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

0:00 In a world brimming with complexity, few creatures embody harmony like the honeybee. With tireless precision, she dances from bloom to bloom, each motion guided by millennia upon millennia of instinct, each act in service to the whole. And then there are the beekeepers, watchful stewards of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, part poet, they move along their hives with the efficiency of mow, levy, and curly, tending to the bee's needs as best they can comprehend, and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their journey. Welcome welcome to Be Love Beekeeping presented by our great friends over at Man Lake.

1:28 Today we're going to meet royalty. No, I'm not talking about the queen of the hive, but the queen of the honey world. You'll understand what I'm talking about in just a minute, but first I remember as a new beekeeper someone mentioning the term winter bees. and I made assumptions about them just being regular old bees in the winter or some kind of fictional thing from a beekeeper taking a few too many stings to the head. But winter bees are a real thing. Here's some facts about them. Winter bees are a special generation of honey bees that are produced in the fall and are adapted to keep a colony alive through winter. So here are some of the differences.

2:12 Generally, winter bees live much longer. While summer workers may live only four to six weeks, winter bees can survive several months, often all the way through the winter and into spring. Winter bees have larger nutrition reserves. They accumulate more fat body tissue. which function somewhat like a combination of a liver and energy storage organ. In fact, we often refer to these winter bees as fat winter bees. Next, winter bees have higher levels of vitaligenin, which is a protein associated with longevity, nutrition and immune function. Winter bees do less foraging, so they're not wearing themselves out like summer bees. Their job is primarily to maintain the colony and eventually support the first spring generation. Lastly, winter bees are really good at clustering and generating heat. Of course, these winter bees aren't a different species, they're still worker bees, but the environmental conditions and colony nutrition during development cause late season workers to develop a physiology better suited to surviving winter. A colony that produces lots of healthy, well -nourished winter bees going into fall has a much, much better chance of emerging strong in the spring. So the goal isn't simply to have a lot of bees going into winter, it's to have the right population of healthy winter bees. So, do your fall prep.

3:47 Think food stores, Varroa control, and possibly even insulation. Bottom line? Summer bees build the colony winter bees preserve it I'd like to welcome to the show today Delaney Craighead. How are you Delaney? Hello? It's great to be here Thank you so much for having me and tell us where you are right now, and what it looks like outside your window I am currently in Tucson, Arizona. It's hot It's in the 90s, but we just had a nice monsoon. So it's been pouring, kind of dripping all day. Throwing me off a little bit of a normal dry 108. Well, I'm going to throw you off as much as I can here today. So here we go. You're not the average beekeeper. You are the queen beekeeper, let's put it that way, or the American honey queen. Congratulations, by the way. Thank you. Thank you so much. I started in January, so I'm about six months through already.

4:49 for people who have never heard of it. Not that there's anyone who hasn't heard of it, but give us an idea of what it is and how you get to be crowned and where this whole thing comes from. This is a fantastic program, so I represent on behalf of the American Beekeeping Federation, and I get sent all over the U .S. to talk about honey bees, beekeepers, and why it's just so important to our world and to our environment. And I start off as the California Honey Queen, because that's where I'm from. You compete against your other states, and then you are based off your honey or qualifications, your communication skills, and your beekeeping knowledge. So it's a lot of fun. You meet a lot of really cool beekeepers all over the US. And I myself just get to have a lot of new experiences. How did you get elected or win or however this happens? What's the contest like? It's a multiple -day conference, the American Beekeeping Federation Conference, and we do presentations, interviews, some papers we have to write. So we're constantly interacting with people, and these are people all over the US that come to this conference, and we don't know who the judges are, and so we're doing a lot, interacting, connecting, and kind of just based on our communication skills, based on what we know, how we are, are we talkative, are we quiet, what's going on. So for those of you that are watching the video version of the podcast, hey, nice crown there, Queen. Thank

