Bee Love Beekeeping... presented by Mann Lake

This week we're heading to Oregon to hang out with Joy and Eric McEwen, husband-and-wife beekeepers who've been at it together for 26 seasons and now tend around 650 colonies. They coined the term "natural nest beekeeping" to describe their whole philosophy: foundationless, paint-free, plastic-free hives, protected with a homemade beeswax-linseed-pine rosin sealant, queens raised in-house by their own sister bees instead of grafted or shipped in cages, and a Warré-inspired vertical hive design that lets the bees' own body heat pre-warm their winter honey stores. _____________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/</p...

2 Million Americans are allergic to bee stings. Do you know what to do for yourself, or someone else, when they have a severe reaction?We kick things off with eight bee sting facts that'll make you the most insufferable know-it-all at your next beekeeping club meeting. Did you know only lady bees can sting, that a detached stinger keeps pumping venom like a tiny horror-movie villain, or that bee venom is basically one superstar protein wearing a trench coat? You're welcome._____________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: ML...

Buzzing with intrigue, this episode of Bee Love Beekeeping kicks off with spider venom playing mite assassin. Then the real fun begins: UC Riverside's Genesis Chong and Owen Wagner dish on their scrappy "Californian" hybrid bees, tough, hybridized survivors that shrug off Varroa infestations that would tank a typical commercial colony. _____________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10_________________For beekeepers tired of chemical treatments, this is the kind of hopeful buzz worth tuning in for.Turns out the secret isn't new ch...

Yappy: "This will get me excommunicated from the bee community!"Firefighter by day, bee-whisperer by everything else — Yappy BeeMan joins the show fresh off a job (complete with a couple of fresh stings) to spill 15 years of beekeeping wisdom, chaos, and comedy. Yappy tells the wild story of how one shaky cell-phone video — where he caught a queen bare-handed, mid-recording, with nowhere to put her — rocketed his channel from 5,000 subscribers to a million views practically overnight. _____________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10_________________Fro...

Before getting into the honey of it all, host Eric riffs on a string of bizarre highway mishaps — rolled-over bee trucks, a tofu spill, flaming ribeyes — proving that 2026 is just a weird year for cargo. Then the real magic begins: mechanical-engineer-turned-beekeeper Bill Hesbach drops some serious hive-mind wisdom on condensing hives, the practice of letting bees manage their own internal climate instead of beekeepers cranking up the ventilation. _____________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10_________________Turns out our buzzy friends are basically tiny thermo...

Host Eric Bennett, travels across the pond to Cornwall, England, for a fascinating conversation with Molly Earl, full-time beekeeper and founder of Bees Off and The Rescued Bee. Molly specializes in live bee removals — rescuing honeybee colonies from chimneys, walls, flat roofs, and other structures — and has grown what started as a two-hive hobby into an operation managing roughly 300 beehives across mid-Cornwall. ______________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10_________________The conversation covers her techniques, tools, the Cornwall beekeeping season, and pest management. Plus, Molly...

In this fun episode of Bee Love Beekeeping, host Eric Bennett sits down with Tara Skubella and Darrin Reay — survivalists best known from Discovery Channel's Naked and Afraid — to talk all things honey bees and beekeeping. The duo shares their passion project: a custom apitherapy bee hut built atop four Langstroth hives, where visitors breathe healing pheromones and soak up therapeutic vibrations without a single sting. ______________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10_________________Darren, a fabricator-turned-beekeeper with 13 hives and three consecutive winters of zero c...

Hold onto your veils, because this week's episode is a wild ride through the wonderful world of beekeeping with Ohio-based guest Emily Mueller, a certified master herbalist, doctoral student, homeschooling mom of four, and — most importantly — a certified crazy bee lady. Beekeeper Emily schooled us on the art of drone races, the jaw-dropping healing powers of propolis for cavities and cold sores, and bee venom therapy, which she's been administering to herself and others for more than a decade.______________$10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/• Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10...

What happens when bees ignore your perfectly prepared swarm trap and instead move into a beat-up, broken-lidded box on a woodshed floor? Pure beekeeping magic, apparently. Host Eric Bennett, kicks off this episode with exactly that delightful chaos before welcoming guest Michael Scott from Indiana, Pennsylvania — a town whose name exists solely to confuse people. The two dive deep into sustainable beekeeping, covering everything from honey colors (light and citrusy tulip poplar vs. dark, rich knotweed) to the idea that the best beekeeper might just be the one who gets out of the bees' way an...

Heroic news for a bee truck traveling the mountains of Utah... Bees on the loose at the White House... And building a beautiful long lang hive!This episode of Bee Love Beekeeping features host Eric Bennett in conversation with Curtis "Jack Lumber" Nielsen, a first-year beekeeper from British Columbia, Canada, who dove headfirst into beekeeping by building his own custom hive from scratch. Rather than purchasing a standard setup, Jack designed and milled an impressive 80-inch long langstroth hive almost entirely from a single log harvested on his own property. Thick two-inch walls, spring-loaded recycled...

