About Bees, Culture & Curiosity

Bees of all sorts are the engines of agriculture and the glue of ecology. Join us as we explore everything About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity. Watch the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@ABCCPodcast

Apimondia: The World's Bee Meeting 09/13/2025

Beekeeping along Canada's Sunshine Coast 09/05/2025

Chile for Avocado Pollination, Queen Production, and Adventure 08/31/2025

Buckwheat: Our Favourite August Honey Plant 08/30/2025

Buckwheat: Our Favourite August Honey Plant Season 5 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Buckwheat: Our Favourite August Honey Plant Buckwheat is quirky. Both the pland and the honey. We look at both - plant and honey - in today's podcast. Especially the black, chokingly-strong honey. Buckwheat, though often mistaken for a cereal grain, is actually a member of the Polygonaceae family, kin to rhubarb and sorrel. First cultivated in China more than 6,000 years ago, it spread westward along trade routes and became a staple in Eastern Europe for its short growing season, tolerance of poor soils, and high-protein, gluten-free grain. Farmers turned it into groats, roasted kasha, soba noodles, dumplings, pancakes, and beer. In North America, buckwheat once covered millions of acres, especially in Pennsylvania, New York, and later Manitoba. Today, only about 50,000 acres remain in the U.S., with North Dakota as the largest producer. Farmers planted it as a rescue crop when other fields failed, and its continuous bloom provided nectar during mid-summer gaps. For bees and beekeepers, buckwheat is both boon and bane. Yields could soar to 200 pounds per hive in good years, but hot, dry weather can shut nectar off completely. The honey is almost black, rich in minerals and antioxidants, with a flavor that people either cherish or despise. Folks often describe it as barnyard-like, molasses-like, or medicinal. Culturally, buckwheat honey was prized by Eastern European immigrants and Jewish communities, especially for Rosh Hashanah. Today, production is rare, but the memory and distinct taste linger. I know. I made a few thousand pounds of buckwheat years ago in Pennsylvania and I spill some memories here today. This episode was recorded in August 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: About Ron Miksha: Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: [email protected] /episode/index/show/2359aaf8-9c48-4b40-862a-b1db77050911/id/38027785

Laura Sends us Deep into the Beekeeping Groove 08/21/2025

World's Most Interesting Bee Museum - and more... 08/14/2025

Bees, Greenhouses, and 18-hour Work Days 07/26/2025

Ask Me Anything for July 2025 07/21/2025

July's Best Honey Plant 07/13/2025

Beekeeping on Canada Day 07/03/2025

Slovenia, the Country that Buzzes 06/29/2025

Late Spring Beekeeping 06/25/2025

Late Spring Beekeeping Season 4 Episode 8: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Late Spring Beekeeping Rain brings flowers, flowers bring nectar, nectar brings bees, beekeepers make honey. We are getting heavy rains here, so, of course Ron is predicting a big honey flow. This gets Bidzina’s attention. He is thinking about making comb honey with upside-down glass jars, but Ron throws cold water on the idea. Find out why. We discuss the four things to avoid or reduce granulation, before removing the honey as well as after it’s been extracted. These include the fructose/glucose ration, which depends on nectar source. We talk a lot about this and the other factors that contribute to granulation. Listen for number four, you won’t believe it! Bidzina backtracks away from the inverted jars idea and begins to consider comb honey. Marketing an interesting and unusual product, like comb honey, can be difficult so we consider places that he might go with the honey. Bidzina describes a mixed-martial arts competition coming up in Calgary where he will be selling some honey. Conversation shifts to bees, with reference to hives that have multiple swarms and after-swarms, and the potential for a big honey crop in the Calgary area. Next, we consider that most outreach bee presentations are for children. However, Ron spoke to elderly folks this week at two retirement homes. Maybe we are focusing on the wrong groups? Kids don’t vote and few send letters to the government to beg for morsels of help for the bees. The seniors might. Maybe we're not involving them enough. In discussing how senior citizen beekeepers can help, we acknowledge that some old advice doesn’t stand the test of time but other ideas may be forgotten gems. This includes something that Ron learned 50 years ago about treating European Foulbrood. Next, Bidzina shows some craft work. He has been experimenting with attractive wraps that surround a hive all year round, partly as camouflage, partly as a work of art. He wants to put lights on the decorations around the hives. I suggest that he use red light, otherwise bees may be attracted out of the hives at night. This obviously leads right into a discussion about parasites that turn honey bees into light-seeking zombies. This episode was recorded in June 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: About Ron Miksha: Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: [email protected] /episode/index/show/2359aaf8-9c48-4b40-862a-b1db77050911/id/37143335

Judging your Honey 06/15/2025

Spring Honey Bees 06/12/2025

Alberta Native Bees in Trouble 06/09/2025

Alberta Native Bees in Trouble Season 4 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Alberta Native Bees in Trouble We chat about the troubles facing native bees with (ANBC) Executive Director Megan Evans. Pollinators of all sorts are essential to the health and success of our environment. Understanding the habitats and lifecycles of the 371 known species of bees in Alberta is the first step towards ensuring the prosperity of these pollinators. This is part of ANBC's work. Learning about the issues that hinder bee success is necessary before remedies can be found. Megan discusses climate change (bees can’t survive if flowers finish blooming before the bees have raised their brood); habitat loss (due to human encroachment and invasive plant species expanding into native vegetation); invasive species spreading diseases; and the impact of pesticides. To help native bees, there also needs to be enhanced awareness of the difference between wild native bees and managed bees. Among many projects, ANBC is developing a Living Lawns App to help homeowners create or restore native bee habitats – starting with a goal of one square meter (or one square yard) of landscape for the bees. A million homes following this model would add a million square meters (or yards) of living space and floral resources for native bees. We also look at calls to action that everyone can implement: learn the difference between native and managed bees; work on ecological literacy; create habitats for native bees; and get excited (bee watching is an actual event)! Finally, it was reassuring to learn that Megan, who dedicates her work to helping native bees, wasn’t always comfortable around bees. She overcame her reluctance (fear) of bee encounters by becoming curious about pollinators. Listen to this episode to see how that happened! Visit to learn more. https://www.albertanativebeecouncil.ca/ This episode was recorded in June 2025. Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: About Ron Miksha: Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: [email protected] /episode/index/show/2359aaf8-9c48-4b40-862a-b1db77050911/id/36930100