6:21 you. Do you wear that all day every day? I don't. I don't because it gives me a little bit of a headache because it's just so heavy and nice. I'm not making fun. This is a big deal. And we really appreciate all you're doing because you're really representing beekeepers in the industry all over the country. Give us an example of some of the things you've done. You took a trip to where and talked to who and did what? I just got back from three weeks. Each week was a different state. So I went from New Jersey at Thayer State Fair to Washington State at the Clark County Fair, all the way to Illinois at Thayer State Fair. So I interact with a lot of beekeepers during the honey booth and a lot of just general population who... Some people have never seen a honeybee up close before. Some have never seen an observation hive. Some people have never seen people interact with honeybees with maybe just a valon and just genes. So it's a lot of getting to kind of educate the general population and just spread awareness about what beekeepers do and why honeybees are just so important. So what kinds of things do you run into? I mean, we've all talked to people that don't know anything about bees and are wondering about beekeepers.

7:35 And the question I get asked the most the first time is, oh, do you ever get stung? And I get tired of that question. But what kinds of things do they ask you as the queen bee? I'd say fairly similar. And then because I interact with everywhere from preschool to senior homes. So I get the wide range of experience levels and you get some of these second graders and they're asking college level questions and you're like, how did you learn that? How do you know that word? And then you get, yeah, some of those more common questions that are like, how are the bees not stinging you? And that's fine. I like that range of questions because you get to help everyone. It's non -judgmental. You get to say, what do you need? Let me answer that question. If I can't answer it, the beekeeper standing next to me can. So it's a lot of fun getting and interact on people of all experience levels. And you're getting the education. Tell us what you're doing for your masters right now.

8:27 I'm going to the University of Arizona. I'm studying epidemiology, well, public health with an emphasis in epidemiology. I like my parasites. I like my diseases, my bugs, my animals. The human side is there, but I'm a little more interested in the ones that affect the insects and the animals. bees fit right under that. They have a plethora of their own diseases and issues. So it's great getting to learn about both of them. So what things have you learned about bee issues and have you found any solutions for them? I mean, Varroa obviously is the first thing that comes up the most. Have you dealt with this much? Because I know you're not a commercial beekeeper yourself. but you're a student and you're meeting with a lot of beekeepers. So what are some of their biggest concerns? Maybe that's a better way to put it. Yeah, that's a great question. Honeybees have a lot up against them. And I'd say the question that really relates with this to most is people ask me, how are the honeybees doing? You get a lot of different information, and so they want to ask me what's going on. What's happening with the honeybees? And that's exactly what I'm telling you, is it goes in waves. Honeybees are going up against a lot of different things between...

9:36 their own diseases and issues they face to something like climate change, pesticide use, habitat availability. So it's gonna go in waves. Sometimes they're gonna do great. Sometimes they're gonna need a little extra help. And that branch that always fixes it, that thing that's always gonna make it better is education. So I always tell people education is the perfect way to start. Because once you can tell people to plant some pollinator friendly plants in your garden or in front of your house. that if you want to keep your lawn, that's great, but put some lavender in there. Add a little bit for those pollinators. So it's just educating the public really, I think that does the most for everyone. I like to think what you think about too. You know, I think the thing that you just touched on is really a good one, in that there is something that everybody can do. And one of my biggest pet peeves is all the pesticides being sprayed. and glyphosate being sprayed everywhere. And it is so hard on the bees. But if you're not a farmer, you sometimes feel like, hey, I just have this little lot.

10:40 Or maybe I live in a condo, and I have a lanai, but that's it. And I can't really do anything for the bees, but you can. I mean, those flowers are a big deal, even if you just have a couple of pots out on your porch. Right? There are ways to take care of weeds without spraying harsh chemicals. You got me up on my soapbox here, Delaney. I'll never stop. Clover is getting popular, replacing grass on people's front lawn. Now, you may be in an HOA where that's not allowed. OK, that's all right. But will it really kill anyone if there's two or three dandelions in the spring in your grass? You know, I don't think so. It's so many little things like that that can help the bees. And I like to think about the things that, like, people don't necessarily think about, too. You could go all the way into cooking with honey. Instead of using sugar, you use honey instead. People that are chefs that have nothing to do with honey bees that don't want to go outside, they can use honey in their recipes. They can educate people about honey bees just through making a cake. Which sounds silly from afar, but really, that's a big thing that could educate someone. Because a lot of people don't think about using honeybee products like honey in baking and cooking. And then you go into maybe the beauty side of making a, I don't know, a face scrub mask, a face mask. You can use honey in that. You can make that at home.

