Beekeeper Confidential | Bees & Beekeeping

Mandy met today’s guest last September at a seminar taught by Tom Seeley. He had built a bee catching box, much like the one described in Dr. Seeley’s book, Following the Wild Bees. They got to talking and she ended up inviting him to come and speak to Portland Urban Beekeepers about his experience using Seeley’s methods for finding wild (and kept colonies), and while he was in town they got together in a pancake house parking lot to talk about bee hunting, topo maps, turn tables, and rebellious bees. Meet the president of the North Olympic Peninsula Beekeepers Association, Rex Roberton!

To learn more about Rex and the art of bee hunting subscribe to his YouTube channel called WildProject. It is loaded with videos that demonstrate the processes that we talked about today.  

This episode is a 30 minute recording taken from inside of one of Mandy's hives. It can be used during meditation, as white noise, or to listen to as you fall asleep... Or to scare your friends who aren't so keen on bees. Your choice!

This interview was months in the making. Mandy made her first request for an interview via Instagram while at a cocktail party… let’s just say she was feeling courageous. She officially booked it in February and then recorded it from her apiary on May 6th. On the day of the interview, she was minutes away from receiving the guests phone call when a swarm call came in. She didn’t answer it, obviously, but they also sent a text with photos that she received during the interview and it was a PRIME swarm right in her neighborhood, right near a patch of known bee trees, hanging from a tree at eye level. Holy smokes. SO, not only did she get to have an EPIC conversation with today's guest, she also got to go and collect and EPIC swarm right afterwards. It was an amazing day! He’s a scientist who shocked the bee world when he tested and proved what Varroa mites are really pigging out on. Meet the talented, the brilliant singing scientist Dr. Samuel Ramsey!

In this mini episode, Mandy shares the latest stories of her beekeeping adventures. 

This interview was recorded just a couple weeks ago, right before swarm season kicked off. Mandy was sitting in her studio anxiously staring out the window at her beehives while she waited for Sam's phone call. Once the phone rang, Mandy completely forgot about feeling sorry for her swarmless self and fell deep into a conversation about drumming hives, queen genetics, and how to grow your apiary without buying nucs or packages. 

In this mini episode, Mandy shares the latest stories of her beekeeping adventures. 

In the latest installment of Beekeeper Confidential, Mandy speaks with Stephanie & Jake Pullen of Campbell, TX. With their 3 children in tow, Stephanie and Jake own and operate Zane & James Apiary. They offer a range of pollination services, varietal honeys, and skincare products. Their experience as cattle farmers led them to bees and they haven't looked back! Beekeeping has brought them the delight of learning new things daily, and a way of life that brings them even closer as a family. A family that keeps bees together stays together!

Mandy chats (in person!) with master gardener and mason beekeeper, Debbie Thomas. Mason bees are a wonderful way to get into beekeeping, and just about anyone can do it. We talk about mason bee housing, nesting tubes, plants for bees, BEE SEX and more!

Mandy chats with Kyle Maio, a veteran of the marine corps who has found a second career in beekeeping. After joining the marines at a young age and serving 2 deployments in Iraq, he discovered the balance and peace that working with bees can bring. His family saw how working with bees had a positive impact on his life and in 2017 he and his brother took the leap and created Brothers in Bees, a cause based organization that aims to make beekeeping accessible to veterans.