Management Episodes

Jan. 25, 2024

In Class with Jim: "Supering" (163)

In this episode we delve into the concept of "supering," a term unique to beekeeping that has emerged over the past century. To those outside the beekeeping community, the term might sound like something out of a superhero comic, but …

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Jan. 11, 2024

Colony Confinement (161)

Beekeepers must often confine their bees to the hives for long or short periods of time, whether it be to move them from one yard to another, or if pesticides are to be used in neighboring fields and even transporting …

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Jan. 4, 2024

Hive Inspections: When, Why and How Often (160)

Hive inspections are essential in the beekeeping, serving as the cornerstone for effective colony management. Through these inspections, beekeepers gain crucial insights that guide their decisions for immediate and long-term hive care. In this...

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Dec. 28, 2023

Keeping Small Colonies (159)

In this week's episode, Jim is delighted to welcome back David Peck from Betterbee. In this intriguing discussion, they explore what Jim calls, "Reverse Beekeeping," a unique approach that focuses on maintaining smaller bee colonies. Traditionally,...

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Dec. 21, 2023

Repetition Beekeeping (158)

Practice makes perfect, as the old adage says. This really rings true in the bee yard and working with honey bees. This week, Jim invites Betterbee’s EAS Master Beekeeper, Anne Frey, to the podcast to discuss how experience, gained by …

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Nov. 23, 2023

Archive Special - Preparing Your Hives for Winter! (154)

Happy Thanksgiving!! Join Kim and Jim in this special archive episode from late October 2021, where they delve into the critical task of preparing your hives for the winter season. This episode is particularly crucial for beekeepers in colder...

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Oct. 19, 2023

Honey Bees and Native Bees (149)

In this episode, Jim, is joined by guest, Eugene Makovec, the editor of The American Bee Journal, to dissect the emotionally charged debate that's capturing the attention of beekeepers everywhere: Do honey bees harm native bees? This intriguing...

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Oct. 5, 2023

Barrel Hives with Jerry Hayes (147)

This week, Jerry Hayes sits in with Jim while Kim is out. In this episode, Jerry talks about one of the most unusual hive designs he's ever built and worked with... a hive made out of a old 55-gallon drum. …

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Sept. 28, 2023

Archive Special: Dealing with Yellowjackets (146)

(This Archive Special first released, September 2, 2021.) Beekeepers are very often asked to help friends or neighbors that have “bee” problems…. honey bees, carpenter bees, yellow jackets, hornets, bumblebees and the like. But most of us...

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Sept. 14, 2023

Moving Honey Supers in the Fall (144)

This week, we continue with the theme of Fall management. Kim is out so, Jim invites Jeff Ott, from Beekeeping Today Podcast to join him to talk about dealing with heavy honey supers that remain and prepping the colonies for …

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Sept. 7, 2023

Prepping for Fall and Winter (143)

What do you do when the honey is all harvested, but it is still warm and not quite time to button up the colonies for Winter? On today's episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Jim has invited Beekeeping Today Podcast's Jeff …

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Aug. 10, 2023

What To Do With Cappings (139)

It seems that everyone talks about managing bees and selling honey. There's also a lot of discussion about extracting honey - such as: removing bees from the supers, what kind of extractor works best, uncapping and even bottling. But what …

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Aug. 3, 2023

Considering the Bee Yard Habitat (138)

Continuing their discussion on the micro and to some extent the macro environment of a beeyard, Kim and Jim take a long hard look at what do bees need to eat, and how much should there be. They look at …

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July 27, 2023

Dealing with Harvesting Headaches (137)

Every season, it seems, is different than the last, making it difficult or at least challenging. Honey harvesting is no different: what and when and how and where to harvest a honey crop. Deep south beekeepers went through this a …

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July 20, 2023

Dealing With Summer Robbing (136)

It’s the time of year when summer is nearly over, but the fall flow hasn’t started. Colonies are big, there’s lot of foragers, and not much to forage on, yet. A colony that is ripe for being robbed is usually …

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