12:10 That's super simple with things that people have in their pantry. So some of those things aren't even just environmental issues. They're... What else can we use these products for? What are we using them in? And thinking about how connected everything is to a honeybee. Because I always like to say, whenever people ask me, I always say honeybees are the heart of agriculture. Because everything you talk about, honeybees connect to. That's what my nonstop talking point is, is how connected they are to everything. I could go on and on about that. They're also the canary in the coal mine. If we lose the honeybees, it tells us we've got some really big problems going on out there. And there is concern about losing bees. They are faced with so many problems. It's not just varroa, the diseases, the pesticides.

12:56 Do we have clean enough water? On and on and on, you know, these kinds of things. So, let's talk about, and tell me if you're up to speed on this topic at all, which is fake honey. Tell me what you know about that and why this is a deal, why it matters. Yeah, I mean, oh, that affects quite a few things too. And that's a big thing that the ABF covers, because they want to make sure that the things that we're eating, the things that we're putting in our body are, you know, they're full, they're real, and they are respecting the hard work. that beekeepers and honeybees do. So fake honey really kind of cuts out that important thing that honeybees do. If that makes sense, I'm not saying it the best way, but fake honey is just not great for anyone. It's not great on an environmental scale, on an economic scale. So we want to make sure that we're supporting our beekeepers, we're supporting local places, and we're making sure that our honey, that what we want from it, we're reading the label and it's everything that's in it is in there. You better back up just a little bit and tell us what is fake honey. Yeah. Because anybody can go to the grocery store and see some nice golden stuff on the shelves. What should they buy? And what should they watch out for?

14:13 Yeah, exactly. And that's a hard thing to do. It's about reading that label, making sure that you know everything that's in your honey that is supposed to be in there. So fake honey is usually when it's cut with kind of like cheap sugars, something cheap in there, so it's not all natural honey. Quick break to discuss what just might be on your mind right now come on admit it You're imagining the upcoming honey harvest because no matter where you live in the world It's either here now or it will be in the near future and man Lake is making it so easy to plan for Click on over to man Lake's website for an amazing selection of extractors filters bottling supplies uncapping knives supplies for a comb honey everything and I mean everything you'll need. But if you aren't there quite yet and the honey flows right around the corner, make sure you have extra supers on hand. You never can have too many or be too prepared. And right now Man Lake is offering podcast listeners $10 off your next order. Just enter code MLBLove10 at checkout. That's manlakeltd .com. Discount code MLBLove10. And a great way to indicate that you have real honey is you want to know that it's crystallizing. A lot of people are kind of scared when they see their honey start to crystallize. And they think, oh, it's going bad.

15:40 Nope. That is a sign that you have real honey. That means that a natural process is going on. If it crystallizes, just put it in some hot water, heat it up. It'll turn back into that liquid gold that we love. It just falls down to education again. Knowing what you're doing, what you're buying, reading that label, making sure you're supporting local businesses. One of the things that I love is farmers markets. And it seems like they're everywhere now. And there's usually a beekeeper or two at every farmer's market. Now, just because there's a beekeeper there doesn't mean their honey is better than what's in the grocery store, although it might be. But that's a great place where you can get to know the beekeeper.

