Episodes

  • Episode 14 - Rainless in September, Fall Honey Stocks, To Insulate or Not, Starter Hive Setup, New Treatments and more!
    Sep 27 2024

    Welcome to Episode 14 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • More Unusual Weather: A dry hot September. What do we do, anything we should not be doing?
    • Fall Honey Stock: How do our hives look for winter? How are our flow hives doing? Is there anything we can do right now?
    • To Insulate or Not to Insulate: Steve and Luke share what we do, and what we have seen in our hives.
    • Starting Hive Setup: We share what we would use for a hive setup for a new beekeeper.

    In the News:

    • New voarra treatments: Great news in the beekeeping world as new treatments are being developed.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Taking Losses Now: What do I do with my weak hives?

    Droning On:

    • New Beekeeper Preparation: New beekeeper preparation.

    Tune in to Episode 14 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your buzzing questions.

    Heart of Illinois Beekeeping Club: https://hoibees.org/

    Formic Pro: https://nodglobal.com/formic-pro/

    VarroxSan: https://www.dadant.com/catalog/varroxsan-60-pack?srsltid=AfmBOooTSfAsRCfkifSXTaadHyqugCQbyf6jUD1F3JED6VhLQ1F0p3mk

    Terra Vera: https://terravera.com/resources#bee-colony-health

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    56 mins
  • Episode 13 - Winter Feeding, Winterizing, Hive Beetles, Fall Honey, Queen Transfer, Bald Faced Hornets, Crystalized Honey, Wax Processing, and Propolis
    Sep 12 2024

    Welcome to Episode 13 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • Winter Feeding: Are we still feeding? Should you be?
    • Winterizing: What do we do and why do we do it? What does the fat body actually do? How do we set up our hives?
    • Hive Beetles... in Illinios?: Luke is seeeing a strange uptick in hive beetles. What is he doing for it?
    • Taking Fall Honey: Are we taking fall honey? Problems we are seeing.
    • Queen Transfer: Better queen acceptance with a newspaper combine?
    • Bald Faced Hornets: What do you do with them? How to remove a hive.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Crystalized Honey: How do you solve this issue?

    Droning On:

    • Wax Processing: What do we do with our wax?
    • Propolis Harvesting: Do you do it? What do you do with it?

    Tune in to Episode 13 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your burning questions.

    Heart of Illinois Beekeeping Club: https://hoibees.org/

    Nayborhood Farms: https://www.nayborhoodfarm.com/

    Blackbeard Canning (Hot Honey): https://bbcanning.com/

    Formic Pro: https://nodglobal.com/formic-pro/

    Oxylic Acid Vaporizer: https://oxavap.com/

    Other Oxylic Acid Vaporizer: https://lorobbees.com/products/instantvap-18v?srsltid=AfmBOor5vbx9wFihuPh1mSUXocUAlkJCMqfUADcONwm7YCXVanprA570

    Bannanas In Beehives: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FrVf6_sIujaID-txJiUI33hlVV_pklpg/view

    Cutout Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp-x2AOCEBc

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    52 mins
  • Episode 12 - Winter Feeding, Alaska Bees, Talking to Non-Beeks, Hot Honey, Fall Festivals
    Aug 28 2024

    Welcome to Episode 12 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • Winter Feeding: When should feeding for your bees start? How much should the hive weigh?
    • Alaska Beekeeping: What was Luke's trip like? How do the bees work during the summer? Do they survive winter?

    In the News:

    • Talking to Non-Beeks: Talking to non-beeks... is it a great idea?
    • Talking to the Club: Steve speaks to the HOIBA beekeeping club about mites and how VSH works.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Know Your Mites!: How we treat for mites.

    Droning On:

    • Cutouts: Commercial property cutout adventure. Link below!

    Tune in to Episode 12 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your burning questions.

