2026 American Honey Queen - Bee Beards, Nationwide Travel, Excitement

WEBVTT

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In a world brimming with complexity, few creatures

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embody harmony like the honeybee. With tireless

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precision, she dances from bloom to bloom, each

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motion guided by millennia upon millennia of

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instinct, each act in service to the whole. And

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then there are the beekeepers, watchful stewards

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of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,

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part poet, they move along their hives with the

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efficiency of mow, levy, and curly, tending to

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the bee's needs as best they can comprehend,

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and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the

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Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing

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like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their

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journey. Welcome welcome to Be Love Beekeeping

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presented by our great friends over at Man Lake.

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Today we're going to meet royalty. No, I'm not

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talking about the queen of the hive, but the

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queen of the honey world. You'll understand what

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I'm talking about in just a minute, but first

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I remember as a new beekeeper someone mentioning

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the term winter bees. and I made assumptions

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about them just being regular old bees in the

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winter or some kind of fictional thing from a

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beekeeper taking a few too many stings to the

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head. But winter bees are a real thing. Here's

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some facts about them. Winter bees are a special

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generation of honey bees that are produced in

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the fall and are adapted to keep a colony alive

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through winter. So here are some of the differences.

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Generally, winter bees live much longer. While

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summer workers may live only four to six weeks,

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winter bees can survive several months, often

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all the way through the winter and into spring.

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Winter bees have larger nutrition reserves. They

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accumulate more fat body tissue. which function

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somewhat like a combination of a liver and energy

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storage organ. In fact, we often refer to these

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winter bees as fat winter bees. Next, winter

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bees have higher levels of vitaligenin, which

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is a protein associated with longevity, nutrition

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and immune function. Winter bees do less foraging,

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so they're not wearing themselves out like summer

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bees. Their job is primarily to maintain the

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colony and eventually support the first spring

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generation. Lastly, winter bees are really good

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at clustering and generating heat. Of course,

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these winter bees aren't a different species,

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they're still worker bees, but the environmental

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conditions and colony nutrition during development

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cause late season workers to develop a physiology

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better suited to surviving winter. A colony that

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produces lots of healthy, well -nourished winter

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bees going into fall has a much, much better

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chance of emerging strong in the spring. So the

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goal isn't simply to have a lot of bees going

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into winter, it's to have the right population

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of healthy winter bees. So, do your fall prep.

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Think food stores, Varroa control, and possibly

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even insulation. Bottom line? Summer bees build

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the colony winter bees preserve it I'd like to

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welcome to the show today Delaney Craighead.

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How are you Delaney? Hello? It's great to be

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here Thank you so much for having me and tell

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us where you are right now, and what it looks

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like outside your window I am currently in Tucson,

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Arizona. It's hot It's in the 90s, but we just

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had a nice monsoon. So it's been pouring, kind

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of dripping all day. Throwing me off a little

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bit of a normal dry 108. Well, I'm going to throw

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you off as much as I can here today. So here

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we go. You're not the average beekeeper. You

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are the queen beekeeper, let's put it that way,

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or the American honey queen. Congratulations,

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by the way. Thank you. Thank you so much. I started

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in January, so I'm about six months through already.

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for people who have never heard of it. Not that

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there's anyone who hasn't heard of it, but give

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us an idea of what it is and how you get to be

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crowned and where this whole thing comes from.

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This is a fantastic program, so I represent on

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behalf of the American Beekeeping Federation,

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and I get sent all over the U .S. to talk about

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honey bees, beekeepers, and why it's just so

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important to our world and to our environment.

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And I start off as the California Honey Queen,

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because that's where I'm from. You compete against

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your other states, and then you are based off

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your honey or qualifications, your communication

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skills, and your beekeeping knowledge. So it's

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a lot of fun. You meet a lot of really cool beekeepers

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all over the US. And I myself just get to have

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a lot of new experiences. How did you get elected

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or win or however this happens? What's the contest

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like? It's a multiple -day conference, the American

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Beekeeping Federation Conference, and we do presentations,

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interviews, some papers we have to write. So

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we're constantly interacting with people, and

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these are people all over the US that come to

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this conference, and we don't know who the judges

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are, and so we're doing a lot, interacting, connecting,

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and kind of just based on our communication skills,

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based on what we know, how we are, are we talkative,

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are we quiet, what's going on. So for those of

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you that are watching the video version of the

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podcast, hey, nice crown there, Queen. Thank

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you. Do you wear that all day every day? I don't.

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I don't because it gives me a little bit of a

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headache because it's just so heavy and nice.

