PODCAST · leisure
Beekeeping at FiveApple
by Leigh Wilkerson
Talk, tips & how-to on sustainable beekeeping from the North Carolina mountains of Southern Appalachia.
Episodes
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Ep168 Scent Communications
Did you know honey bees are able to detect lung cancer by smell? Today I share that amazing study as well as more about the scents our bees use to communicate vital info: food! danger! home! here it is! Plus updates on the bee yards, black jar honey contest, new requeening presentation, Bee Expo...
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Ep167 Autumn Says Get Ready
The light and the leaves are both saying Autumn has started. Our winter bees are already emerging and there are things we can do to give them their best chance. In today's episode I'm talking about the things I'm getting done to get ready for the bees journey through Winter. kind regards to you…
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Ep166 Warmer autumns are good for bees right? Turns out, not really.
Found a research article that was food for thought on how warmer autumns may be having effects on our bees that aren't so good: creating smaller late-winter clusters by increased wear and tear on the precious winter bees who should not be as active as the temps drive them to be. But also, it goes...
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Ep165: Bee Radio Reader "Reflections on the Past Seasons"
Ep165: Bee Radio Reader "Reflections on the Past Seasons" by Richard Wahl (Off the Wahl Beekeeping Column, Nov 2025. Read by permission of Bee Culture magazine. ) Today it's a radio reader episode on learning to reflect on the past in a way that makes it useful for the future. As well as a bit of...
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updated Ep164 After 16 years, a shift for me
[Last Thursday Apple podcasts had an outage and the episode didn't show up as a new one in your feed. Here it is again for the Apple folks -- just a duplicate of last weeks episode that was missing for many! --Leigh] Listeners, This has been a test year in my bee yards, to see if my old...
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Ep164 After 16 years, a shift for me
This has been a test year in my bee yards, to see if my old treatment-free methods that worked so well for 16 years in an isolated bee yard would hold up in areas with more beekeepers. Answer: Nope. [Deep sigh and regroup. ] I now feel so lucky to have learned a hybrid system that still allows me...
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Ep163 Robbing prevention (and a tip I love!)
Today it's about the bee's most awful behavior: ROBBING. I found a tip on reducing robbing while doing inspections and it works great!! The PerfectBee.com website I mentioned. The article was from their email newsletter but here's a link to an article on robbing on their blog. BetterBee's article...
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Ep162 July Ramble–thoughts in the heat, fun letter, invitation for you
Today Episode: July bee yard update William's tips on honey harvest (see Williams letter here) Tip on making bee boxes last longer "painting with glue" — this whole presentation is well worth watching! ( YouTube Link) Invitation to see Julia Mahood present on drones (see below for info) Reminder…
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Ep161 Making sense of the assays—with Ang Roell of They Keep Bees
UBO, PKB, FKB, mite washes, Harbo assays... It's an alphabet soup out there of ways to test your bees for hygienic traits and resistance to varroa. You may be testing to find out when to apply mite treatments or a brood break to a colony and in that case a simple mite wash is usually enough. But...
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Ep160 Honey Harvesting Process
In this episode I share my own process for getting honey from the hives to the jars. It's quirky but it works for me and I'm hoping you might find ideas for your own process or just enjoy hearing how someone else does it. That's what I did when researching this episode! For supporting patrons…
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Ep159 Queen Introduction: Tips to get that caged mated queen accepted
So you have a caged mated queen and a colony that needs requeening, how to make that happen (so that your special queen actually survives the process!) is what we cover today! As a thank-you, Patrons got this episode a day early and also get a bonus portion covering the vertical requeening…
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Ep158 Ryan Williamson of Sourwood Farm (Virginia) Interview
Something special today! This interview with Ryan Williamson of Sourwood Farm of Virginia has been the one where I learned the most. He is a full time beekeeper selling local nucs and honey, but who also specializes in offering VSH queens from tested breeders he raises himself. We start off with...
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Ep157 More Springtime Tips: Keeping bees in the boxes, avoid the honey dome, get more comb drawn, know if your hive is queenright or queenless.
