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 --> 00:00:22.420 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.420 --> 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 --> 00:00:40.500 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 --> 00:00:50.539 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.539 --> 00:00:54.219 the bees' needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.670 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:05.590 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.590 --> 00:01:12.170 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:28.430 journey. Partners in Beekeeping, Man Lake. Today 00:01:28.430 --> 00:01:31.090 we'll be talking with Jerry Hayes, editor of 00:01:31.090 --> 00:01:34.269 Bee Culture magazine, to discuss the status of 00:01:34.269 --> 00:01:37.049 the beekeeping industry, yeah and a whole lot 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:39.950 more. First a few quick headlines from the world 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:43.230 of beekeeping. From Crystal City, Minnesota, 00:01:43.750 --> 00:01:47.109 the City Council has officially adopted a revised 00:01:47.109 --> 00:01:51.010 animal control ordinance that significantly expands 00:01:51.010 --> 00:01:54.170 what residents may keep in their backyards. Residents 00:01:54.170 --> 00:01:57.810 can now have ducks in their backyards and beekeeping 00:01:57.810 --> 00:02:01.609 is now officially legal. Under the newly adopted 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:05.209 rules, residents may keep up to four hives, even 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:08.509 on lots under three quarters of an acre. Way 00:02:08.509 --> 00:02:12.539 to go Crystal City! And out of Canada, beekeepers 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:15.979 ask government to ban overseas bee imports to 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:19.439 protect local hives. What's it all about? Of 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:21.659 course, they're alarmed by the spread of the 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:24.439 tropal alaps mite, and they're calling on government 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:27.599 to do something about it. Now this one out of 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:31.879 California, the headline reads, Almond milk kills 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:36.919 bees. Five shocking California impacts. This 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:40.479 one, I'm not... Gonna touch with a 10 foot pole, 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.939 but it's actually kind of an interesting read. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:45.740 We'll put a link to the article down in the show 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:48.439 notes. I'll leave that completely up to you. 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:52.599 Lastly, while Texas beekeepers lost approximately 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.780 61 % of their colonies this year, there is some 00:02:56.780 --> 00:02:59.759 good news out of the Lone Star State. Thanks 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.840 to much needed rainfall, honey yield is way up. 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:06.099 with production surging to its strongest level 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:09.219 in years at over four million pounds. Way to 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:16.180 go. I'd like to welcome to the show, I should 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:18.879 say back to the show, Jerry Hayes from Beat Culture 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:22.780 magazine, the editor, the big cheese there. Hi 00:03:22.780 --> 00:03:25.360 Jerry, how are you? Good, how are you doing Eric? 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.120 I sure appreciate you giving me a few minutes 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.870 to just unwind here. I'm doing great getting 00:03:31.870 --> 00:03:35.449 my feet back on the ground as the listeners know 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:38.330 I was on the Big Island for a few weeks and actually 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:42.349 did podcasts from there which was good fun but 00:03:42.349 --> 00:03:45.750 I'm back in the mountains trying to deal with 00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:48.789 having no humidity again but other than that 00:03:48.789 --> 00:03:51.669 feeling great and and I wanted to get back with 00:03:51.669 --> 00:03:54.819 you just kind of get a pulse on what's going 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:57.800 on with beekeeping right now and I'm just going 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:00.560 to throw out some stuff and and let you start 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.740 talking and then ask you questions if that's 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:07.439 okay but for example as we all know this last 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:13.240 winter of 24 -25 there was a huge bee die -off 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.899 here in North America and commercial beekeepers 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:19.220 that I've talked to most of them have recovered 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:23.680 pretty well But I'm curious what your pulse is 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:26.579 from talking to them and if they're doing things 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:29.959 differently since we're nearly into winter again 00:04:29.959 --> 00:04:33.800 here. And let's take it from there. So give us 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.819 the 30 ,000 foot view. Dolly, and that's an easy 00:04:37.819 --> 00:04:41.259 question. Oh my gosh. Yes, we had, you know, 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:45.259 the numbers show about 1 .6 million colonies. 00:04:45.689 --> 00:04:50.269 parish and golly, tens of thousands in the commercial 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:53.750 industry, some commercial beekeepers, one commercial 00:04:53.750 --> 00:04:58.110 beekeeper that I know lost all 16 ,000 of his 00:04:58.110 --> 00:05:01.209 colonies. And yes, in that particular case, you 00:05:01.209 --> 00:05:03.949 know, if you have a thousand colonies and you 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.769 lose 500, you can take the other 500 and split 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:08.709 them and make them up. When you lose everything, 00:05:09.329 --> 00:05:13.189 you can't do that. And so his return on investment, 00:05:13.189 --> 00:05:17.980 this is a business. And so a lot of beekeepers 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.220 who have lost a lot of colonies and are aging, 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:23.720 and their family doesn't want to take them over, 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:27.300 they're selling. And there are some groups that 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:30.939 are taking all