16:21 Ask questions. What are some of the questions they should be asking? Well, one thing is what types of honey do you offer? Because a lot of times in grocery stores, you're going to get that just wildflower honey, although nothing's wrong with wildflower honey. Sometimes you want something a little unusual, a little different, maybe like your orange blossom honey, your avocado. I mean, there's 300 different types of honey alone just in the U .S. and I think over 2 ,000 in the world. So talking to your beekeeper about what you want, what are you using your honey for? Are you using it for baking? Are you using it for tea and toast? What flavors do you like? Talking to that beekeeper about where they place their honey bees. Do they place them all over locally? Are they commercial beekeepers? And they're taking their bees from Maine all the way to California? kind of just getting to know that beekeeper and kind of realizing the work that they're putting into it to show up at that farmer's market every weekend or every day. And it's okay to ask things like, what kinds of treatments do you use for your bees? Some people have more of a tolerance for chemicals and some people are like, I just want to be completely organic, which is nearly impossible. in beekeeping in this country. We could go down that rabbit hole for a while. Well, you don't need to. Organic on the label, what does it really mean? But it's nice to know that from a farmer's market, you talk to the beekeeper, you know where it's coming from. You know that it's not gonna be coming

17:53 from China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and cut with who knows what. Water high fructose corn syrup all kinds of things and by the way in the grocery store. That's not on the label Yeah, no, you can look at a label and it's not gonna say honey and high fructose corn syrup So you have to be a little bit more of a detective than just that. Yeah, you're right Yeah, okay. We'll get a label expert on here next time unless you're a label expert. I am NOT What's your favorite bee disease? Oh, jeez. Um, all of them? Is that an allowed answer? Why do you like studying the diseases?

18:37 I would have to go with the bromides because I kind of lean more towards the parasites. I just think parasites are so interesting, especially when you get into like parasitic wasps. Those things are crazy. I think that's so cool how they have almost all the abilities to do things that we either think is like a superpower. or that we put in our scary movies, all of our horror movies. Insects are already doing that, especially your parasitic wasps. So I think they're just so interesting to learn about, and I really like learning about that median host. So not your end host, where it's supposed to end up, and not the beginning. I like to see how does the middle affect it. So where does your veronite start? Where is its middle? Where is its end?

19:20 I'd be more interested instead in kind of that middle area, for it's latching on to that adult bee. Tell me how that life cycle works, that beginning, middle, and end. I mean, the interesting thing about the Veromites is they're really kind of always on the bees. It just depends where in the hive that they are. So I think a really experienced beekeeper would be able to talk about this better since I'm more in the beginning realm. But I think it's interesting how the Veromites just find bees and just get in there and create mass destruction even though they're so tiny. They're so little. But compared to the size of a bee, they're not that little. They're like, like if you had one, the proportion would be like a dinner plate on you. And something you mentioned a minute ago, I would love to see a horror movie called, you know, Revenge of the Varroa or something like that. Because they're really terrifying looking things. Really? Well, I mean, yeah, they latch on, they don't let go.

20:17 If we had that as humans, that would be, we would figure that out so quick, that'd be terrifying to us. Well, ticks are bad enough. Imagine a tick the size of a plate. That would be terrifying. You don't have opposing thumbs, so you can't get it off yourself. Mm -mm. You can't shake it off. You can't, I don't know. I think parasites are crazy. I think they're wild, and just the things that they have to do in order to survive are wild, or just wild to learn about. So, and there's a lot to be done. There's a lot. Feeling the diseases of honey bees, there's a lot to learn. I'm glad you're into them enough to study them because that's really the basis of how we're going to solve this problem is understanding them better. There's so many solutions out there now. There's all the different chemicals. There's neuroa. There are contraptions that sort of scrape them off as the bees are going in and out of the hive. There are all kinds of things, but there isn't any one perfect solution yet. They're not gone. They're a problem. And the better we understand them, the better, the sooner, the whatever, we're going to figure out how to get rid of them or make them a complete non -factor.

21:32 Exactly. And I like that you kind of mentioned that there's not one answer. Because for beekeepers, there's not one answer. In the agricultural world, there's a lot of different ways to do one thing. And that's what I love about it is that for one person, something works fantastic. For another person, that same thing doesn't work at all. And it really comes down to like the beekeeper themselves, where they're at, that what they're doing, that can really change how it works. And I love that. I love that there's multiple ways to do one thing. Yeah, but we just want a simple cure. Just give us a dang pill and have this whole nightmare over with. I know it's not that simple. I wish it was. Yeah, I wish it was. I mean, what else? There's heat. There's AI technology.

