305 - Inside the USGS/FWS Native Bee Lab: Building Bee Monitoring, ID, and Data Capacity | PolliNation
PolliNation
This week, we catch up with Sam Droege with the US Geological Survey and Clare Maffei with US Fish and Wildlife Service to discuss the origins and evolution of the Bee Lab and its role as a support hub for bee biodiversity work. Sam describes shifting from designing national monitoring programs for birds and other taxa to pollinators, finding bee monitoring statistically difficult due to high year-to-year variance and identification bottlenecks, and pivoting to developing sampling techniques, the Very Handy Bee Manual, Discover Life online ID guides, photography resources, and a large...
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304 - Millions of Solitary Bees in a Cemetery: Andrena regularis Aggregations and Parasite Dynamics | PolliNation
PolliNation
Dr. Bryan Danforth of Cornell University joins the podcast to discuss a new Apidology study led by Steven Hodge on emergence dynamics and host–parasite associations in a massive cemetery nesting aggregation of the solitary bee Andrena regularis. Using emergence traps checked daily for 40 days at East Lawn Cemetery near Cornell, the team estimated a mean population size of 5.5 million emerging bees within a compact area and documented synchronized host emergence with more gradual, delayed emergence by Nomada cuckoo bees, plus low-frequency associates including a meloid beetle and a...
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303 - Wonderful World of Wasps | PolliNation
PolliNation
Wasps are an often underappreciated and underdiscussed pollinator group. In today’s episode, we will dive into their fascinating world. We’ll define what exactly a wasp is, the diversity of wasps around the world, their specialized hunting skills, and far beyond. Sloan Tomlinson is a science communicator, insect photographer, and regulatory contributor to wasp educational programs. Check out That Wasp Guy on Instagram: Visit the UMass Extension pollinator resources page:
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302 - Forest Log Landings for Bees | PolliNation
PolliNation
Log landings serve as a unique way to provision habitat in otherwise closed-canopy forests, providing refuge for wild bees and wasps. UMass Amherst PhD candidate Aliza Fassler unpacks her research on seeding log landings with native plants, and speaks to the pollinator assemblages that use them. Learn more about Aliza’s research in this technical report: Visit the UMass Extension pollinator resources page: ag.umass.edu/pollinators
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301 - Mason Bees 101: How to Care for Blue Orchard Bees (and Stop Houdini Flies) | PolliNation
PolliNation
Thyra Mckelvie joins PolliNation to discuss managing blue orchard bees (mason bees). Thyra is the Managing Director and Solitary Bee Educator at Rent Mason Bees. She outlines three essential care steps: start with clean, openable nesting material of proper size, remove nests at the end of spring to protect developing bees from summer predators, and harvest/clean cocoons in fall to control pests and disease. In addition, Thyra covers the key pests of mason bees include pollen mites, Houdini flies, chalkbrood fungus, and monodontomerus wasps, plus sterilization methods. Rent Mason Bees...
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300 - PolliNation RELOADED | PolliNation
PolliNation
As the 300th episode approached Dr. Melathopoulos started to get nervous. He had been doing the show since 2018. When his podcasting hero Melvyn Bragg hung up his podcasting mic last year, Dr. Melathopoulos wondered if he should do the same. But no. Polli-Nation is officially outgrowing its borders! While the show's roots are at OSU Extension, we are thrilled to welcome a new collaborative hosting team. By bringing in the expertise of Nicole Bell (East Coast/UMass), and Drs. Brandon Hopkins and Priya Chakrabarti Basu (WSU), we are expanding our coverage from the wild bee meadows of New...
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299 - Inside Idaho's Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee Cocoon Testing Center | PolliNation
PolliNation
In this episode Dr. Melathopoulos speaks with Dr. Armando Falcon-Brindis, assistant professor and extension specialist in entomology at the University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center and director of the Parma Cocoon Testing Center. Dr. Falcon-Brindis explains why alfalfa leafcutter bees are far more effective than honey bees at pollinating alfalfa seed and describes how the lab uses X-ray imaging to assess cocoon health by counting live larvae, dead cells, pollen balls, machine damage, predators, parasites, and signs of pathogens, with follow-up dissections when needed. He...
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298 - Wibee: A Simple App to Measure Pollination Activity in Your Orchard | PolliNation
PolliNation
Dr. Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Hannah Gaines-Day (University of Wisconsin–Madison) about WiBee (W-I-B-E-E), an app created after conversations with Wisconsin apple growers who wanted to know whether wild bees provide enough pollination or if honeybee rentals are needed. The app has users stand still and record insect visits in a standardized 3x3-foot area for five minutes, tallying easy-to-identify functional “morpho groups” (honeybee, bumblebee, large dark, small dark, green bee, and non-bees) while also logging weather, habitat, and flower abundance. Validation work compared...
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297 - Pollen Wasps: A Parallel Path to Pollination | PolliNation
PolliNation
In this episode of Pollination, host Dr. Andony Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Elizabeth Murray ( Mt. James Entomological Collection, Washington State University) about pollen wasps (Masarinae) and how they represent a rare, parallel shift to bees from carnivory to provisioning young with pollen. The conversation covers pollen wasp origins around 125 million years ago alongside bees, likely in arid Western Gondwana as angiosperms rose, their global but dry-region-biased distribution, low species diversity (<350) versus bees, and their specialized host-plant use. They compare life...
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296 - From Isolation to Innovation: Diversified Beekeeping in Northern BC | PolliNation
PolliNation
Christine McDonald discusses her family-run beekeeping operation based in Terrace, British Columbia. Living in a remote area, Christine emphasizes the importance of in-person gatherings for bee education despite the proliferation of online resources. She explains how her family has turned geographical challenges into strengths, mentioning their diverse range of products, including honey and candles, and their reliance on wild forage like fireweed. Christine highlights the seasonal challenges they face, such as preparing colonies for winter and managing a short beekeeping season. She also...
info_outlineKaren Pedersen is a fifth generation commercial beekeeper and apiary owner in Cut Knife, Saskatchewan, Canada. Pedersen Apiaries make hundreds of pounds of honey bee colony, while wintering single brood chamber colonies outdoors when temperatures are -30F below. She also leads an impressive stock improvement program. Harry and Andony find how she does it in this week's episode.
Pedersen Apiaries website: http://www.pedersenapiaries.ca
Bee Maid Honey Coop: https://www.beemaid.com
Harvesting Honey: https://youtu.be/CNc-AfvCgLA?si=I867-OJNHnC4qaA6