these and have maybe 100 ,000 00:05:30.939 --> 00:05:36.029 colonies now. I have no idea how you manage that. 00:05:36.310 --> 00:05:38.550 I just don't know. And that's one of the problems 00:05:38.550 --> 00:05:41.430 with thousands of colonies is how do you manage 00:05:41.430 --> 00:05:43.810 that? How do you get enough people that know 00:05:43.810 --> 00:05:45.910 what they're doing? And then of course, you know, 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:49.850 we have indoor wintering a lot now, trying to 00:05:49.850 --> 00:05:52.589 maintain temperature and humidity so that the 00:05:52.589 --> 00:05:55.089 bees are under a little bit less stress because 00:05:55.089 --> 00:06:00.279 of everything that's there. Exposed to those 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:02.699 bees. I wouldn't be keeper. I talked to he said 00:06:02.699 --> 00:06:05.680 the bees look great Coming out of the storage 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.480 and then two weeks later. They were all dead 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:11.639 So yes, we've had USDA tell us that it could 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.459 be a virus mutation that's impacting the bees 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:18.240 and we have no of course control over viruses 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.120 and then those viruses are in the bees because 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:26.839 of Roa many cases and Roa causes decrease in 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:31.610 in the bees ability to fight off bacteria and 00:06:31.610 --> 00:06:33.509 diseases and what have you, their immune system 00:06:33.509 --> 00:06:37.149 is compromised and we are not controlling grow 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:40.009 up very well and we're not feeding very well 00:06:40.009 --> 00:06:44.170 and climate change is happening and think about 00:06:44.170 --> 00:06:47.250 thousands of colonies and then to think about 00:06:47.250 --> 00:06:52.279 loading this insect in their nest on a semi and 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.120 driving it across the United States to California 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.060 for almonds, let's say, or someplace else. It's 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.620 incredible. And the industry on a commercial 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:03.980 level is suffering. And then we have, of course, 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:07.720 you know, our hobby backyard beekeepers as well 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:11.279 that are struggling. And most of this is management. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.959 And how much time do you put into managing your 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:17.500 colonies? And what do you do to control pest 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:20.579 predators and diseases? I have not had a chance 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:23.279 to speak with some of the people that lost everything 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.779 like you have, but some of the commercial beekeepers 00:07:26.779 --> 00:07:31.439 that did okay and were able to bounce back well 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:35.120 tell me they were really on top of Varroa and 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.319 they were really on top of feeding. So anything 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:42.199 that we can do for hobbyists, for sideliners, 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:45.120 for commercial, anything we can do to keep our 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.370 bees stronger And to keep the viral levels down 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:51.750 because they're spreading the viruses, we just 00:07:51.750 --> 00:07:54.149 have to do it. That's just the way it is. Beekeeping 00:07:54.149 --> 00:07:58.589 is not easy. No, it's not easy. And to think, 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:01.329 you know, and there again, who's managing who? 00:08:01.470 --> 00:08:03.910 Are they managing us or are we managing them? 00:08:04.610 --> 00:08:08.269 They're trying to stay alive. And unfortunately, 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:12.709 on all levels of beekeeping, we have beekeepers 00:08:12.709 --> 00:08:16.000 who aren't doing as you said, they're not. For 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.120 instance, Varroa control. Sample for Varroa at 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.939 an appropriate time, say during the season or 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:25.639 getting ready for winter. What have you, sample 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:30.079 for Varroa, pick a Varroa control, and then after 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.820 it, sample again to see if it actually worked. 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:35.399 And nobody's doing that. And then commercial 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:38.399 beekeepers, when you have thousands of colonies, 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:41.639 yeah, how do you do this with the expense of 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.360 labor and the Varroa controls and what you get 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:47.529 them? I know all these things there's not a whole 00:08:47.529 --> 00:08:50.289 lot of return on investment considering what 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:53.529 they're getting paid for him. Pollination contracts 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:57.090 for and we're getting beat up by imported honey 00:08:57.090 --> 00:08:59.889 coming in and real cost and all these things 00:08:59.889 --> 00:09:03.490 that causes a struggle and the thing that. Turn 00:09:03.490 --> 00:09:06.990 it makes my blood pressure go up is that we've 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:10.909 done a horrible job of advertising and marketing 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:15.179 ourselves of the value. of not only beekeepers, 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:17.860 but honeybees, pollinated dependent agriculture, 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:21.480 the food supply chain, and then nobody's ever 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.399 showed me a number for the environment. You know, 00:09:24.539 --> 00:09:27.379 honeybees are going out and foraging in a two, 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:29.649 two and a half mile radius. Well, that's, you 00:09:29.649 --> 00:09:32.549 know, like 8 ,000 acres or something like that 00:09:32.549 --> 00:09:35.629 in the environment and pollinating plants that 00:09:35.629 --> 00:09:37.870 produce seeds so they can reproduce or fruits 00:09:37.870 --> 00:09:40.490 or nuts or what have you for squirrels and turkeys. 