    Heart of Illinois Beekeeping Club: https://hoibees.org/

    Formic Pro: https://nodglobal.com/formic-pro/

    Oxylic Acid Vaporizer: https://oxavap.com/

    Other Oxylic Acid Vaporizer: https://lorobbees.com/products/instantvap-18v?srsltid=AfmBOor5vbx9wFihuPh1mSUXocUAlkJCMqfUADcONwm7YCXVanprA570

    Bannanas In Beehives: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FrVf6_sIujaID-txJiUI33hlVV_pklpg/view

    Cutout Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp-x2AOCEBc

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    49 mins
  • Episode 11 - Fancy Queens, Honey Tastings, Hiveorama updates, Bananas and more!
    Aug 7 2024

    Welcome to Episode 11 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • Fancy Quees: Luke picked up some fancy queens from a local breeder. Come listen to what we have.
    • Honey Tasting: A honey tasting was held in attemps to make apitourism more common. Listen to what we tried, our thoughts on what to taste and how to best run one.
    • Queen Rearing: Two cutouts scheduled for the coming weeks!

    In the News:

    • Hiveorama: New on the conference located in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • Bananas and the Hive: Bananas are... good for a beehive? Listen to the research we found on this twist.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Small Hive Beetle Slimed Frame Solutions: We revisit what to do about slimed frames.

    Droning On:

    • Bee Trips: Luke is headed to the Northern Frontier to see how Alaska beekeepers handle hives over winter.
    • Mite Treatment Class: Steve volunteers to lead a course on how to treat your mites.
    • Retirement Class: Steve gets voluntold to teach a 30 minute class on honey.

    Tune in to Episode 11 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your burning questions.

    Hiveorama - https://hiveorama.square.site/

    Eventbrite - www.eventbrite.com

    Riverview Road Apiary - www.riverviewroadapiary.com

    Honey Tasting and Farm Tour - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/honey-tasting-and-apiary-honeybee-farm-tour-tickets-926940553147?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

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    1 hr
  • Episode 10 - End of July Bee Farm updates, hive-o-rama, and struggles with small hive beetle
    Jul 25 2024

    Welcome to Episode 10 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • Harvesting Honey: We’ll discuss the best practices for harvesting honey in Central Illinois, including timing and techniques to ensure a successful yield, and how much we've gotten so far.
    • Beekeeping Tours: Sharing our recent experiences and insights from our beekeeping tours.
    • Queen Rearing: An update about our first real year of queen rearing in our apiaries.
    • Hive Cutouts: Our thoughts and experiences on a cutout of a tree that a storm knocked down.

    In the News:

    • Hiveorama: Steve will plan on being at this small, but awesome conference located in St. Louis, Missouri.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Small Hive Beetle Problems: We answer viewer questions on how to deal with small hive beetles and slimed hives.
    • How to Approach Apitourism: Want to teach people about bees? Maybe host a honey tasting? We cover how we set up our events!
    • How to Store Frames: What we do to store our frames for winter.

    Droning On:

    • Mite Checks: As we prepare for winter, we'll discuss the importance of mite checks and the methods we use to keep our hives healthy.
    • Winter Treatments: An overview of the treatments we recommend to ensure your bees are well-protected against the cold months ahead.
    • Feeding Hives: Strategies and an experiment for feeding your hives to build up their strength and resources for the upcoming season.

    Tune in to Episode 10 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your burning questions.

    Hiveorama - https://hiveorama.square.site/

    Sustainable Beekeepers of Michigan - https://sbgmi.org/queenportal

    Eventbrite - www.eventbrite.com

    Riverview Road Apiary - www.riverviewroadapiary.com

    Honey Tasting and Farm Tour - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/honey-tasting-and-apiary-honeybee-farm-tour-tickets-926940553147?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

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    39 mins
  • Episode 9 - Honey Harvest, Flow Hives, Grafting Queens, Beekeeping Tours and More
    Jul 10 2024

    Welcome to Episode 9 of Beekeeping Buddies. The podcast where Steve and Luke talk about beekeeping in the Central Illinois area.

    Around the Yard:

    • Harvesting Honey: We’ll discuss the best practices for harvesting honey in Central Illinois, including timing and techniques to ensure a successful yield, and how much we've gotten so far.
    • Flow Hives: An exploration of the advantages and disadvantages of using Flow Hives in our region.
    • Grafting Queens: Tips and tricks for grafting queens, a crucial skill for managing and expanding your apiary.
    • Beekeeping Tours: Sharing our recent experiences and insights from our beekeeping tours.

