Episodes
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184 - Hilary Kearney - Girl Next Door Honey
John and Nathalie sit down with The Girl Next door herself, Hilary Kearney, to talk about her new book “The Heart of the Hive,” as well as what it has been like building her bee business and unique brand. Tune in now to learn more…
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183 - The Honey Bee Solution with Steve Riley
John and Nathalie take a jaunt across the pond to talk with Steve Riley and discuss his new book “The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa.” Steve, along with the Westerham Beekeepers in the UK, have done a lot of research into how Varroa was affecting their bees, and how the bees responded when they…
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182 - Bees Abroad with Niki Backes
Nathalie and John sit down with Niki Backes, Supporter Manager for Bees Abroad, to discuss what got her interested in Beekeeping, and how she came to be involved with Bees Abroad. Plus, what is Bees Abroad, how are they making a difference in other countries, and what can you do to help? Tune in...
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181 - For the Bees with Tara Chapman
Nathalie and John sit down with long-time friend of the show, Tara Chapman, to discuss her new book "For the Bees: A Handbook for Happy Beekeeping." Plus, the gang catch up on life changes that have caused Tara to have to re-evaluate how she runs aspects of her day-to-day business. Tune in now to...
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180 - Randy McCaffrey the Dirt Rooster
This week John and Nathalie sit down with Randy McCaffrey of 628 Dirt Rooster YouTube Fame to discuss how he got started in bees, and what all it took to build his YouTube channel up to nearly 40 Million Views! Tune in now to learn more…
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179 - Mandy Shaw
This week John finally got to fulfill a podcast-long goal of sitting down with the creator of Bella Beek and host of Beekeeper Confidential… the one and only… Mandy Shaw! Join us as John and Nathalie catch up with Mandy and learn what her journey has been like thus far, as well as what she has...
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178 - The Dog Days
Nathalie and John recap a few topics from the recent interviews with Tracy, Tucka, Gemma, and Peggy. Are mites really the line in the sand that beekeepers make it out to be today? Plus, it’s time for another Ken’s Cooking Corner where he continues his Sourdough addiction with some Sourdough…
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177 - Peggy DeSanto
This week John and Nathalie sat down with Peggy DeSanto, co-founder of Bee the Change and The Hive Hugger. The group discusses how Peggy got started in Beekeeping, what inspired her to create the Hive Hugger, and how important it is to make sure your hives are properly insulated. Plus, how does...
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176 - Gemma Astley
This week John and Nathalie sit down with Gemma Astley from Homestead Hens and Honey to catch up on all things Homesteading, Chicken Keeping, and Bees! The group covers a wide range of topics including if Gemma has changed her opinions on Hive Styles, a discussion on queen mysteries, and how…
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175 - Tucka Saville
This week John and Nathalie sit down with the one and only Tucka Saville to learn what it was like keeping bees between New York and Florida, as well as catching up on the latest changes in the world of Tucka Bee as she dips her toes into the commercial world of contracted beekeeping in Florida.
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174 - Tracy Pielemeir & The Hive Butler
This week John sits down with Tracy Pielemeir to discuss how she got into beekeeping, started the North Central Beekeepers Club, came up with the concept for The Hive Butler, and to find out what she thinks about the current state of beekeeping. Tune in now to learn more…
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173 - A Few Additional Thoughts
John and Nathalie discuss a few takeaways from their recent interview with Angela Tollerson, plus the pair go a bit more in-depth with a few of the concepts that were mentioned. Tune in now to learn more…
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172 - Interview with Angela Tollerson
John and Nathalie sit down with Angela Tollerson, a fellow Master Beekeeper, to have an engaging conversation about how she sees the world of beekeeping today. Hear her perspective on some common issues, what challenges she faces in her own beekeeping, and what is she doing to help overcome them....
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171 - Hive Jive Revived
For the first interview episode of the season, we sit down with none other than Ken Milam to discuss his views on the current state of beekeeping. Tune in now to learn more...
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170 - Past Obligations and Future Expectations
It's time to address that big fuzzy striped elephant in the room that is Season 4. John sits down with us for a personal one-on-one and explains what has kept the show on hiatus for so long, and what it means for the future of The Hive Jive. Tune in now to learn more...
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BC - Queen Genetics vs Health
This week Nathalie and John discuss topics from a recent Bee Informed Partnership panel discussion on queen genetics and queen health/viability. Tune in now to hear their thoughts on a few key topics regarding Queens and how it relates to recent topics... BIP Queen Panel Video Link:...