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:42.990 And then you got the plants growing in carbon 00:09:42.990 --> 00:09:46.370 sequestration and water retention. And nobody 00:09:46.370 --> 00:09:49.730 knows this error. And so we're thought of as 00:09:49.730 --> 00:09:52.669 the only stepsister of agriculture. Well, and 00:09:52.669 --> 00:09:55.879 until we can. get some of those chemicals under 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:58.759 control and I'm not going to name any by names 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.559 today but we all know what they are until we 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:04.220 can get some of that stuff under control. A lot 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.940 of that's out of our hands and we can't control 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:10.279 it but there are things that we can control and 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:13.080 so let's control those things as well as we can. 00:10:13.299 --> 00:10:16.320 There are new treatments for varroa that we can 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:18.840 try. There are new things out there every year. 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:21.659 I've tried some of the ones that were new this 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:25.299 year and had good success with them but it takes 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.080 work. And let me just throw out one thing that's 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:30.860 a reminder for all of us and you mentioned testing 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:34.940 before and after treatment. What we used for 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:37.580 Varroa last year and the year before and the 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:40.620 year before that may not work for us anymore. 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:44.399 there is a tolerance that can be built up and 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.860 that's why we have to test after because that 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:50.340 may not be working anymore and we may have to 00:10:50.340 --> 00:10:53.200 move on to something else for a while. And in 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.879 three years we may be able to go back to that 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.740 treatment that we loved but it may not work for 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:02.539 a couple of years. So be willing to be open -minded, 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:05.639 do your research. Sorry we're getting kind of 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:08.879 preachy here now but it's a big deal. No, it's 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.159 a good thing because in my world and it's been 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:13.659 in my world for decades, I'm here because honey 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:17.059 bees are important to agriculture and to the 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:19.940 environment and beekeepers are incredibly important 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:23.120 because they're managing this insect. It may 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.720 seem early, but right now is a great time to 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:29.519 order your live bees for 2026 because they do 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.080 sell out and because Man Lake is offering a discount 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:36.860 for beloved podcast listeners. Wait, what? I 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:39.299 know, you're saying live bees, they never go 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:42.879 on sale. Well, they are now. Click on over to 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:46.399 Man Lake, order your bees any variety, nukes 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.759 or packages, and anything in the beginner essentials 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.039 category. And when you check out, use the code 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.899 getstartedinbees, it's down in the show notes 00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:58.360 so you don't have to remember, for a discount 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:02.080 on everything. So get your orders in early and 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:06.700 save. How many insects do we manage as humans, 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.679 you know, that can be moved and transported and 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.179 what have you? And then as you were saying, for 00:12:13.179 --> 00:12:15.779 a Varroa resistance, let's say to certain Varroa 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:19.820 sides, Varroa is trying to survive. And so if 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:22.960 you only kill 90 % of the Varroa in your colony, 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:24.679 that might be good for a little while, but then 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:28.220 you got 10 % of the Varroa that is laughing at 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:31.679 that Varroa side and they're going to mate. and 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:34.460 reproduce and have babies that are resistant 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:38.200 to that boroside. So as you say, we have to rotate 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.460 these out and then we have to really try to manage 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:45.879 by sample, treat and sample again. Yeah. And 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.419 hopefully that's going to work. It should at 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:50.480 least, it's something you can do to increase 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:54.669 your odds, right? Absolutely. But like I'm headed 00:12:54.669 --> 00:12:57.830 into a very cold, wintry environment here in 00:12:57.830 --> 00:13:01.629 the next few days. And I need to go out tomorrow 00:13:01.629 --> 00:13:04.889 and I need to test again to see how my most recent 00:13:04.889 --> 00:13:08.110 treatment worked. Now here's the problem. If 00:13:08.110 --> 00:13:11.470 it didn't work very well, I don't have very much 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:14.549 time left to fix things. So I'm going to do what 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:16.850 I can. And that's just the kind of world that 00:13:16.850 --> 00:13:19.629 we live in now. All right. No, it's true. It's 00:13:19.629 --> 00:13:22.440 true. And then we have to Not only about treating 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.639 and when but what have you and what you pick 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.360 and this is where the tools for management guide 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:31.419 for honeybee. Console is so good because it doesn't 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:35.659 tell you what to do it gives you options. Because 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:38.740 