queen, when you put her in, typically 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:48.420 she'll come in a mini cage. So it has a candy 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:51.500 plug. Ours come with a candy plug. When you introduce 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.710 the queen in with that candy plug, A strong hive 00:20:54.710 --> 00:20:58.250 can let her out in about 48 hours. They'll eat 00:20:58.250 --> 00:20:59.970 through that candy plug pretty quickly and she'll 00:20:59.970 --> 00:21:03.009 be released into the hive. And we like it to 00:21:03.009 --> 00:21:06.150 take about four to five days. So especially if 00:21:06.150 --> 00:21:08.630 your divide is really strong, you want to put 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:12.089 some, we always recommend trying to slow the 00:21:12.089 --> 00:21:14.529 process down of letting that queen out by putting 00:21:14.529 --> 00:21:16.609 some masking tape or some painter's tape over 00:21:16.609 --> 00:21:18.710 that candy plug and poking a little hole in it 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:21.730 with maybe like a hive tool. So the bees have 00:21:21.730 --> 00:21:23.609 to actually chew through the masking tape to 00:21:23.609 --> 00:21:25.730 get to the candy plug to let her out So that 00:21:25.730 --> 00:21:29.529 buys you another 48 hours that time What you're 00:21:29.529 --> 00:21:31.950 doing is allowing the host hive to get used to 00:21:31.950 --> 00:21:35.690 the pheromones of the queen bee So they are more 00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:37.970 willing to accept her when she is released and 00:21:37.970 --> 00:21:39.829 you can really see that when you put the queen 00:21:39.829 --> 00:21:42.549 bee in and if if they're You know balling it 00:21:42.549 --> 00:21:44.769 balling the cage and really acting aggressively 00:21:44.769 --> 00:21:47.440 towards her. You don't want to let her out But 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.380 typically if you're following these steps, she'll 00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:52.380 be released in four to five days and she will 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:56.240 be accepted by the colony. You obviously, most 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:57.559 people already know this, you want to make sure 00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:59.740 you don't have any natural queen cells in the 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:04.279 colony before she is released. So you want to 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:08.130 get rid of those. And the other big pieces. What 00:22:08.130 --> 00:22:09.910 time of year are you putting these queens in? 00:22:09.970 --> 00:22:12.730 So if there's lots of natural forage available 00:22:12.730 --> 00:22:15.829 for your bees, they're going to be way more willing 00:22:15.829 --> 00:22:18.049 to accept that new queen than if there's nothing 00:22:18.049 --> 00:22:19.990 else out there for them. They're much happier 00:22:19.990 --> 00:22:22.529 when they're foraging. It's almost like they'll 00:22:22.529 --> 00:22:24.210 accept her and they're happy going out and coming 00:22:24.210 --> 00:22:26.990 back. And so again, there's a lot of factors 00:22:26.990 --> 00:22:29.390 involved in it. And a lot of them have to do 00:22:29.390 --> 00:22:32.869 with the environment and the beehive that you're 00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:36.390 introducing them into. A well -mated queen will 00:22:36.390 --> 00:22:39.250 be accepted by a colony that doesn't have a queen. 00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:41.430 They'll know that she's healthy and well -mated, 00:22:41.750 --> 00:22:44.950 and they'll let her get started. You keep talking 00:22:44.950 --> 00:22:48.210 about acceptance, and for anybody who's new to 00:22:48.210 --> 00:22:51.029 beekeeping, if you don't understand how important 00:22:51.029 --> 00:22:55.549 that is, the consequence isn't like, oh, we'll 00:22:55.549 --> 00:22:57.789 just sort of nicely kick her out of the hive 00:22:57.789 --> 00:23:01.369 or something. The consequence is... She'll get 00:23:01.369 --> 00:23:05.420 killed. Yeah. Yes. And that's a big investment. 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.220 Yeah, I mean, a lot of our customers are commercial 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:11.700 beekeepers. They buy hundreds, 100, 200, 300 00:23:11.700 --> 00:23:13.500 queens at a time. And so that's a lot of money 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.680 for them. So you want to make sure that they're 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:18.440 successful when they're introduced. And commercial 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:21.339 beekeepers are moving a mile a minute. And so 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.380 sometimes implementing a lot of these steps is 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:26.200 challenging, but it is protecting your investment. 00:23:26.730 --> 00:23:30.309 Yeah. Well, and even if you're a hobbyist, you 00:23:30.309 --> 00:23:33.529 may be paying retail in a 50 bucks or whatever 00:23:33.529 --> 00:23:37.690 for a new queen. That's an investment. Absolutely. 