Buckle up, honey lovers — this episode is a wild ride through the wonderfully chaotic world of beekeeping with Connecticut backyard beekeeper Lauren Doninger! Before diving into the conversation, host Eric drops ten mind-blowing facts about honey bees (spoiler: they might understand the concept of zero and play soccer). Then Lauren takes us through her approach to swarm catching, the vertical split technique, condensing hives, her biggest beekeeping mistakes and a ton more!She also gives us a peek into her utterly charming self-service honey stand, where neighbors stop by, grab a jar, and leave cash or...

What do a Massachusetts eviction standoff, a forklift disaster, and the secret to a thriving bee yard have in common? They all made an appearance in this week's absolutely buzzing episode of Bee Love Beekeeping! Host Eric Bennett kicked things off with a wild news story about a beekeeper who showed up to a $1.9 million home eviction with a truck full of hives — and yes, things went exactly as chaotically as you'd imagine. Then Eric welcomed Utah commercial beekeeper Seth Homer, whose family operation grew from his dad overhearing a gardening class conversation about honey be...

Bob Ford of Sticky Bee Honey Farm in southern Minnesota is living proof that beekeepers never do anything halfway. What started as two hives quickly ballooned to 65–80 before his back had other ideas. Now running 40–45 hives, Bob shares the joys and heartbreaks of Minnesota beekeeping — where you can survive a brutal winter only to watch colonies mysteriously collapse during a "false spring" a few weeks later. He also gets real about varroa mite management, wind exposure, and the sad reality of neighboring beekeepers who just let their bees die every year and buy new packages in the...

Brian Schmitz keeps bees on Orcas Island in Washington's San Juan Islands — a place so peaceful and remote that residents refer to trips to the mainland as "going to America." A pandemic-era beekeeper turned 30-colony operator, Brian navigates a uniquely temperate maritime climate where the ocean acts as a natural air conditioner. He's also the reigning salmon derby champion at his local American Legion post, a title unchallenged since 2019 — and yes, he's proud of it.The real action comes when yellow jackets enter the picture. Brian and host Eric Bennett dig into one of the Paci...

Beekeeping Advice from Dr. Sammy Ramsey!In this episode of Bee Love Beekeeping, host Eric Bennett welcomes Dr. Samuel (Sammy) Ramsey — PhD entomologist, National Geographic Explorer, and producer of the new Disney+ and Hulu documentary series Secrets of the Bees. Dr. Ramsey shares what it was like collaborating with James Cameron and National Geographic, how filmmakers captured never-before-seen footage inside a beehive using endoscopy cameras and high-speed rigs, and what it meant to contribute both as a scientist and a vocalist to the project. The conversation then dives deep into honey bee health: th...

How do you reach out to local beekeepers to help save millions of bees after their transport truck jackknifes?In this episode of Bee Love Beekeeping, host Eric Bennett welcomes Tristen Tartaglia, a Southern Oregon beekeeper and owner of Southern Oregon Swarms, to share her remarkable story of saving millions of bees after a major truck accident.Tristen is deeply embedded in the local beekeeping community, performing 60–120 cutouts per year — including chemical-free removals of yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets.The episode also features a fascinating science segment on the waggle dance, revealing that bees...

"There is no such thing as ORGANIC U.S. honey!" Honey Dumping. Fake Honey & Much more with ABF President, Debbie Seib.The episode features beekeeper, Debbie Seib, president of the American Beekeeping Federation, who shares her decades-long journey from beginner to industry leader, offering insight into running a large-scale beekeeping operation and the realities of working closely with honey bees.Throughout the conversation, Debbie emphasizes that successful beekeeping relies heavily on education, mentorship, and adaptability. She discusses common challenges beekeepers face, such as seasonal food shortages, parasite management like varroa mites, and unpredictable environmental conditions...

Making money selling honey takes business smarts! Catch all the Do's and Don'ts this week as we wrap up a two-part conversation with beekeeper, Danielle Brooks, founder of Honey Truck in St. Augustine, Florida. Danielle is a former family photographer turned full-time honey entrepreneur who runs a brick-and-mortar shop, farmers market operation, and wholesale distribution business. All while taking care of two children and 10 beehives.In this episode, she covers the practical side of selling honey — from packaging and customer retention to knowing when to say no to a big opportunity — plus shares some hard-won wisd...

What does it take to make money selling honey? It's Marketing 101 for beekeepers! This episode of Bee Love Beekeeping features an interview with Danielle Brooks, whose experience turning a small beekeeping hobby into a real honey business, is full of invaluable information for all beekeepers. Most beekeepers undervalue their product and underestimate the importance of knowing who they're selling to. Brooke draws on her background in photography and communications to talk about storytelling as a sales tool: knowing your honey's origin, its seasonal character, and the beekeepers behind it gives you something to say that...

Host Eric Bennett reaches out all the way to Gloucestershire, England to have a discussion with Stuart Roweth, beekeeper and inventor of Bee Gym and Bee Gym Slim. Stuart is on a mission to help bees fight back against varroa without chemicals. He walks us through his beekeeping journey, from receiving his first swarm in a cardboard box to developing the Bee Gym, a mechanical device that encourages bees to groom varroa mites off themselves using small flippers, spikes, and wires. The episode also features an Inside the Hive segment exploring how bees regulate summer...