there is collateral damage when you're trying 00:13:38.740 --> 00:13:41.399 here this is over all night and i'm a honeybee 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:44.809 how do you kill a bug on a bug. without hurting 00:13:44.809 --> 00:13:49.029 the big bug and so i can spray rainier face every 00:13:49.029 --> 00:13:51.169 day eric it's not gonna kill you what's gonna 00:13:51.169 --> 00:13:53.549 happen to you in ten or fifteen years something 00:13:53.549 --> 00:13:56.710 is going to happen and when we're doing this 00:13:56.710 --> 00:13:59.169 to honey bees trying to kill an insect on an 00:13:59.169 --> 00:14:01.629 insect wrong terminology but you know i'm talking 00:14:01.629 --> 00:14:05.730 about a bug yeah again a bug how do you do that 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:08.210 safely and this is where some of these biologicals 00:14:08.210 --> 00:14:11.179 that are coming out now by a rational. Products 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:15.259 i think we need to yeah migrate to some of those 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:18.740 and in this process of using different products 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:21.360 we rotate some of these things in and out so 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.419 that we get some more use out of them and control 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:27.909 for all better alright. Let's let's quick kick 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:30.809 in this horse. Let's move on to some other things 00:14:30.809 --> 00:14:33.009 that can be concerning. What do you know about 00:14:33.009 --> 00:14:37.409 yellow legged hornets? Yeah, you know, certainly, 00:14:37.710 --> 00:14:40.690 you know, I'm in northern Ohio now, so kind of 00:14:40.690 --> 00:14:43.580 on the eastern part of the country. So. I keep 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:47.100 in contact with Georgia and South Carolina and 00:14:47.100 --> 00:14:50.200 what have you, and Alabama, where some of these 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:53.259 things have been found. They're doing their best 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:58.340 to limit the spread of them, but that's incredibly 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:03.840 hard to do by looking for nests and putting out 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:06.679 things that will attract them to that. Yes, they 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:10.340 can help, but is it going to be 100 %? I doubt 00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:14.539 it. Yeah, well, that Asian giant hornet, supposedly 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:17.620 the couple that were up in the Northwest, those 00:15:17.620 --> 00:15:20.159 were taken care of. They'll be back someday. 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:23.320 So the yellow -legged one in the meantime, and 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.919 I've talked to a lot of people over in Europe 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.659 that have been dealing with it for a while, and 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:31.419 they're, you know, they're dealing with it. It's 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:33.139 not easy, but they're dealing with it. It's kind 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:35.340 of like us dealing with Varroa. Yeah, no, it's 00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:39.570 true. And you can deal... There again, that just 00:15:39.570 --> 00:15:44.129 adds another level of management and management 00:15:44.129 --> 00:15:47.830 skill to this. And we're talking about, I think 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:50.309 the Natural Honey Board says there's like 125 00:15:50.309 --> 00:15:54.830 ,000 or 135 ,000 of us beekeepers. About 1 ,000 00:15:54.830 --> 00:15:58.149 or so are commercial beekeepers out of the millions 00:15:58.149 --> 00:16:01.840 of colonies that we have. What does that do to 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.860 the other 124 ,000 that are hobby and backyard 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:10.480 beekeepers who are struggling now as it is and 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.460 then you add another level of this on it and 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:16.340 That's where so many of them drop out after three 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:19.779 years and become stamp collectors or less than 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:23.639 three years Yeah, no, absolutely. It's just honey 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.720 bees are amazing. What they do is amazing. How 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.460 they live is amazing. And that passion for most 00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.659 of us grows as we look in a hive and separate 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:35.879 ourselves from the crazy world out there looking 00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:39.360 a hive. But yeah, how many people want to do 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:41.559 that all the time because they're not all doing 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.399 it now? Well, part of what I love about beekeeping 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.100 is there's always something to learn. You never 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:49.480 know it all. The bees are smarter than we are. 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:52.759 And nature's smarter than we are because there's 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:55.500 a lot of other things going on and I just had 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:57.940 to throw this out there on that topic because 00:16:57.940 --> 00:17:01.419 we also have chickens that we've had for the 00:17:01.419 --> 00:17:04.119 last, I don't know, since we moved out here into 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:06.119 the country for the last 10 years or whatever. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.329 And I like the chickens but they're easy. and 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:13.150 maybe I'm just naive, but they're really easy 00:17:13.150 --> 00:17:16.109 compared to bees. And I tell my neighbors that 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:18.329 have horses, they think bees are really easy. 00:17:18.490 --> 00:17:21.549 I'm like, you need to know as much or more about 00:17:21.549 --> 00:17:24.589 bees as if you're taking care of a horse. I mean 00:17:24.589 --> 00:17:27.250 this is not an easy thing, but it's very rewarding 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:31.089 also. So one last pest that I wanted to talk 00:17:31.089 --> 00:17:34.990 about is, and this is nothing new, but this is 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:38.349 the Africanized bees. because they are spreading. 00:17:38.970 --> 00:17:42.089 I read an article just yesterday of somebody 00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:46.609 in Las Vegas that was attacked and got 400 stings. 