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I'm not making fun. This is a big deal. And we

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really appreciate all you're doing because you're

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really representing beekeepers in the industry

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all over the country. Give us an example of some

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of the things you've done. You took a trip to

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where and talked to who and did what? I just

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got back from three weeks. Each week was a different

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state. So I went from New Jersey at Thayer State

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Fair to Washington State at the Clark County

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Fair, all the way to Illinois at Thayer State

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Fair. So I interact with a lot of beekeepers

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during the honey booth and a lot of just general

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population who... Some people have never seen

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a honeybee up close before. Some have never seen

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an observation hive. Some people have never seen

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people interact with honeybees with maybe just

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a valon and just genes. So it's a lot of getting

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to kind of educate the general population and

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just spread awareness about what beekeepers do

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and why honeybees are just so important. So what

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kinds of things do you run into? I mean, we've

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all talked to people that don't know anything

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about bees and are wondering about beekeepers.

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And the question I get asked the most the first

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time is, oh, do you ever get stung? And I get

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tired of that question. But what kinds of things

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do they ask you as the queen bee? I'd say fairly

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similar. And then because I interact with everywhere

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from preschool to senior homes. So I get the

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wide range of experience levels and you get some

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of these second graders and they're asking college

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level questions and you're like, how did you

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learn that? How do you know that word? And then

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you get, yeah, some of those more common questions

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that are like, how are the bees not stinging

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you? And that's fine. I like that range of questions

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because you get to help everyone. It's non -judgmental.

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You get to say, what do you need? Let me answer

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that question. If I can't answer it, the beekeeper

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standing next to me can. So it's a lot of fun

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getting and interact on people of all experience

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levels. And you're getting the education. Tell

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us what you're doing for your masters right now.

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I'm going to the University of Arizona. I'm studying

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epidemiology, well, public health with an emphasis

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in epidemiology. I like my parasites. I like

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my diseases, my bugs, my animals. The human side

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is there, but I'm a little more interested in

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the ones that affect the insects and the animals.

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bees fit right under that. They have a plethora

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of their own diseases and issues. So it's great

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getting to learn about both of them. So what

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things have you learned about bee issues and

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have you found any solutions for them? I mean,

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Varroa obviously is the first thing that comes

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up the most. Have you dealt with this much? Because

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I know you're not a commercial beekeeper yourself.

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but you're a student and you're meeting with

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a lot of beekeepers. So what are some of their

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biggest concerns? Maybe that's a better way to

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put it. Yeah, that's a great question. Honeybees

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have a lot up against them. And I'd say the question

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that really relates with this to most is people

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ask me, how are the honeybees doing? You get

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a lot of different information, and so they want

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to ask me what's going on. What's happening with

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the honeybees? And that's exactly what I'm telling

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you, is it goes in waves. Honeybees are going

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up against a lot of different things between...

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their own diseases and issues they face to something

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like climate change, pesticide use, habitat availability.

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So it's gonna go in waves. Sometimes they're

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gonna do great. Sometimes they're gonna need

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a little extra help. And that branch that always

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fixes it, that thing that's always gonna make

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it better is education. So I always tell people

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education is the perfect way to start. Because

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once you can tell people to plant some pollinator

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friendly plants in your garden or in front of

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your house. that if you want to keep your lawn,

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that's great, but put some lavender in there.

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Add a little bit for those pollinators. So it's

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just educating the public really, I think that

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does the most for everyone. I like to think what

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you think about too. You know, I think the thing

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that you just touched on is really a good one,

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in that there is something that everybody can

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do. And one of my biggest pet peeves is all the

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pesticides being sprayed. and glyphosate being

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sprayed everywhere. And it is so hard on the

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bees. But if you're not a farmer, you sometimes

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feel like, hey, I just have this little lot.

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Or maybe I live in a condo, and I have a lanai,

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but that's it. And I can't really do anything

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for the bees, but you can. I mean, those flowers

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are a big deal, even if you just have a couple

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of pots out on your porch. Right? There are ways

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to take care of weeds without spraying harsh

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chemicals. You got me up on my soapbox here,

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Delaney. I'll never stop. Clover is getting popular,

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replacing grass on people's front lawn. Now,

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you may be in an HOA where that's not allowed.

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OK, that's all right. But will it really kill

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anyone if there's two or three dandelions in

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the spring in your grass? You know, I don't think

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so. It's so many little things like that that

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can help the bees. And I like to think about

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the things that, like, people don't necessarily

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think about, too. You could go all the way into

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cooking with honey. Instead of using sugar, you

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use honey instead. People that are chefs that

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have nothing to do with honey bees that don't

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want to go outside, they can use honey in their

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recipes. They can educate people about honey

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bees just through making a cake. Which sounds

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silly from afar, but really, that's a big thing

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that could educate someone. Because a lot of

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people don't think about using honeybee products

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like honey in baking and cooking. And then you

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go into maybe the beauty side of making a, I

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don't know, a face scrub mask, a face mask. You

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can use honey in that. You can make that at home.