00:23:38.049 --> 00:23:43.559 Absolutely. So if you have time. To go in and 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:46.740 really look at what's happening. How do you know? 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:49.319 What do you see to know that they are accepting 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:52.180 this queen and it would be okay to let them know 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:55.779 either you could manually let her out or Okay, 00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:58.259 go ahead and chew through the rest of that candy 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:01.039 And if you see her lame that way, you know, she's 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:03.019 there. You know, she's been accepted and she's 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:06.799 doing well Yeah, so you definitely want to see 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:10.829 eggs Okay Let's say you have somebody that lives 00:24:10.829 --> 00:24:15.849 in a cold environment. Logic would say, I don't 00:24:15.849 --> 00:24:17.950 want to get a queen from Hawaii because that 00:24:17.950 --> 00:24:21.690 queen is not going to be able to survive or raise 00:24:21.690 --> 00:24:26.549 the right kind of stock for my winters. Is that 00:24:26.549 --> 00:24:30.309 correct? No, that's not correct. So we ship our 00:24:30.309 --> 00:24:32.529 queens up to Canada, which pretty much doesn't 00:24:32.529 --> 00:24:34.890 get colder anywhere else on the planet than Canada. 00:24:35.410 --> 00:24:38.069 And we sell a lot of Italians and carniolans 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:40.970 of truck dating customers. What I have found, 00:24:41.029 --> 00:24:43.930 and they'll take both stock, but a lot of beekeepers 00:24:43.930 --> 00:24:48.589 in Northern climates prefer the carniolans. And 00:24:48.589 --> 00:24:52.109 that's because genetically they are more receptive 00:24:52.109 --> 00:24:55.019 to cold weather in terms of not continuing to 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:58.480 lay. They're more conservative so they will stop 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:00.940 laying and kind of hunker down. The Italians 00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:03.700 will just keep, they'll just keep laying no matter 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:07.000 what. Carniolans do very well in cold environments 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:10.359 like Canada or the Pacific Northwest or Minnesota. 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:13.680 RV keepers really love them and they're very 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:16.779 gentle. Carniolans have a little bit of a reputation 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:19.279 of being maybe a little spicier than Italians. 00:25:19.609 --> 00:25:22.670 But ours are very gentle, despite the fact that 00:25:22.670 --> 00:25:26.589 genetically they can do very well in a snowy 00:25:26.589 --> 00:25:29.569 environment, cold environment. So you produce 00:25:29.569 --> 00:25:32.829 both Italians and Carniolans then? That's correct. 00:25:33.630 --> 00:25:35.630 All right. Any advice for someone that's trying 00:25:35.630 --> 00:25:38.829 to produce their own queens? I would recommend 00:25:38.829 --> 00:25:41.450 you do a lot of reading and educate yourself 00:25:41.450 --> 00:25:45.230 on the process because again, there's a lot to 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:48.960 the art of producing a queen bee. It takes some 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:52.980 time to master. The grafting is probably one 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:55.660 of the more challenging parts, making sure that 00:25:55.660 --> 00:25:58.420 your larva is the right age and making sure that 00:25:58.420 --> 00:26:00.299 when you are transferring that larva, you're 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:04.519 not damaging it. So it really takes a lot of 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:06.960 practice to do that. You know, you don't know 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:09.779 how well your graft is going to take until several 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:13.119 days later. So it's a question of practicing 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:17.240 it and mastering that technique. But I would 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:19.720 recommend reading a lot about the process, and 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:23.059 if possible, going and seeing how the process 00:26:23.059 --> 00:26:25.460 is done before you get started. I guess there's 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:28.059 probably a lot online that you could learn, you 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:31.980 know, watching master crafters do their work. 