00:17:46.670 --> 00:17:48.910 Luckily he survived, but he's in the hospital. 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:51.569 I don't even have a question for you, Jerry, 00:17:51.589 --> 00:17:53.710 but talk about Africanized bees for a minute. 00:17:53.990 --> 00:17:57.329 Yeah. And so a long time ago on a planet far, 00:17:57.329 --> 00:17:59.710 far away, I was the chief of the ape area section 00:17:59.710 --> 00:18:02.630 for the Florida Department of Agriculture. And 00:18:02.630 --> 00:18:06.559 when I was there, That's when Africanized bees 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:11.839 made their way to Florida mostly as swarms on 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:16.319 shipping traffic coming from Mexico and the first 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:20.940 real incident that I was involved in was and 00:18:20.940 --> 00:18:25.420 this never happened before was You know an 800 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:29.690 pound horse was killed. It was in a stable and 00:18:29.690 --> 00:18:32.829 these bees attacked the horse and the horse didn't 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:36.049 die of envenomation. I was there during the autopsy 00:18:36.049 --> 00:18:39.349 and the vet pulled out, I'm guessing two or three 00:18:39.349 --> 00:18:42.410 pounds of bees from the horse's lungs and stomach 00:18:42.410 --> 00:18:45.210 because the bees are attracted to CO2 and they 00:18:45.210 --> 00:18:48.109 went up the horse's nose and down and stung in 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:51.690 the meantime, which caused the trachea to expand 00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:55.269 and the horse suffocated from that. But yes, 00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:58.500 not only to livestock but to to people because 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:02.160 we had a problem in florida where these things 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:05.599 were in the news media and the citizens of florida 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:09.519 were afraid of having beekeepers around them 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:12.220 because people most people are afraid of insects 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:14.900 anyway and now you've got an insect that's gonna 00:19:15.289 --> 00:19:18.470 kill your horse or your dog or sting the kids 00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:21.990 at the school bus stop or what have you. And 00:19:21.990 --> 00:19:25.289 so we really had to work hard on building the 00:19:25.289 --> 00:19:28.349 value of honeybees and our inspection service 00:19:28.349 --> 00:19:32.549 that would intercede and help both communities 00:19:32.549 --> 00:19:35.329 out. A couple of people that we had on the show 00:19:35.329 --> 00:19:38.130 earlier this year that I want to mention. One 00:19:38.130 --> 00:19:41.210 was a beekeeper in southern Arizona. She catches 00:19:41.210 --> 00:19:45.930 a lot of swarms and she does what she calls rescuing 00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:49.069 those swarms, which is catches a swarm. It's 00:19:49.069 --> 00:19:51.930 easy to tell if they're Africanized. Not a swarm. 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:55.630 It's not. No way, Jose. No, all swarms are basically 00:19:55.630 --> 00:19:58.230 gentle because they don't have anything to protect. 00:19:58.509 --> 00:20:02.730 Well, within days of hiving that swarm, she can 00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:05.410 tell. I'll put it that way. There you go. She 00:20:05.410 --> 00:20:09.049 then dispatches the queen, requeens with some 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:12.589 kind of gentle breed of queen, and things go 00:20:12.589 --> 00:20:15.029 along pretty well. I had another beekeeper on 00:20:15.029 --> 00:20:17.390 from Southern California that also does a lot 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:20.769 of swarm removal. In his opinion, and he hasn't 00:20:20.769 --> 00:20:23.730 had all the lab tests done, but in his opinion, 00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:28.910 there have been so many crosses now between European 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:31.670 honeybees and Africanized bees in Southern California 00:20:31.670 --> 00:20:35.130 that he feels like all of the bees that he sees 00:20:35.130 --> 00:20:38.650 and that he works with have some Africanized 00:20:38.650 --> 00:20:44.089 genetics in them. They're not as hot as a fully 00:20:44.089 --> 00:20:48.609 Africanized strain. It's been diluted with generations. 00:20:49.230 --> 00:20:52.710 That's his theory and he's used to them. They're 00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:56.700 not as aggressive as fully genetic, sorry I don't 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:59.299 know the right term there, Africanized bees. 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:02.279 They're good honey producers, they're pretty 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:05.099 good at taking care of Varroa because they're 00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:07.740 kind of hot, and so he doesn't mind it so much. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.359 So I don't know, what are your thoughts on those 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.019 things? Well there again from past experience, 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.710 yeah the drone carries a grumpy gene. And so, 00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:20.529 when queens are out mating in the DCA, I don't 00:21:20.529 --> 00:21:23.009 know how many bees are around there, but the, 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:26.069 you know, the DCA could have drones from a huge 00:21:26.069 --> 00:21:28.549 amount of different colonies out there, and as 00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:30.710 a virgin queen goes in there and those drones 00:21:30.710 --> 00:21:33.569 compete and mate with her, you can have, and 00:21:33.569 --> 00:21:36.950 we found this again in Florida, you can have 00:21:36.950 --> 00:21:41.869 a colony, and depending on what sperm... the 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.930 queen is accessing to fertilize those bees those 00:21:44.930 --> 00:21:47.990 bees could be just kind and gentle and nice and 00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:50.109 then when she runs out of that sperm she may 00:21:50.109 --> 00:21:53.150 get into sperm from a drone that has that grumpy 00:21:53.150 --> 00:21:56.130 gene and those bees will chase you into the kitchen 00:21:56.130 --> 00:21:59.410 but then when that's used up I mean so this is 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:02.450 all over the place so yes this is a little bit 00:22:02.450 --> 00:22:05.309 awkward because you can say oh gee whiz to your 00:22:05.309 --> 00:22:08.359 neighbor my bees are calm and nice. I raise my 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:11.859 own queens and I pick out the the gentle ones 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:16.000 and then the next day something ugly