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That's super simple with things that people have

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in their pantry. So some of those things aren't

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even just environmental issues. They're... What

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else can we use these products for? What are

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we using them in? And thinking about how connected

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everything is to a honeybee. Because I always

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like to say, whenever people ask me, I always

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say honeybees are the heart of agriculture. Because

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everything you talk about, honeybees connect

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to. That's what my nonstop talking point is,

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is how connected they are to everything. I could

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go on and on about that. They're also the canary

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in the coal mine. If we lose the honeybees, it

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tells us we've got some really big problems going

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on out there. And there is concern about losing

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bees. They are faced with so many problems. It's

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not just varroa, the diseases, the pesticides.

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Do we have clean enough water? On and on and

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on, you know, these kinds of things. So, let's

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talk about, and tell me if you're up to speed

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on this topic at all, which is fake honey. Tell

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me what you know about that and why this is a

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deal, why it matters. Yeah, I mean, oh, that

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affects quite a few things too. And that's a

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big thing that the ABF covers, because they want

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to make sure that the things that we're eating,

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the things that we're putting in our body are,

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you know, they're full, they're real, and they

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are respecting the hard work. that beekeepers

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and honeybees do. So fake honey really kind of

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cuts out that important thing that honeybees

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do. If that makes sense, I'm not saying it the

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best way, but fake honey is just not great for

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anyone. It's not great on an environmental scale,

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on an economic scale. So we want to make sure

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that we're supporting our beekeepers, we're supporting

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local places, and we're making sure that our

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honey, that what we want from it, we're reading

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the label and it's everything that's in it is

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in there. You better back up just a little bit

00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:03.679
and tell us what is fake honey. Yeah. Because

00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.039
anybody can go to the grocery store and see some

00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.659
nice golden stuff on the shelves. What should

00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:12.860
they buy? And what should they watch out for?

00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:15.279
Yeah, exactly. And that's a hard thing to do.

00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:18.120
It's about reading that label, making sure that

00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:20.740
you know everything that's in your honey that

00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:23.360
is supposed to be in there. So fake honey is

00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.139
usually when it's cut with kind of like cheap

00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:28.340
sugars, something cheap in there, so it's not

00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:31.730
all natural honey. Quick break to discuss what

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00:14:37.929 --> 00:14:40.629
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00:14:43.330 --> 00:14:46.889
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00:14:58.029 --> 00:15:01.460
a comb honey everything and I mean everything

00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:04.340
you'll need. But if you aren't there quite yet

00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:06.559
and the honey flows right around the corner,

00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:10.259
make sure you have extra supers on hand. You

00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:13.620
never can have too many or be too prepared. And

00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:16.379
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00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:22.080
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00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.879
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00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:30.330
code MLBLove10. And a great way to indicate that

00:15:30.330 --> 00:15:32.129
you have real honey is you want to know that

00:15:32.129 --> 00:15:34.409
it's crystallizing. A lot of people are kind

00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:37.009
of scared when they see their honey start to

00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:39.610
crystallize. And they think, oh, it's going bad.

00:15:40.350 --> 00:15:42.789
Nope. That is a sign that you have real honey.

00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:45.509
That means that a natural process is going on.

00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:48.370
If it crystallizes, just put it in some hot water,

00:15:48.590 --> 00:15:50.409
heat it up. It'll turn back into that liquid

00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:53.110
gold that we love. It just falls down to education

00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:55.409
again. Knowing what you're doing, what you're

00:15:55.409 --> 00:15:57.669
buying, reading that label, making sure you're

00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:00.409
supporting local businesses. One of the things

00:16:00.409 --> 00:16:03.590
that I love is farmers markets. And it seems

00:16:03.590 --> 00:16:06.429
like they're everywhere now. And there's usually

00:16:06.429 --> 00:16:09.649
a beekeeper or two at every farmer's market.

00:16:10.049 --> 00:16:13.490
Now, just because there's a beekeeper there doesn't

00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:15.470
mean their honey is better than what's in the

00:16:15.470 --> 00:16:18.309
grocery store, although it might be. But that's

00:16:18.309 --> 00:16:20.490
a great place where you can get to know the beekeeper.

00:16:21.110 --> 00:16:23.960
Ask questions. What are some of the questions

00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:27.039
they should be asking? Well, one thing is what

00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:29.539
types of honey do you offer? Because a lot of

00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:31.440
times in grocery stores, you're going to get

00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:33.820
that just wildflower honey, although nothing's

00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:36.259
wrong with wildflower honey. Sometimes you want

00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:38.059
something a little unusual, a little different,

00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:41.159
maybe like your orange blossom honey, your avocado.

