The Yukon is not usually considered ‘beekeeping country’, but there is some great beekeeping science going on up there right now. Etienne Tardif, an engineer with a fondness for spreadsheets and experimentation, has been keeping bees for 15 years in this cold territory in Canada’s north.

On a recent episode of the About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity podcast, we chat with Etienne about keeping bees and wintering in a place where the thermometer dips to minus 50 (C or F – they are about the same at that depth of cold), and bees have only about 12 weeks to do all of their business. To top it off, there’s no agriculture nearby (so, no canola or alfalfa). The bees pick from sparse berry bushes and goldenrod when those plants are in bloom. Crops are not enormous in that part of Canada.

Nevertheless, Etienne has been able to successfully winter – in single-storey hives! – and produce honey. Wintering depends on appropriate equipment, knowledge of nest volume, and understanding the positive role that carbon dioxide can play in helping bees get through the winter.

Don’t miss this podcast. Etienne and Ron discuss successful wintering tips that can be applied anywhere that bees have to take a cold-weather break.

Check out the About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity podcast.