Ep157 More Springtime Tips: Keeping bees in the boxes, avoid the honey dome, get more comb drawn, know if your hive is queenright or queenless. In case you missed it: Ep156 Spring in the Bees! Ep 155 Interview with Colorado beekeeper and writer Tina Sebestyen Ep 153 Interview with James Lee of...
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Ep156 Spring in the 🐝 bees!
Today it's a ramble through things going on in the bee yard as Spring has taken over and the bees won't wait! Doing some quick splits to save the day, still aiming for more data-driven stock selection and whose swarm is this in my equipment? In case you missed it: Ep 155 Interview with Colorado...
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Ep155 Tina Sebestyen Interview: Miller Method & More
I ask Tina about the Miller (graftless) method of Queen rearing and her recent articles in ABJ, then we wander into chat between bee friends of goings on in our apiaries, things we want to try this year and more. Enjoy! -Leigh Supporting Patrons, view your exclusive show notes here. Patron...
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Ep154 Swarm prevention & tips from Greg Rogers
Today I share some great tips shared by Greg Rogers of Haw Creek Honey when he presented to our local club. Then we work through swarm prevention strategies (starts at 16:25) that are especially important when it's too early in the season to make splits due to drone availability. Patrons, you…
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Ep153 Interview with James Lee of SBGMI
Today I interview James Lee, president of the Sustainable Beekeepers Guild of Michigan about the goals and offerings of this important virtual education hub for beekeepers interested in increasing the genetic work towards reducing the need for treatments in hives. We talk about his work in…
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Ep 152: Knowing Bee Biology Makes Better Beekeepers
This is a hefty episode that reviews some of the many, many ways knowing bee biology will directly affect the decisions you have to make as a beekeeper in every season of beekeeping. It's long because it affects nearly everything and this is just a sampling! Beginners: take the details you need…
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Ep 151 If you lost bees this winter: figuring it out and going forward
It's that time of year as beekeepers that we find out how we did — how we did all the way back to the summer before. Some years it can be a tough report-card to get! As all things in bees there are many ways to understand what happened. The good news even if it was a bad year is this: we can do...
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Ep 150: Lifecycle of the Bees (and the beekeeper) for Newbees
Ep 150: Lifecycle of the Bees (and the beekeeper) for Newbees So this is a version of the talk I'm giving at my local club's bee school this year, telling the story of the bees' yearly cycle. There's nothing else more important to learn as a basis for beekeeping imo. Because whenever we enter the...
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Ep 149: Starting with a Nucleus Colony, for Newbees
A full overview for beginners of starting with your first nucleus colony. Things to know, things to learn, things to watch out for. Experienced beekeepers: I've asked for your help in creating a TIP SHEET to share with the patrons of this show on starting with nucs. Send me your best tips and…
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Ep 148 January for the Beekeeper
But of course there's beekeeping stuff you can do in winter! :-) Listen in to get ideas about what tasks need doing (check in on your bees food stores!) as well as thought on how to get ahead for the upcoming bee season. Along the way: an idea for setting up a 'learning nuc' and thoughts on…
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Ep 147: Gifts of the bees and the beekeepers
The gifts we get from spending time with the bees, learning about the bees and learning from other beekeepers are so amazing. This episode is a reflection on just some of the beauties and realizations that come with beekeeping in good years and even in not so good beekeeping years. I'd love to…
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Ep 146: Radio Reader: The Bees Winter Nest
What makes a perfect winter home for 60,000 bees? This episode explores Dr. James Tew's look at the architecture of the winter bee nest. You'll discover what scout bees look for when house hunting, what propolis really does, and why the entire colony functions as a single super-organism. A...
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Ep145 Organic? Treatment-Free? Chemical-Free? Natural Beekeeping Terms Explained in this great article
Ep145 Organic? Treatment-Free? Chemical-Free? Natural Beekeeping Terms Explained in this ABJ article Ever get confused by all the "natural beekeeping" terms floating around? In this episode I'm discussing an article (Oct 2023 ABJ) that breaks down three approaches that sound similar but are...