00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:43.860
I mean, there's 300 different types of honey

00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.759
alone just in the U .S. and I think over 2 ,000

00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:49.399
in the world. So talking to your beekeeper about

00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:51.000
what you want, what are you using your honey

00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.019
for? Are you using it for baking? Are you using

00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:56.740
it for tea and toast? What flavors do you like?

00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:59.019
Talking to that beekeeper about where they place

00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:02.080
their honey bees. Do they place them all over

00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:05.279
locally? Are they commercial beekeepers? And

00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:07.279
they're taking their bees from Maine all the

00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:10.599
way to California? kind of just getting to know

00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:12.960
that beekeeper and kind of realizing the work

00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:15.500
that they're putting into it to show up at that

00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:18.220
farmer's market every weekend or every day. And

00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:21.319
it's okay to ask things like, what kinds of treatments

00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:24.079
do you use for your bees? Some people have more

00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:26.940
of a tolerance for chemicals and some people

00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:29.799
are like, I just want to be completely organic,

00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:34.089
which is nearly impossible. in beekeeping in

00:17:34.089 --> 00:17:37.170
this country. We could go down that rabbit hole

00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:40.789
for a while. Well, you don't need to. Organic

00:17:40.789 --> 00:17:43.970
on the label, what does it really mean? But it's

00:17:43.970 --> 00:17:47.529
nice to know that from a farmer's market, you

00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:50.049
talk to the beekeeper, you know where it's coming

00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:53.150
from. You know that it's not gonna be coming

00:17:53.150 --> 00:17:58.049
from China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and cut with

00:17:58.049 --> 00:18:01.730
who knows what. Water high fructose corn syrup

00:18:01.730 --> 00:18:04.789
all kinds of things and by the way in the grocery

00:18:04.789 --> 00:18:08.410
store. That's not on the label Yeah, no, you

00:18:08.410 --> 00:18:10.549
can look at a label and it's not gonna say honey

00:18:10.549 --> 00:18:14.410
and high fructose corn syrup So you have to be

00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:17.250
a little bit more of a detective than just that.

00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:19.869
Yeah, you're right Yeah, okay. We'll get a label

00:18:19.869 --> 00:18:22.289
expert on here next time unless you're a label

00:18:22.289 --> 00:18:30.119
expert. I am NOT What's your favorite bee disease?

00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:34.680
Oh, jeez. Um, all of them? Is that an allowed

00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.500
answer? Why do you like studying the diseases?

00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.119
I would have to go with the bromides because

00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:43.700
I kind of lean more towards the parasites. I

00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:45.779
just think parasites are so interesting, especially

00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:49.599
when you get into like parasitic wasps. Those

00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.819
things are crazy. I think that's so cool how

00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:54.839
they have almost all the abilities to do things

00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:58.069
that we either think is like a superpower. or

00:18:58.069 --> 00:19:00.150
that we put in our scary movies, all of our horror

00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:02.769
movies. Insects are already doing that, especially

00:19:02.769 --> 00:19:05.329
your parasitic wasps. So I think they're just

00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:07.650
so interesting to learn about, and I really like

00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:10.829
learning about that median host. So not your

00:19:10.829 --> 00:19:12.490
end host, where it's supposed to end up, and

00:19:12.490 --> 00:19:14.950
not the beginning. I like to see how does the

00:19:14.950 --> 00:19:17.269
middle affect it. So where does your veronite

00:19:17.269 --> 00:19:20.210
start? Where is its middle? Where is its end?

00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:22.750
I'd be more interested instead in kind of that

00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:25.789
middle area, for it's latching on to that adult

00:19:25.789 --> 00:19:28.400
bee. Tell me how that life cycle works, that

00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.740
beginning, middle, and end. I mean, the interesting

00:19:30.740 --> 00:19:33.019
thing about the Veromites is they're really kind

00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.500
of always on the bees. It just depends where

00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:38.240
in the hive that they are. So I think a really

00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.539
experienced beekeeper would be able to talk about

00:19:40.539 --> 00:19:42.759
this better since I'm more in the beginning realm.

00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:44.900
But I think it's interesting how the Veromites

00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:48.059
just find bees and just get in there and create

00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:50.240
mass destruction even though they're so tiny.

00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:53.119
They're so little. But compared to the size of

00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.059
a bee, they're not that little. They're like,

00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:59.400
like if you had one, the proportion would be

00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:02.319
like a dinner plate on you. And something you

00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.559
mentioned a minute ago, I would love to see a

00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:07.680
horror movie called, you know, Revenge of the

00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.839
Varroa or something like that. Because they're

00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:13.940
really terrifying looking things. Really? Well,

00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:17.160
I mean, yeah, they latch on, they don't let go.