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:34.900 It's a skill that is developed over a lot of 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:37.299 time, but it's certainly something that anybody 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:40.240 can learn to do. And a good mentor like anything 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:44.259 always helps. Absolutely. I didn't want to forget. 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:47.960 wild and crazy beekeeping story. And we're usually 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.420 talking to regular beekeepers. So in your business, 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:53.160 maybe you have some things that are different. 00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:55.880 Yeah, they, you know, I was thinking about this 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:59.339 question and it's, it's so interesting to me 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:02.559 how, you know, our, our Achilles heel as a queen 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.160 breeder is the shipping of the queens because 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.119 we produce really good quality, well -mated queens, 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:11.440 but then we put them in the hands of a shipping 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.799 company to get them to our customers. And sometimes 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:16.920 the shipping companies unfortunately do not do 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:18.920 their job as well as we would like them to do. 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:23.920 A crazy bee story is a customer of mine sending 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.839 me a picture of a box of bees. It's probably 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:31.339 about 150 queen bees that he had received. And 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:34.160 there was a plastic bag over them and they were 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:37.109 in his living room. And so I don't know if anyone 00:27:37.109 --> 00:27:39.789 has ever, I mean, your customers, I'm sure they've 00:27:39.789 --> 00:27:41.950 probably seen these special boxes that are made 00:27:41.950 --> 00:27:44.529 for shipping queens. They have screens on the 00:27:44.529 --> 00:27:47.289 outside of them for ventilation and they're double 00:27:47.289 --> 00:27:49.809 screened. The bees can knock it out. We ship, 00:27:49.809 --> 00:27:52.609 you know, as I said, thousands of queens like 00:27:52.609 --> 00:27:55.849 this every year and they don't get out. But the 00:27:55.849 --> 00:27:58.849 shipping company, whoever was the driver was 00:27:58.849 --> 00:28:02.450 scared stiff of these bees. And so they thought 00:28:02.450 --> 00:28:05.000 it would be a good idea. to put them inside a 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:08.279 plastic bag so they wouldn't get out. Did it 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:12.900 kill them? Yeah. They suffocated. Oh my gosh. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:17.099 Yeah. So, you know, it's interesting. There's 00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:21.200 not a lot of common sense sometimes. And we have 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:24.200 these conversations with our drivers and with 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:26.519 the personnel at the shipping companies. And 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:29.240 I try to educate them. You know, I say, you guys 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:32.779 are a really important part of the food production 00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:36.690 in our country. So if you get these queens to 00:28:36.690 --> 00:28:38.509 our customers, they're going to be able to pollinate 00:28:38.509 --> 00:28:41.950 the food that you eat. And they learn and they 00:28:41.950 --> 00:28:43.730 see it and they say, oh, you know, then I get 00:28:43.730 --> 00:28:47.789 the flip side. I get, you know, UPS drivers that 00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:50.750 call me on their personal cell phones to make 00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:52.569 sure that they're doing the right thing for the 00:28:52.569 --> 00:28:54.670 queens. And so, you know, there's people who 00:28:54.670 --> 00:28:57.769 really care out there, too. So it's amazing. 00:28:57.930 --> 00:29:00.339 I mean, every year. it's a roller coaster of 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:02.960 these shipments and who along the line is going 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:05.279 to be handling them and how well do they do that. 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:09.059 And you know, we're really lucky 90 % 95 % of 00:29:09.059 --> 00:29:12.660 the time they do great. But sometimes it's, it 00:29:12.660 --> 00:29:15.319 turns out to be a wild and crazy story. And do 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:18.480 you guarantee live delivery? Absolutely. Yes. 