    In the News:

    • The Indoor Farmer Podcast: Luke recently guest-starred on The Indoor Farmer podcast, where he shared insights on urban beekeeping and his journey from engineering to beekeeping.
    • Michigan State VSH Queens: Exciting developments from Michigan State University's research on Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) queens, which could revolutionize mite resistance in hives.
    • UBeeO Test Kits: A look at the new UBeeO test kits designed to help beekeepers easily monitor hive health and detect issues early.

    Honeybee Hotline:

    • Queenless Hives in July: We answer viewer questions on how to determine if a hive has gone queenless in July, including signs to look for and steps to take to address the issue.

    Droning On:

    • Mite Checks: As we prepare for winter, we'll discuss the importance of mite checks and the methods we use to keep our hives healthy.
    • Winter Treatments: An overview of the treatments we recommend to ensure your bees are well-protected against the cold months ahead.
    • Feeding Hives: Strategies for feeding your hives to build up their strength and resources for the upcoming season.

    Tune in to Episode 9 for all this and more as we delve into the world of beekeeping in Central Illinois, providing you with practical advice, the latest news, and answers to your burning questions.

    Indoor Farmer Locals Channel - https://theindoorfarmer.locals.com/landing/video

    Indoor Farmer Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Waylontheindoorfarmer/

    Sustainable Beekeepers of Michigan - https://sbgmi.org/queenportal

    UBeeO - https://opterabees.com/

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    57 mins
  • Episode 8 - Moving Hives, Flow Hives, EFB, Queen Grafting and More
    Jun 26 2024

    Join us in this episode of beekeeping buddies where we talk about the challenges of moving hives, our flow hive experience, what we do when we find EFB, Queen Grafting, upcoming events and more with Steve and Luke as we talk about beekeeping in the midwest!

    Mann Lake QC100 - https://www.mannlakeltd.com/honey-bees/queen-rearing/complete-queen-rearing-kit/?sku=QC100&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw-O6zBhASEiwAOHeGxVxc1pSIr9FpaXF2iAwi2a4jqNpCHy5PyGYmNA6vk9a5vmgpc4XM8hoC2OkQAvD_BwE

    HiveoRama - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089320765104

    Want to support beekeeping buddies? Consider a contribution on our Patreon:

    https://patreon.com/BeekeepingBuddies?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

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    55 mins
  • Episode 7 - Visiting Beekeeping Buddy Valerie Ross! Looking back at what it is like to be a beginner beekeeper.
    Jun 12 2024

    Join us, Steve and Luke, your friendly neighborhood beekeeping enthusiasts, as we embark on an exciting journey into the world of honeybees, hives, and all things buzzing! We have our first beekeeping buddy Valerie Ross on our episode! We talk about what it is like to be a beginner beekeeper!

    With over a decade of combined experience in beekeeping, we're no strangers to the sweet, sticky world of apiaries. From our humble beginnings as hobbyist beekeepers to our thriving bee yards nestled in the heart of Peoria, IL, we've seen it all – from swarms to honey harvests, and everything in between.

    In this episode, we'll take you into our personal bee yards and remember what it was like being a beginner beekeeper, sharing the latest updates and insights from our buzzing colonies and our grafting. Whether it's the thrill of spotting a new queen or the challenges of managing hive health, or even the heartbreak of losing a hive, we'll give you an up-close look at the joys and responsibilities of beekeeping.

    If you have beekeeping questions you might want answered, feel free to send us an email at beekkeepingbuddies@gmail.com

    AFB Vaccine - https://dalan.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw65-zBhBkEiwAjrqRMIYmpFDlPuKtm52L_gQXnm-ExoS4r_s2T_Yndv9Yknd-Dqa0yiMNiBoCsHcQAvD_BwE

    Sunflower Pollen Benefits - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32681-y#:~:text=We%20discovered%20that%20sunflower%20(Helianthus,the%20potential%20for%20broad%20anti

    Frame Being Drawn Video - https://youtu.be/SZ339p8kXSw

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    1 hr and 3 mins