00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:20.259
If we had that as humans, that would be, we would

00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:22.180
figure that out so quick, that'd be terrifying

00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:26.059
to us. Well, ticks are bad enough. Imagine a

00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.839
tick the size of a plate. That would be terrifying.

00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.119
You don't have opposing thumbs, so you can't

00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:35.339
get it off yourself. Mm -mm. You can't shake

00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:38.200
it off. You can't, I don't know. I think parasites

00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.460
are crazy. I think they're wild, and just the

00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:44.119
things that they have to do in order to survive

00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:49.210
are wild, or just wild to learn about. So, and

00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.210
there's a lot to be done. There's a lot. Feeling

00:20:51.210 --> 00:20:53.609
the diseases of honey bees, there's a lot to

00:20:53.609 --> 00:20:56.369
learn. I'm glad you're into them enough to study

00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:59.750
them because that's really the basis of how we're

00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:02.470
going to solve this problem is understanding

00:21:02.470 --> 00:21:05.329
them better. There's so many solutions out there

00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:09.509
now. There's all the different chemicals. There's

00:21:09.509 --> 00:21:13.730
neuroa. There are contraptions that sort of scrape

00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:15.990
them off as the bees are going in and out of

00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:18.490
the hive. There are all kinds of things, but

00:21:18.490 --> 00:21:21.289
there isn't any one perfect solution yet. They're

00:21:21.289 --> 00:21:25.089
not gone. They're a problem. And the better we

00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:27.950
understand them, the better, the sooner, the

00:21:27.950 --> 00:21:30.009
whatever, we're going to figure out how to get

00:21:30.009 --> 00:21:32.589
rid of them or make them a complete non -factor.

00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:34.839
Exactly. And I like that you kind of mentioned

00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:37.859
that there's not one answer. Because for beekeepers,

00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:40.980
there's not one answer. In the agricultural world,

00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.619
there's a lot of different ways to do one thing.

00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:46.059
And that's what I love about it is that for one

00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:49.500
person, something works fantastic. For another

00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:51.740
person, that same thing doesn't work at all.

00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.220
And it really comes down to like the beekeeper

00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:56.359
themselves, where they're at, that what they're

00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.779
doing, that can really change how it works. And

00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:01.500
I love that. I love that there's multiple ways

00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:03.970
to do one thing. Yeah, but we just want a simple

00:22:03.970 --> 00:22:08.829
cure. Just give us a dang pill and have this

00:22:08.829 --> 00:22:12.009
whole nightmare over with. I know it's not that

00:22:12.009 --> 00:22:15.269
simple. I wish it was. Yeah, I wish it was. I

00:22:15.269 --> 00:22:19.190
mean, what else? There's heat. There's AI technology.

00:22:19.390 --> 00:22:22.849
There's little laser zappers that some other

00:22:22.849 --> 00:22:25.490
grad students are working on that can track them

00:22:25.490 --> 00:22:27.809
and zap them inside the hive without killing

00:22:27.809 --> 00:22:31.470
the bee it's on. I'm like, wow. and then people

00:22:31.470 --> 00:22:34.690
studying genetics. We had not too long ago some

00:22:34.690 --> 00:22:37.990
grad students on from UC Riverside and they were

00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:41.069
talking about how they're studying a certain

00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:44.789
sort of hybrid variety of bees in Southern California

00:22:44.789 --> 00:22:49.210
that just on their own are fairly Varroa resistant.

00:22:49.589 --> 00:22:53.579
Now I say Varroa resistant is kind of a Generic

00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:57.440
term because we didn't get into are they hygienic?

00:22:57.500 --> 00:22:59.599
in other words, they somehow figure out how to

00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.079
get rid of them or Do they have them and it just

00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.660
doesn't bother them or just what is it? But genetics

00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:09.779
could also be the key to this whole thing. So

00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:13.380
it's a race For everybody your age get in there.

00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:16.380
Yeah, it true and that's a big part actually

00:23:16.380 --> 00:23:20.200
of the Honey Queen program is that I'm not an

00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:22.259
expert. I'm working with some beekeepers that

00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:26.630
have 50 plus years of experience. So my really

00:23:26.630 --> 00:23:29.470
my big goal is to be able to connect the people

00:23:29.470 --> 00:23:31.750
that have questions to the people that have answers.