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Ep 144 November surprise in the bee yard :-(
Some surprise late autumn deadouts in the yard, something I've never experienced before in summer or fall. I break down the likely reasons and what I plan to do different next year. Also, happier seasonal updates around the bee yard about the other hives going into winter. kind regards to you…
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Ep 143: Tips for Winter Prep
Today's episode is an overview and discussion of prepping hives for winter. For supporting Patrons, I've also made a checklist (and printable PDF) as well as compiled several links for more info on the issues and the methods. Not a supporting patron yet? Please join us below! kind regards, Leigh…
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Ep 142 Bee Amazement: the discoveries of Karl von Frisch
Some days you just need some amazement and that's what I found in learning about what researcher Karl von Frisch demonstrated in the first half of the 1900s about how bees see, how they navigate (!) , and what they are telling each other (!!) with the dances they do. Equally fascinating is how he...
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Ep 141 Bees & Big Ag from Michael Palmer's view
Today's episode starts with a rambling overview of how things are around here in the beeyard from hive beetles to one year mark from the WNC floods. Then a discussion of a YouTube interview with the legendary Vermont beekeeper for 50 years, Michael Palmer who says being "near row crops" is...
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Ep 140 Vitamin C for bees??
In today's podcast, how a backyard experiment led me to find a bunch of research to back up that Vit C added to bee syrup can make a difference for bee health! Plus what's up in the bee yard, wonderful email from listeners, and the usual wandering tangents that somehow all relate to bees! kind...
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Ep 139 Pollen! A deeper dive
Hope you enjoy this podcast geek out on pollen and its uses in the hive and how critical it is to the colony's success. Patrons: If you have any portions you would enjoy knowing more about, just let me know and I'll share the links to the sites and presentations I used to research this episode!...
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Ep 138: The Bear Story & BONUS audio bookmark for Patrons
Today I'll tell you the unfortunate bear story and how the hives are doing...then, the full episode continues on Patreon with the bonus audio I've promised patrons: an explainer on how the age distribution in a colony (the topic of the last ABJ article I read to you) impacts your beekeeping and…
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Ep 137 August Tips
It's my least favorite month of beekeeping, August, aka Grumpy Bee Month. Here are some tips to help you and the bees get through it the best we all can. Kind regards to you all and patrons, you keep this all going: Thank you! --Leigh -- Not a patron yet? You are warmly invited to become a Friend...
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Ep 136 Post-conference ramble
Ep 136 Post-conference ramble A few thoughts after a day of the NC State Beekeepers Association summer conference day last Saturday / Back Care Tips / Details of the why and how of feeding in summer-dearth or to get comb drawn out / and general bee ramblings! Are you looking for the notes on the...
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Ep 135 Bee Radio Reader: Division of Labor in a Colony, part 2 (ABJ March 2024)
Part 2 of a radio-reader episode of Kayla deJong's March 2024 article on the division of labor in a colony. It's fascinating to remember the many roles the bees move through in a lifetime! If you are a subscriber to American Bee Journal you can read the article in the digital archives :...
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Ep 134 Bee Radio Reader: Division of Labor in a Colony, part 1 (ABJ March 2024)
A radio-reader episode of Kayla deJong's article in American Bee Journal March 2024 on the division of labor in a colony. It's fascinating to remember the many roles the bees move through in a lifetime! This is part one of two. If you are a subscriber to American Bee Journal you can read the...
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Ep 133 Queen Excluders: the good the bad etc
Ep 133 Queen Excluders: the good the bad etc-- A wonderful patron asked that I talk about the pros and cons of using queen excluders so that is the subject of today's episode. Detailed show notes (all the resources I used to prepare today's episode) are available for patrons for further…
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Ep 132: Keeping Records & Letter about Layens Hives
Springtime greetings to you all! Part one of today's episode is a chat on the evolution of how I keep records in my own apiary, in hopes there may be helpful ideas for your own. Then part two is a wonderful letter about experiences with Layens Hive beekeeping from listener William along with some...
