Category Archives: Commercial Beekeeping
Podcast: Is All Manuka Honey Fake?
In this podcast episode, I explore whether all mānuka honey is “fake,” tracing its unusual rise from an obscure (and unpopular) New Zealand honey to a globally coveted, heavily counterfeited product. The story begins with a look at the antibacterial … Continue reading
Podcast: Philosopher-Beekeeper Richard Taylor
Each November, I like to remind myself that one of my favourite beekeepers has had another birthday anniversary. The beekeeper is Dr. Richard Taylor and he would have been 106 years old on November 5th. But the great philosopher-beekeeper died … Continue reading
Podcast: Chilean Beekeeping with Francisco Rey
Francisco Rey, left, with Ron Miksha. This photo, from 2012, was taken at one of my apiaries in Alberta, Canada, while Francisco was visiting here. Today’s podcast episode – Chile for Avocado Pollination, Queen Production, and Adventure – talks about … Continue reading
Podcast: Bees by the Number
Season 1 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Bees by the Number Check out our latest podcast! In this episode, we manage to jump around the bee world by using the numbers 1, 2, 2-3, 26, 500, … Continue reading
Podcast: Moving Honey Bees, part 2
Season 1 Episode 11: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Moving Honey Bees, part 2 We begin this podcast with the capture of a swarm, details described in real time. The subject of Hutterites, a Christian religious group, came … Continue reading
Podcast: Honey Harvest Time
Season 1 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Honey Harvest Time After a few minutes pondering how some carpenter ants in Florida choose the profession of surgeon (sawing off sick comrades wounded legs), Bidzina and Ron settle into … Continue reading
Podcast: Dogs that smell bees
Season 1 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Dogs That Smell Bees We talk to Rose-Anne Bouffard, a bee enthusiast who trains dogs to find and rescue wayward bumblebee nests and to locate colonies with American Foulbrood (AFB). … Continue reading
Podcast: A Beekeeper’s Journey – Cameroon to Calgary
Season 1 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Cameroon to Canada – Patrick’s Bee Journey In this episode of About Bees, we are joined by Patrick Tefouet Tonlio, who was an agriculture community organizer and teacher in the … Continue reading
Podcast: America’s other weed
Season 1 Episode 6: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Sweet Clover: America’s other weed Legal. Illegal. Legal. Illegal again. Sweet clover has quite a history. Introduced into North America from Europe about 300 years ago, farmers were once … Continue reading
Stack ’em High
Long ago (about 1975), there was an amazing beekeeper, now a legend, in northeast Saskatchewan. He consistently had 300-pound/hive crops. This was Dr. Don Peer (PhD, 1955, U Wisconsin). Peer once told us “If I were king of the world, … Continue reading