00:23:32.569 --> 00:23:34.750
So the ones that are newer beekeepers, I can

00:23:34.750 --> 00:23:36.670
point them in the direction of look at all these

00:23:36.670 --> 00:23:40.109
resources you have. Look at all this new data

00:23:40.109 --> 00:23:42.710
and research coming out that you can look at

00:23:42.710 --> 00:23:45.769
and use. And I'm trying to connect those bigger

00:23:45.769 --> 00:23:48.470
beekeepers with the smaller ones, that way they

00:23:48.470 --> 00:23:50.869
can pair together to hopefully come up with an

00:23:50.869 --> 00:23:52.589
answer. Hopefully come up with something that

00:23:52.589 --> 00:23:54.750
can get rid of mites, that can get rid of fungal

00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:57.210
infections and all the other good stuff that

00:23:57.210 --> 00:24:00.369
poor bees face. They are amazing that they've

00:24:00.369 --> 00:24:02.650
gotten through all this stuff. Pretty much without

00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:05.970
us, let's face it. Yeah, honestly, they do a

00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:07.910
lot on their own. I feel like as a beekeeper,

00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:10.769
it's more just to be a little nudge, to be a

00:24:10.769 --> 00:24:12.450
little bit of a help, but they're going to do

00:24:12.450 --> 00:24:14.509
what they want to do. I have a feeling if we

00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:16.250
weren't here they would just be doing better

00:24:16.250 --> 00:24:19.369
without us anyway. So there's some of the challenges

00:24:19.369 --> 00:24:22.630
but there's a lot of joys and a lot of positive

00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.650
things to talk about also because we are making

00:24:25.650 --> 00:24:28.890
strides against some of those problems. We are

00:24:28.890 --> 00:24:32.630
seeing success. We are seeing young up -and -coming

00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:37.009
beekeepers. We are seeing an industry that is

00:24:37.009 --> 00:24:40.269
very resilient. and is bouncing back. And we're

00:24:40.269 --> 00:24:42.589
seeing cute little insects that we love that

00:24:42.589 --> 00:24:45.289
are super resilient. What is it you like about

00:24:45.289 --> 00:24:48.329
bees anyway? I mean, I just like how much they

00:24:48.329 --> 00:24:51.869
do. And their communication is just so advanced

00:24:51.869 --> 00:24:55.410
compared to some other species. It's great just

00:24:55.410 --> 00:24:57.650
opening a hive. Sometimes I like to just open

00:24:57.650 --> 00:25:00.410
a hive and like watch them. And they are just

00:25:00.410 --> 00:25:02.970
so busy. They've got something to do, somewhere

00:25:02.970 --> 00:25:05.509
to be. I don't know how to explain that. Every

00:25:05.509 --> 00:25:07.930
time after I'm in a hive, I come back in a better

00:25:07.930 --> 00:25:10.650
mood. Like, I feel like I always have something

00:25:10.650 --> 00:25:13.049
to learn when I'm working with bees and some

00:25:13.049 --> 00:25:15.930
new question, pretty much, that I want an answer

00:25:15.930 --> 00:25:18.930
to. That's a great answer. I think that's a lot

00:25:18.930 --> 00:25:21.029
of beekeepers. I think they always have something

00:25:21.029 --> 00:25:22.750
they want to learn, something they want to do

00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:25.890
better to take better care of their bees. That's

00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:27.769
maybe part of the reason why that community is

00:25:27.769 --> 00:25:29.549
so resilient. Because at the end of the day,

00:25:29.670 --> 00:25:31.980
they just, they want their bees to do well. And

00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:34.299
we're never going to understand them a whole

00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:37.500
hundred percent and have all the answers. There

00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:39.539
always is something to learn. That's part of

00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.000
what is really fun about it. Yeah, exactly. You

00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.319
have experience that they're still going to conferences

00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.640
and meetings because they still have more to

00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.559
learn. So it's great getting to see that, that

00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:54.380
they know, too, that there's more to learn always.

00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:57.420
Now, I know you don't have a ton, ton of experience.

00:25:58.029 --> 00:26:00.349
actually with your hands in a hive. You have

00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:03.170
a lot more than most people and you've been through

00:26:03.170 --> 00:26:05.710
California's Master Beekeeper program and things

00:26:05.710 --> 00:26:09.849
like that. Have you had any fun, wild or crazy

00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:11.950
stories with bees that you can think of that

00:26:11.950 --> 00:26:15.549
you want to share? I feel like one of my top

00:26:15.549 --> 00:26:18.410
experiences so far was doing a bee beard. I got

00:26:18.410 --> 00:26:20.769
to do a bee beard in New Jersey. I didn't do

00:26:20.769 --> 00:26:22.910
it at the state fair. I did it at the home, the

00:26:22.910 --> 00:26:25.150
host I was staying with. And they were kind enough

00:26:25.150 --> 00:26:28.009
to do a bee beard for me. And it was just the

00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:32.369
coolest experience ever. It was so fun. I loved