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Ep. 131 The best for last: Reverse Doolittle Split (and Split Dynamics review)
This episodes concludes the series on splits, with the best saved for last: The Reverse Doolittle, aka The Cutdown. (Best for intermediate beekeepers. ) Also, a review of split dynamics for beginners. Exclusive for patrons on the Patreon post are links for the how-to, drawing of the whole…
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Ep 130: Spring Nuc Split, Quiet Box, Doolittle Box
Talking today about the handy and easy Nuc (or Retirement Nuc) split; using a quiet box; making and using a Doolittle Box....with a printable PDFs on making a Nucleus Split and a Doolittle box exclusively for patrons on the Five Apple Patreon Post -- https://www.patreon.com/fiveapple You are…
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Ep 129: Swarm prevention tips
With some swarm prevention skills, you can better time your splits! Patrons, the printable of the notes/links on this episode can be downloaded on the Patreon post. Thank you all for your support! Leigh -- https://www.patreon.com/fiveapple You are warmly invited to become a Friend of Five Apple…
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Ep 128 10-Frame vs 8-Frame...and/or all mediums
Patron "Show Me Bees" from Missouri asked that I talk about the ins and outs of running all 8-frame mediums. So in today's episode I do. :-) -- https://www.patreon.com/fiveapple You are warmly invited to become a Friend of Five Apple on Patreon to join the folks who make the podcasts possible and...
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Ep 127 Rescued by Bee Friends!
Telling the recent story of how my apiary was saved by bee friends after a tree fell right over the middle of it. Ed and Jim, you saved the day. Plus a reminder to keep an eye on your hive's stores as we start getting more warm days. Photos of the rescue (open to everyone) at:...
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Ep126 Propolis!
A couple things the bees do with propolis I forgot to mention in the episode: embalming hive intruders, fencing in hive beetles! Bee caulk is amazing. Links collected over at Patreon on the post: The first video I watched on the unexpected winter losses among commercial beekeepers in the US by Dr...
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Ep 125 Starting with packages
Tips and thoughts on starting with packages for the first time, or starting again after winter loss. Patron exclusive links over at patreon.com/fiveapple Kamon Reynolds showing both ways to install on YouTube. I thought this was an excellent overview. A non-video tutorial from NC extension --...
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Ep 124 Better (than caging) Brood Breaks
Ep 124 Better (than caging) Brood Breaks Diving into why there are better options (imo) than caging a queen to create a brood break for mite reduction. Exclusive show notes and links to the things mentioned in this episode are available for patrons over at Patreon. -- ---- You are warmly invited…
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Ep 123 Welcome to 2025!
Some reflection on the past year's bee season and things I'd like to continue with (and get better at) in the new season to come. Show notes for patrons with links for stuff mentioned in this episode are over in the Patreon post for this episode: Layens hives, Queen Castles, Long Langs, fave...
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Ep 122: New Insulation Setup and The "Condensing Hive"
A deeper dive into the why and how of the insulation setup I started using several years ago, the condensing-hive concept. For the patrons, find the links to everything mentioned in the show, and the video I made for you, over at Patreon.com/fiveapple Thanks to all the listeners and wishing you a...
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Late Fall...and Large NC disaster (Ep 121)
The first portion is about bees and the ups and downs of Fall care. Then in a change of subject, I want to tell you about what happened in my little section of Western NC in the floods of Hurricane Helene...as well as try to help get you thinking about your own disaster preparedness. I'm grateful...
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Fall prep list (120)
Fall prep list (120) How can it be September already?!? In this episode I go through my own fall prep list and considerations. WELCOME new patrons Sam, Phil, Taylor and Missy! Thank you so much for joining us and keeping this podcast free of advertising. Thank you so much for listening, sharing…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Talk, tips & how-to on sustainable beekeeping from the North Carolina mountains of Southern Appalachia.
HOSTED BY
Leigh Wilkerson
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Beekeeping at FiveApple have?
Beekeeping at FiveApple currently has 162 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Beekeeping at FiveApple about?
Talk, tips & how-to on sustainable beekeeping from the North Carolina mountains of Southern Appalachia.
How often does Beekeeping at FiveApple release new episodes?
Beekeeping at FiveApple publishes regularly with 162 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Beekeeping at FiveApple?
You can listen to Beekeeping at FiveApple on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Beekeeping at FiveApple?
Beekeeping at FiveApple is created and hosted by Leigh Wilkerson.
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