happens 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.759 and so this is where you have to be really careful 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:22.680 and maybe access queens from other areas that 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:26.359 may not have those particular drones. Okay sounds 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:29.559 simple. The fact is the African eyes genetics 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:34.250 are spreading As far as I know they can't handle 00:22:34.250 --> 00:22:37.549 real cold climate yet the part of my state that 00:22:37.549 --> 00:22:40.230 I'm in We don't have any but the southern part 00:22:40.230 --> 00:22:42.569 of the state. It's a lot warmer and we do well 00:22:42.569 --> 00:22:45.289 and and there again And I hate to say this but 00:22:45.289 --> 00:22:48.809 there are queen producers You know in Arizona 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:53.089 and Texas and New Mexico and what have you? that 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:55.750 are queen producers and then beekeepers here 00:22:55.750 --> 00:22:58.309 in my state of Ohio now buy queens from them 00:22:58.309 --> 00:23:01.109 and they bring them up and they're grumpy. So 00:23:01.109 --> 00:23:05.829 we have spread these genetics all around because 00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:09.549 we're not thinking ahead appropriately. That's 00:23:09.549 --> 00:23:12.109 a very good point. What do we do different? How 00:23:12.109 --> 00:23:14.549 do we think ahead better? I think it goes back 00:23:14.549 --> 00:23:17.089 to what you said earlier about our connection 00:23:17.089 --> 00:23:20.420 to honeybees, our passion for honeybees. and 00:23:20.420 --> 00:23:23.900 wanting to be good managers, because if you want 00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:27.160 to be a good manager, you're out looking for 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:30.900 appropriate information, data. You know, I think 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:33.920 the worst thing, and I hate to say this, in many 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:38.990 cases for beekeeping, that it's easier to go 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:41.990 to a podcast someplace where somebody's telling 00:23:41.990 --> 00:23:45.730 them to control Varroa with green jello because 00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:48.970 nobody knows the right if I was if I would want 00:23:48.970 --> 00:23:52.210 to learn about physics and I went to a physics 00:23:52.210 --> 00:23:54.549 podcast and they said some how would I know if 00:23:54.549 --> 00:23:57.569 it was right or wrong if I don't know anyway 00:23:57.569 --> 00:24:00.769 so this is where you know yours and and others 00:24:00.769 --> 00:24:03.150 are so good but there's others out there that 00:24:03.150 --> 00:24:06.339 are saying goofy things And people don't want 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:09.299 to read anymore. They don't want to access books. 00:24:09.380 --> 00:24:12.319 They don't want to get newsletters. Some of them 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:16.160 don't even want to belong to local regional associations. 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.680 So our educational outreach needs to be better. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:24.059 We also on this show try not to tell people what 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:27.660 to do for their Varroa. We'll talk about, yeah, 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:32.680 test, treat, or if you don't treat. That's a 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.240 whole other path that you can study and go down. 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:40.359 But here's options. Here's this option, A, B, 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:43.779 C, D, E, F. You do your research, you figure 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:45.619 out what's best for your bees. We're not going 00:24:45.619 --> 00:24:47.980 to tell you because it's different for everybody. 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:50.880 It is different from everybody. And there again, 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:55.160 we have no genetic consistency in honey. This 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.859 isn't like black angus cattle or the chickens 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:01.500 in your backyard. that have bred and bred for 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:04.220 certain traits, certain colors, what have you. 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:06.720 The bees are out mating in these drone congregation 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:10.240 areas and the drones are, you know, whatever 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.279 drones show up is the ones that have the opportunity. 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:17.559 And so that's one of the reasons bees can survive 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:20.819 from pole to pole, basically, is because genetic 00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:24.119 diversity. But by the same token, we don't have 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:27.680 that consistency and pest predator and disease 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:31.440 issues that would help the industry out a little 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.859 bit better. All right. I don't want to make this 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:37.559 whole show a downer on these tough things. Let's 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:39.900 get some good news out there. I don't know about 00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:43.259 where you are, but we had a really good big honey 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:46.140 crop where I am this year. How about you, Jerry? 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:50.700 Boy, you said you wanted a happy, a happy one. 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:56.109 No, we. See, so I've lived all over the country 00:25:56.109 --> 00:25:59.009 and the nation. Some parts of it had a wonderful 00:25:59.009 --> 00:26:04.069 honey crop. We here in Ohio didn't. And this 00:26:04.069 --> 00:26:06.910 is one of those strange things that I've learned 00:26:06.910 --> 00:26:08.930 since I've been here for the last five, six years. 