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BC - Trial and Error
In today's Beekeeper Chat, we get an update from Nathalie about her recent swarm captures, some things they both would like to try now that swarm session is under way, and John give a few updates about his new bees and also lets us in on his recent hive building misadventures. Tune now to learn...
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BC - City Biome
Today John and Nathalie discuss how recent studies have revealed that a beehive can help identify the nuances of a cities unique biome by collecting and storing the microscopic bacteria, yeast, spores, and other fungal matter that reside in that specific city. Tune in now to learn more... Article...
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BC - Unexpected Arrivals
Breaking News! John's bees arrive TOMORROW morning and he hasn't even started building his hives yet!! How exactly does one forget something so important and exciting as the arrival of new bees? Well, John and Nathalie discuss this out of sight, out of mind scenario in today's beekeeper chat.…
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BC - RF & EMR Revisited
Today Nathalie and John revisit a topic that was originally discussed back in 2021 on the possible effects of EMF on bees. With new research being presented, and new definitions of RF-EMR (Radio Frequency Electro Magnetic Radiation), the pair have decided that it is time to take another look at…
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BC - Bees Teaching Bees
Today Nathalie and John discuss new research that suggests younger bees learn the finer details of a precision Waggle Dance from older more experienced bees. What implications could this have on how we view our colonies, and the decisions we make on their behalf? Tune in now to learn more...
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BC - To Be Excluded
In today's beekeeper chat, Nathalie and John discuss the topic of Queen Excluders. What were they designed for? How do you use them? When should they be used? And, are they even really required? Tune in now to find out what the pair think about this often touchy subject...
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BC - Safe Passage Comb Guides
Today John and Nathalie discuss a comb guide that was recently brought to John's attention from a listener. This comb guide is meant to be placed on the bottom of Topbar hive bars in order to help encourage the bees to draw out their comb in a straight line. However, this specific comb guide…
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BC - Batting Zero
Today John breaks the news to Nathalie that he is now back down to zero colonies. Despite everything looking great for the "Oh Bee One Colony" going into winter, things took a drastic turn somewhere along the way. This has left John with more questions than answers. Tune in now to learn more......
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BC - ReWilding
Recently, a listener brought up the subject of Re-Wilding honey bees in the comments after discussing Honey Bees as the Poster Child for the Save the Bees movement. So, in today's beekeeper chat, John and Nathalie attempt to tackle the concept of "Re-Wilding" and whether this is a good idea or…
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BC - Honey Bees as the Poster Child
Today Nathalie and John discuss whether the fact that the Honey Bee has become the Poster Child of the "Save the Bees" movement is a good thing, or if it could have it's own unintended consequences. There are pros and cons to both sides of this, and of course it all depends on how you look at it....
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BC - Queen Rearing Preferences
This week, John and Nathalie discuss their preferred queen rearing methods. What strategies have they tried, what has worked well and what hasn't, and do they agree on the best practices? Tune in now to learn more... (Original Air Date: Feb 8th, 2023)
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BC - Stepping on Toes
your own beekeeping operation without stepping on the toes of those who might have mentored you along the way. Are there ways to avoid these types of situations from the start, and what if you find yourself in the middle of this type of situation unintentionally? Tune in now to learn more......
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BC - Effects of Oxalic Acid on Bee Larvae
In today's Beekeeper Chat, Nathalie and John discuss some new research that shows the potential side effects of OA (Oxalic Acid) treatments and the impacts it has on developing larvae. Tune in now to learn more... (Original Air Date: Jan 25th, 2023)
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BC - Off Gassing of OSB boards and Wax Q&A
In today's beekeeper chat, Nathalie and John tackle a couple of listener questions regarding the use of plywood or OSB boards when building hives, as well as the effects on newly drawn wax when feeding sugar. Tune in now to learn more... (Original Air Date: Jan 18th, 2023)
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BC - AFB Vaccinations for Honey Bees
The USDA has recently approved the 1st vaccination for Honey Bees! This specific vaccination is to help colonies guard against AFB infections, also know as American Foulbrood disease. Tune in now to hear Nathalie and John's take on this new concept for beekeeping! (Original Air Date: Jan 11th, 2023)
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BC - New Year’s Setbacks
John and Nathalie are back to kick off the new year with a bang! But, unfortunately John has experienced another setback in his beekeeping journey... as have a few others out there in Bee Land. Plus, the pair tackle a listener question about whether a hive population is too big to be condensed...
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169 - 2023 Year in Review
Just in time for Christmas, the gang is all back together to bring you the 2023 year in review! Catch up with John, Nathalie and Ken as they recap the stats from the podcast over the last year.