00:26:32.369 --> 00:26:35.309
it. Give us a bunch more detail. There's different

00:26:35.309 --> 00:26:37.769
ways to do these. So exactly how did they do

00:26:37.769 --> 00:26:39.890
it? Or how did you do it? They helped you do

00:26:39.890 --> 00:26:42.289
it. Oh, yeah. No, I couldn't have done it on

00:26:42.289 --> 00:26:45.589
my own. So they just took the queen and they

00:26:45.589 --> 00:26:48.170
strapped her like right under my chin. And then

00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:51.309
they kind of just slowly pushed bees onto my

00:26:51.309 --> 00:26:55.170
face. And they pushed more and more. And then

00:26:55.170 --> 00:26:57.529
they kind of just... They found their way. They

00:26:57.529 --> 00:27:00.130
made their own little shape. They really liked

00:27:00.130 --> 00:27:02.509
my ears for some reason, but luckily I had been

00:27:02.509 --> 00:27:04.910
worn to put cotton in them beforehand. I didn't

00:27:04.910 --> 00:27:07.690
have any bees in my ears. How about the breathing?

00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:12.009
Was that hard? It was a little bit, yeah. I was

00:27:12.009 --> 00:27:15.289
really smiling, but I was trying to keep my mouth

00:27:15.289 --> 00:27:19.230
closed. So I probably just looked kind of funny

00:27:19.230 --> 00:27:22.660
sitting there like trying to smile without. Having

00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:25.539
bees crawl in my mouth. But I think the wildest

00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:28.619
thing was how ticklish it was. And then the queen

00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:31.819
was really loud, too. I didn't expect that. No,

00:27:31.819 --> 00:27:34.279
I always see the queen. I spot her when we're

00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:36.099
open hives and everything. But I haven't been,

00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:38.980
I guess, that up close and personal with one

00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:41.920
to be able to hear her chirp a bunch. So it was

00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:44.400
really interesting. And then getting it off was

00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:46.220
even more interesting, because you're standing

00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:47.980
there, like, with bees on your face. You're like,

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:51.079
now what? Like, you're just going to shake them

00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:54.220
off. I'm like, what? They're like, yeah, just

00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:58.440
one, two, three, shake. I'm like, oh, okay. And

00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:01.140
they fall. They do. They fall off into the box.

00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:04.460
They're fine. They just get all put in that box

00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:06.039
and they go back in their hive. And then you

00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:10.440
just brush the few that stayed on off and you're

00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:14.119
good to go. Did you feel like you needed to at

00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:19.039
times be like, okay, calm, calm, just breathe.

00:28:19.879 --> 00:28:22.440
Was there ever a time when maybe a little anxiety

00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:25.140
creeped in? I think there was a little anxiety

00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:27.160
in the beginning when they're just kind of like

00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:29.640
throwing them on your face. And you're like,

00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:33.000
what did I, what did I send myself up for? But

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:35.640
the rest was just pure excitement. I was so excited

00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:37.619
to be there and so excited to have them. And

00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:39.740
that was like one of my goals that I made back

00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:42.880
in January when I first got this position. I

00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.269
was like, I want to do a beebeard. So I actually

00:28:45.269 --> 00:28:47.130
got that to happen and that got that to be done.

00:28:47.210 --> 00:28:49.410
And the fact that it was just no stings and it

00:28:49.410 --> 00:28:52.230
was just so, it was so peaceful. They were just

00:28:52.230 --> 00:28:55.230
buzzing and crawling around and then you take

00:28:55.230 --> 00:28:57.349
them off and you're left with a little bit of

00:28:57.349 --> 00:29:00.049
bee poop, but otherwise fine, unharmed. Better

00:29:00.049 --> 00:29:04.109
than bee stingers, I tell ya. Exactly. And it's

00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:06.630
just, it's great for telling random people and

00:29:06.630 --> 00:29:08.809
they go, what? They didn't sting you? And I'm

00:29:08.809 --> 00:29:11.640
like, no, they're... They're not there to sting,

00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:13.299
and they're gonna sting if they have to if they

00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:16.099
really are scared, but they're not. And most

00:29:16.099 --> 00:29:18.400
of the time, that's how honeybees are. They're

00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:20.940
not really scared. They've got a job to do, they're

00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:23.079
busy, they don't care about us. It's only when

00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:26.880
we get in the way of them. So true. Do you have

00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:28.900
a picture of that that we can post with this?

00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:31.920
I do, yes. I can send that to you afterwards.