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:21.400 So all of our queens are shipped with a live 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:23.799 delivery guarantee. So once you pick them up, 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:25.819 if there's something that doesn't look right 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:29.420 to you, we would replace them at no cost. Sounds 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:31.980 perfect. I don't want to turn this into an infomercial, 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:36.000 but you guys do a great job. It was really fun 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:39.039 seeing your place. Yeah. Eric, thank you very 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:41.319 much for taking the time to learn about what 00:29:41.319 --> 00:29:43.799 we do. And you know, we're, we're just a small 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.220 family farm trying to, you know, keep it going. 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:50.279 So I'm highlighting it. We're humbled. We appreciate 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:54.079 it. If somebody does want to get ahold of you 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:56.420 or some of your Queens, how do they reach out? 00:29:56.990 --> 00:30:00.089 Yeah, they can go to hawaiianqueen .com and our 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:02.809 phone number is there and I'm the person who 00:30:02.809 --> 00:30:05.049 answers the phone. I'm the only one. So they 00:30:05.049 --> 00:30:07.609 can talk to me. And if you're a hobbyist that 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:10.029 just needs a few queens, should they go to Man 00:30:10.029 --> 00:30:12.970 Lake or what should they do? Man Lake does carry 00:30:12.970 --> 00:30:16.170 our queen bees. They have some now. And yeah, 00:30:16.250 --> 00:30:17.710 that would be a great place if you just want 00:30:17.710 --> 00:30:20.930 to buy one or two. Our minimum order during the 00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:23.150 offseason, which is April through December, is 00:30:23.150 --> 00:30:26.349 five queen bees. During the busy season, which 00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:29.069 is January through April, our minimum is 25 queens. 00:30:29.210 --> 00:30:31.130 So if you're part of a bee club or something 00:30:31.130 --> 00:30:33.589 like that, a lot of people will get a few beekeepers 00:30:33.589 --> 00:30:36.230 together to be able to purchase that volume at 00:30:36.230 --> 00:30:38.970 once. But if you just want one or two, manlike 00:30:38.970 --> 00:30:41.589 will help you out. And you can look at the different 00:30:41.589 --> 00:30:44.890 kinds of queens that they have on there. And 00:30:44.890 --> 00:30:48.769 I believe if it says Hawaiian Queen, and it'll 00:30:48.769 --> 00:30:51.549 say carniola in her Italian. I believe if it 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.670 says Hawaiian, it's from you, right? That's wrong. 00:30:54.890 --> 00:30:58.609 Yeah. Okay. All right. You get the last word. 00:30:58.789 --> 00:31:01.130 I want you to leave us with one piece of great 00:31:01.130 --> 00:31:05.069 beekeeping advice. Don't assume that last year 00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:07.710 is going to be like this year or that I should 00:31:07.710 --> 00:31:09.410 say that the other way around. Don't assume that 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:12.130 this year is going to be like last year. You 00:31:12.130 --> 00:31:14.529 always have to read. what's happening. Everything 00:31:14.529 --> 00:31:16.890 is changing all the time and you have to stay 00:31:16.890 --> 00:31:20.029 on your toes. That is more true than people will 00:31:20.029 --> 00:31:23.190 ever know. We all wish it was going to be the 00:31:23.190 --> 00:31:26.150 same as last year, but it usually isn't. Well, 00:31:26.150 --> 00:31:28.829 and it's good to take notes from last year, right? 00:31:29.009 --> 00:31:31.150 All the way along so that we learn from last 00:31:31.150 --> 00:31:33.410 year. But yeah, this next year is going to be 00:31:33.410 --> 00:31:36.670 different. I promise it always is. All right. 00:31:36.869 --> 00:31:38.730 Thank you so much, Rebecca. It was great talking 00:31:38.730 --> 00:31:44.029 to you. Appreciate your time. Thanks for joining 00:31:44.029 --> 00:31:47.089 us on Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake. 00:31:47.529 --> 00:31:49.609 If you like this content I hope you'll share 00:31:49.609 --> 00:31:52.470 it with a friend, follow and subscribe to this 00:31:52.470 --> 00:31:55.849 podcast and even sign up for our newsletter at 00:31:55.849 --> 00:31:58.920 BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:01.460 to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:04.500 them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.759 includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Veroxan Extended 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:12.619 Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys. And 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:15.119 remember, if you're not just in it for the honey 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:18.099 or the money, you're in it for the love. See 00:32:18.099 --> 00:32:18.880 you next week.