00:26:09.230 --> 00:26:12.269 If it doesn't rain, and we had this drought issue, 00:26:12.410 --> 00:26:16.569 if it doesn't rain in July, then that impacts, 00:26:16.829 --> 00:26:20.609 strangely enough, Goldenrod and Astors when they 00:26:20.609 --> 00:26:24.220 come up. a couple months later, and so we had 00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:27.779 beautiful golden brown, beautiful asters with 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:32.480 not a bee or a honeybee or a native bee or anything 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:36.359 on them, because for some reason, if they are 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:40.000 not rained on in July, it doesn't happen. And 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:42.779 so, yes, my colonies, instead of getting, you 00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:45.880 know, 50 or so pounds of honey, I might have 00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:51.220 had 15 or 20. And so... It's different everywhere, 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:54.579 and some beekeepers did great, and bless her 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:58.400 heart. Boy, down her Debbie today. No. Jerry, 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:02.559 give me some good news from somewhere. No, but 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:08.059 the good, I think the good news is that we have 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:11.380 Apia Inspectors of America who are hanging in 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:14.980 there and are great mentors for beekeepers. And 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:17.059 for the most part, they're not the bee police. 00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:20.500 They're Extension. because extension doesn't 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:23.200 exist anymore. And then we have the Association 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.460 of Professional Appicultures, all these people 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:28.960 that have labs at universities that are still 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:33.079 working so hard on our behalf. And we have USDA 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:35.940 with all this crazy USDA stuff, but they're hanging 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:39.700 in there for a grave. So we have this whole... 00:27:40.560 --> 00:27:43.700 contributor connection partnerships with really 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:47.259 smart people with great equipment and labs that 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:50.859 still want to help and are connected to us. And 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:54.140 I think that is a true blessing for all of us. 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:57.160 And we need to engage them more and show them 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:00.380 that we appreciate them and what they do so that, 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:04.039 you know, they can still get funding and carrying 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:07.500 on because that's what's going to make us successful 00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:10.789 or not. What are other good sources for information? 00:28:11.029 --> 00:28:13.450 You mentioned Honey Bee Health Coalition. Right. 00:28:13.670 --> 00:28:15.710 What else? Well, you've got Honey Bee Health 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:18.630 Coalition, which is great. And then you have 00:28:18.630 --> 00:28:22.690 PAM, Project Apis Malifera, which is great. And 00:28:22.690 --> 00:28:25.329 then you have, as you were talking about, you 00:28:25.329 --> 00:28:28.430 have, you know, Apimondia. That was before we 00:28:28.430 --> 00:28:31.049 were recording. But yeah, I went to Apimondia 00:28:31.049 --> 00:28:34.789 this year. It's amazing how much scientific information 00:28:34.789 --> 00:28:37.069 is out there at places like Appamondia. Well, 00:28:37.430 --> 00:28:40.349 and then I just got an email this morning, COLOS, 00:28:40.869 --> 00:28:46.049 which is a European organization that has researchers 00:28:46.049 --> 00:28:49.930 from all over the world and dealing with honeybee 00:28:49.930 --> 00:28:53.279 management issues and success. They're going 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:56.599 to be meeting in Washington, up at the University 00:28:56.599 --> 00:28:59.440 of Washington, coming up in June of this year. 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:02.460 So we have an international organization coming 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:05.119 here. And then, of course, you have your state 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.660 and local associations who are, I'm assuming, 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:12.539 will be connected to, you know, HBHC and PAM 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:16.220 and AIA and APA and all these other things. And 00:29:16.220 --> 00:29:19.099 we have ABF and, you know, HPA and everything 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:23.000 else. All these organizations are working on 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:26.720 together on our behalf. And I think whoever is 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:29.079 listening now, you know, Google all these up 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:31.619 and take a look at their websites and what they 00:29:31.619 --> 00:29:34.740 do and support them. Because, you know, without 00:29:34.740 --> 00:29:37.599 our support, they don't exist. And your advice 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:41.349 about podcasts? And I'm going to lean towards, 00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:43.930 well, I'm going to just stretch that a little 00:29:43.930 --> 00:29:47.210 bit and mention YouTube because there's a thousand 00:29:47.210 --> 00:29:50.710 times more beekeepers that claim to be experts 00:29:50.710 --> 00:29:53.670 on YouTube than there are on podcasts. And some 00:29:53.670 --> 00:29:57.049 of them have good information and some don't. 00:29:57.309 --> 00:29:58.809 And the hard thing is you don't know which is 00:29:58.809 --> 00:30:01.549 which. No, Beth, how do you discern that if you're 00:30:01.549 --> 00:30:04.329 trying to learn? I don't know how you do that. 00:30:04.349 --> 00:30:07.990 This is why these These fundamental organizations 00:30:07.990 --> 00:30:11.490 and, you know, and podcasts like yours are so 00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:15.049 important for people to identify as places to 00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:17.789 go. I didn't warn you of this, but the last time 00:30:17.789 --> 00:30:20.829 you were on the show, I asked you to come and 00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:24.710 share some kind of fun, wild and crazy beekeeping 00:30:24.710 --> 00:30:27.210 story. Do you have any others in mind for us 00:30:27.210 --> 00:30:29.740 this time? We'll give you a minute to think about 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:32.319 it. The fun know that I think some of the fun 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:35.079 thing is all this new equipment that's coming 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:39.440 out and new hives and different things that will 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:42.839 allow us or will theoretically allow us to manage 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:46.599 bees so that they can maintain, you know, what 00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:48.680 they do. You have to think of honeybees. You 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:51.259 know, they're looking for a cavity certain size. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:54.019 to live in, and we give them these wooden boxes, 00:30:54.359 --> 00:30:58.599 and we call that their home, but is it insulated 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:01.700 enough? Is the entrance in the right spot? Is 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:05.619 it in the right dimensions? Is it longitudinal? 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:09.759 Is it horizontal? All these things as we experiment 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:12.839 with bees because bees are very patient and you 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:15.359 know I've seen bees living in a mailbox and I've 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:17.980 seen them living in a you know a hollow tree 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:22.019 and I saw one at one time living in a junkyard 00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:25.400 in the trunk of an old Buick. So bees can live 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:28.759 in a lot of different places but how do we beekeepers 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:32.099 help them live successfully? What's your favorite 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:35.619 kind of hive? Just standard Langstroth now, but 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:39.579 and then here in Ohio, I've gone to some type 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:44.119 of insulation around them because you know, it 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:45.880 gets kind of chilly here and the temperature 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:49.660 goes up and down and You know that one inch wall 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:53.440 on that wooden Langstroth box probably isn't 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:56.880 Insulated enough as it would be say in a hollow 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:00.099 tree that's got six inches of wood around the 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:02.960 cavity and so these are all things that We're 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:05.299 still trying to learn about there again. We have 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:08.619 no consistency. If you were asking a black thing 00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:12.000 is cow producer, what he or she does to raise 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.200 them. They could, they could give you the checklist. 00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:18.440 We'd we have a checklist, but it's four times 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:20.859 longer because you never know which part you 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:22.880 got to check. Well, now I don't know about you, 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:26.589 but I like to experiment. Yeah. I've picked up 00:32:26.589 --> 00:32:29.109 some of the new things that are out there these 00:32:29.109 --> 00:32:31.750 solar heater things and these different blanket 00:32:31.750 --> 00:32:35.230 things and different kinds of insulation and 00:32:35.230 --> 00:32:38.950 different kinds of hives that are This thick 00:32:38.950 --> 00:32:41.990 and having our value through the roof and and 00:32:41.990 --> 00:32:44.410 I'm trying all this stuff to see what works for 00:32:44.410 --> 00:32:48.329 me in my area Yeah, no and that that's true and 00:32:48.329 --> 00:32:50.029 that's a good thing for you to do and for me 00:32:50.029 --> 00:32:52.670 to do and for people out here to do but there 00:32:52.670 --> 00:32:55.549 again if you have If you're a commercial beekeeper 00:32:55.549 --> 00:32:58.549 and you got five thousand colonies, you can't 00:32:58.549 --> 00:33:02.410 do that. No, no, that's not realistic at all. 00:33:02.829 --> 00:33:05.410 No, it's not realistic at all. And so how do 00:33:05.410 --> 00:33:08.289 we how do we support that? Because when you walk 00:33:08.289 --> 00:33:11.599 into the grocery store. You don't walk into the 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.500 aisle with the cleaning supplies in the toilet 00:33:13.500 --> 00:33:16.759 paper, you walk into the produce section that 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:20.000 most of the time is there because of honeybees 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:22.000 pollinating for a fruit, not a vegetable. But 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:24.519 then you also have some that are pollinating 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:27.500 for seeds. So you like lettuce or something that's 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:30.539 the seeds that, that are there. So, you know, 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:33.700 if, if that all disappeared, do we want to buy 00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:37.460 all our food from Guatemala? I prefer Peru. I'm 00:33:37.460 --> 00:33:39.839 sorry, I can't be that serious this morning. 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:43.799 Jerry, I appreciate your time so much. I know 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:46.160 you're busy. I appreciate you putting out the 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:49.519 Quality magazine, B Culture magazine, and the 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:51.779 good information that's in it. Do you have any 00:33:51.779 --> 00:33:54.619 last thoughts you want to leave us with? No, 00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:56.940 but I want to, you know, if you were closer, 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.740 I'd take you to lunch because I really appreciate 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:02.619 what you do, how you're doing it, and how you're 00:34:02.619 --> 00:34:06.980 being connecting to the beekeeping industry to 00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:11.920 give them a foundation of validity. So pat yourself 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:17.579 on the back. Thanks for joining us on Be Love 00:34:17.579 --> 00:34:20.780 Beekeeping presented by Man Lake. If you like 00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:23.139 this content I hope you'll share it with a friend, 00:34:23.559 --> 00:34:27.079 follow and subscribe to this podcast, and even 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:29.340 sign up for our newsletter at BeLoveBeekeeping 00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:32.539 .com Also, just a shout out to Vita B Health 00:34:32.539 --> 00:34:35.519 for their support, we appreciate them. Vita's 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:38.500 Varroa Control range of products includes Epistan, 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:42.860 Epigard, and now Veroxan, Extended Release Oxalic 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:46.659 Acid Strips. Thanks guys, and remember, if you're 00:34:46.659 --> 00:34:49.320 not just in it for the honey or the money, you're 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:51.599 in it for the love. See you next week.