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BC - Holiday Wrap Up 2022
Just in time for the Holiday weekend, Nathalie and John are up early and decked out in their holiday PJs to bring you one final Beekeeper Chat for 2022. The pair recap some of the past episodes from this year, as well as theorizing what the new year might hold for each of them. Tune in now and…
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BC - Honey Queens & Princesses
Today John and Nathalie discuss a hot button issue on the pros and cons of Honey Queen/Princess programs at the various levels of local clubs to national associations. While there are many benefits to such programs, could some aspects be a bit outdated... and potentially undermine the whole point...
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BC - Voluntold
This week Nathalie and John discuss the touchy subject of volunteering at the different levels of various bee associations and clubs. From the local town club, to county clubs, and state associations, there can be a very drastic range of options, commitments, and personalities to deal with. Have...
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BC - Rekindling the Spark
Today Nathalie and John discuss some of the ways you can rekindle the spark you originally felt that can help you reconnect and remind you why you love beekeeping so much. We all have frustrations from time to time, and we can feel at a loss, or defeated. So how does one pull themselves back up...
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BC - Cautionary Tales
John and Nathalie take a stroll down memory lane and share a few stories from their past experiences that are both humorous, as well as great examples of why we always need to be aware of our surroundings when doing beekeeping. We tend to become very focused on the bees themselves and can often...
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BC - Thymol Entrances Revisited
For today's Beekeeper Chat, Nathalie and John go back and revisit a topic that John and Ken originally covered on a bonus episode back in September of 2020 regarding a Thymol Entrance Portal. It has been a couple of years, and this product, now called HiveGuard, is nearing the end of it's testing...
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BC - What’s Really Changed?
The first cold snap of winter for 2022 has finally arrived and it has John questioning what has really changed with beekeeping over the last century. Join us as Nathalie and John discuss whether or not he core concept is really any different today than it was way back when. Plus, get some updates...
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BC - Improvising
For this week's beekeeper chat, Nathalie and John discuss different ways that they have improvised various aspects of their beekeeping practices. This type of 'out of the box' thinking can come in handy in a pinch, and just might save the day. Tune in now to learn more, and let us know some of…
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BC - Swarming with Revelations
In today's Beekeeper Chat, Nathalie and John discuss some new and exciting research revolving around honey bee swarms. Plus, a few other odd occurrences in beekeeping news from around the world. Tune in now to learn more... (Original Air Date: Nov 2nd, 2022)
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BC - Always Learning
We should always strive to keep learning, putting ourselves out there, and gaining new experiences. So, for this week's Beekeeper Chat, Nathalie details some details about her recent trip to Missouri for a beekeeping seminar, and her takeaways from the experience. Tune in now to learn more......
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BC - Procrastination
We all have those moments, some more than others, when we have the best of intentions to get something accomplished... but it can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow becomes next week, or even next month. In beekeeping we often have these moments as other distractions seem to take precedence. However,...
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BC - Imported vs Native Bees
Do imported Honey Bees actually outcompete our Native Bees? This week Nathalie and John approach this evolving question first from a rational standpoint, and then start digging in deeper with a little bit of scientific backing. Could we be unknowingly be doing a disservice to our local…
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BC - Beeing Random
Clearly there was no clear path for this week's Beekeeper Chat as the pair jump from topic to topic with their only goal being to try and stay focused on Bees! John gives an update on his two hives, and the status of the colony from the bear attack. They also discuss the initial plans on how to...
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BC - Mentorship and Apprenticeship
Today Nathalie and John discuss the pros and cons of both being a mentor, and being an apprentice. As with anything, you get out of it what you put into it, and it all starts with choosing wisely. Have you ever considered apprenticing along with someone, or do you have what it takes to be a…
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BC - Queen Longevity
For today's beekeeper chat, Nathalie and John discuss new research into h. saltator ant queens which is helping to reveal how queens in a superorganism are able to sustain such long lifespans. With ants, termites, and honey bees being so closely related, could this also help to shed light on why...
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BC - A What If Scenario
In today's beekeeper chat, Nathalie and John discuss the pros and cons of attempting to give a hive more ventilation during a heatwave, and John gives us an update on the Bear situation. Plus, the pair discuss a "What If" scenario where someday there might be a mite treatment that has zero…
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BC - 12 Day Recap
John gives us a recap on what has transpired over the last 12 days. He and Nathalie discuss what beekeeping would be like without your sense of smell. Also, the Black Bear! (Original Air Date: Aug 24th, 2022)