00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:34.400
You didn't have your crown on at the same time,

00:29:34.420 --> 00:29:38.039
did you? No, I didn't. Okay, next time. Crown

00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:40.940
and beebeard. Yep. You're right. You're actually

00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:44.900
right. Is there gonna be a next time? I wouldn't

00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:48.579
say no. If the bees were happy and calm and the

00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:51.000
weather was nice, I would not say no to another

00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:55.000
beebear. Cool. Well, before we wrap up, I'm just

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:57.440
gonna give you the last say. Tell me what you

00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:59.880
find is the most joy in all of this. I mean,

00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:02.200
you're spending a whole year doing this, as well

00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:05.680
as going to school. Is it meeting with kids?

00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:08.180
Is it just being able to spread your love of

00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:10.740
bees? What do you love about this whole thing?

00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:14.259
I think that's hard to just pick one. You can

00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:16.779
have up to three. How's that? One, bee beer.

00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:21.279
Two is probably just, for my own interest, getting

00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:23.539
to meet beekeepers that are so different and

00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:26.240
special in level of experiences. I mean, I'm

00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:29.220
from California. I don't have hurricanes. I go

00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:31.319
to Florida, and they're teaching me about what

00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:33.240
to do when a hurricane's coming towards your

00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:35.480
hives, and that's... it's something that would've

00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:38.039
crossed my mind. So you're getting experience

00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:41.319
beyond what you, what you even could have thought

00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:44.640
of in terms of beekeeping knowledge. So that's

00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.759
just, that's fantastic, that's amazing. But the

00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:50.799
second thing is definitely seeing people's curiosity

00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.839
grow. When you get to show them the bees and

00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.200
you get to get them past maybe that initial fear

00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:59.720
or that initial like confusion or just that they

00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:02.299
didn't understand. and getting to see them like

00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:04.059
they asked that next question. And then they

00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:06.000
step closer and then they want to know more about

00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.380
honeybees. So it's great getting to watch that

00:31:08.380 --> 00:31:10.519
learn and then see like that own spark happen.

00:31:11.140 --> 00:31:13.259
Well, thanks for all you're doing out there spreading

00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:17.079
the good word about our little friends, the honeybees.

00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:20.059
And you know, the time never came up, but I was

00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.960
hoping at some point I could call you Miss Honey.

00:31:23.420 --> 00:31:26.539
My kids love Matilda. Oh my god. Gosh, I never

00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:28.660
even thought about that. You didn't think about

00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:31.700
that. Matilda and Miss Honey, that's you. And

00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:33.619
I love that movie. Oh, now I got to watch that

00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:36.980
again. She's this sweet, wonderful schoolteacher

00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:40.960
that eventually adopts Matilda and, yeah. Most

00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:43.420
kids just say the bee lady. You can hear them

00:31:43.420 --> 00:31:45.480
whispering, they go, the bee lady's here. So

00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:48.200
now I got to change that. Have them call you

00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:51.319
Miss Honey from now on. Mm -hmm. I like that.

00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:53.680
I like it. I'm glad I could somehow contribute

00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.319
to what you're doing out there this year. Anyway,

00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:58.819
have fun. This is going to be a fun time in your

00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:00.740
life you're going to remember forever. So just

00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:03.119
totally enjoy it. Thank you so much. And thank

00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:05.079
you for having me. Where are you going to be

00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:06.799
traveling to next? Or do you have a schedule

00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:09.259
online they can look up? I know September. I

00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:12.160
don't quite know beyond that. I know I go to

00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:15.259
Nebraska for, I believe, their state fair September

00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:19.960
3. And then I go to Ohio September 10. And then

00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:23.299
I'll be in Texas towards the end of September.

00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:26.779
So a lot of quick trace. Fine, Miss Honey, Delaney

00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:30.859
Craighead. Good to see you. Thank you so much.

00:32:34.839 --> 00:32:37.339
Thanks again for joining us on Be Love, Be Keeping

00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:40.420
presented by Man Lake. Another big thank you

00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:43.539
goes to B2B Health for their support. Vita's

00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:46.660
Varroa Control Ranger products includes Capistan,

00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:51.140
Epigard, and now Varroxan Extended Release Oxalic

00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:54.099
Acids Trips. Hey, thanks a lot guys. And if you

00:32:54.099 --> 00:32:56.599
haven't yet, please subscribe to and follow the

00:32:56.599 --> 00:32:58.759
show, tell your friends about it, and click on

00:32:58.759 --> 00:33:02.160
over to BeLoveBeKeeping .com to sign up for our

00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:05.079
free newsletter. If you have a guest suggestion

00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:08.200
or topic you'd like discussed on the show, shoot

00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:11.720
me an email, erik at BeLoveBeKeeping .com. And

00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:14.170
remember, if you're not just in it for the honey

00:33:14.170 --> 00:33:17.230
or the money, you're in it for the love. See

00:33:17.230 --> 00:33:18.069
you next week.