22:19 There's little laser zappers that some other grad students are working on that can track them and zap them inside the hive without killing the bee it's on. I'm like, wow. and then people studying genetics. We had not too long ago some grad students on from UC Riverside and they were talking about how they're studying a certain sort of hybrid variety of bees in Southern California that just on their own are fairly Varroa resistant. Now I say Varroa resistant is kind of a Generic term because we didn't get into are they hygienic? in other words, they somehow figure out how to get rid of them or Do they have them and it just doesn't bother them or just what is it? But genetics could also be the key to this whole thing. So it's a race For everybody your age get in there.

23:13 Yeah, it true and that's a big part actually of the Honey Queen program is that I'm not an expert. I'm working with some beekeepers that have 50 plus years of experience. So my really my big goal is to be able to connect the people that have questions to the people that have answers. So the ones that are newer beekeepers, I can point them in the direction of look at all these resources you have. Look at all this new data and research coming out that you can look at and use. And I'm trying to connect those bigger beekeepers with the smaller ones, that way they can pair together to hopefully come up with an answer. Hopefully come up with something that can get rid of mites, that can get rid of fungal infections and all the other good stuff that poor bees face. They are amazing that they've gotten through all this stuff. Pretty much without us, let's face it. Yeah, honestly, they do a lot on their own. I feel like as a beekeeper, it's more just to be a little nudge, to be a little bit of a help, but they're going to do what they want to do. I have a feeling if we weren't here they would just be doing better without us anyway. So there's some of the challenges but there's a lot of joys and a lot of positive things to talk about also because we are making strides against some of those problems. We are seeing success. We are seeing young up -and -coming beekeepers. We are seeing an industry that is very resilient. and is bouncing back. And we're seeing cute little insects that we love that are super resilient. What is it you like about

24:45 bees anyway? I mean, I just like how much they do. And their communication is just so advanced compared to some other species. It's great just opening a hive. Sometimes I like to just open a hive and like watch them. And they are just so busy. They've got something to do, somewhere to be. I don't know how to explain that. Every time after I'm in a hive, I come back in a better mood. Like, I feel like I always have something to learn when I'm working with bees and some new question, pretty much, that I want an answer to. That's a great answer. I think that's a lot of beekeepers. I think they always have something they want to learn, something they want to do better to take better care of their bees. That's maybe part of the reason why that community is so resilient. Because at the end of the day, they just, they want their bees to do well. And we're never going to understand them a whole hundred percent and have all the answers. There always is something to learn. That's part of what is really fun about it. Yeah, exactly. You have experience that they're still going to conferences and meetings because they still have more to learn. So it's great getting to see that, that they know, too, that there's more to learn always.

25:55 Now, I know you don't have a ton, ton of experience. actually with your hands in a hive. You have a lot more than most people and you've been through California's Master Beekeeper program and things like that. Have you had any fun, wild or crazy stories with bees that you can think of that you want to share? I feel like one of my top experiences so far was doing a bee beard. I got to do a bee beard in New Jersey. I didn't do it at the state fair. I did it at the home, the host I was staying with. And they were kind enough to do a bee beard for me. And it was just the coolest experience ever. It was so fun. I loved it. Give us a bunch more detail. There's different ways to do these. So exactly how did they do it? Or how did you do it? They helped you do it. Oh, yeah. No, I couldn't have done it on my own. So they just took the queen and they strapped her like right under my chin. And then they kind of just slowly pushed bees onto my face. And they pushed more and more. And then they kind of just... They found their way. They made their own little shape. They really liked my ears for some reason, but luckily I had been worn to put cotton in them beforehand. I didn't have any bees in my ears. How about the breathing?

27:07 Was that hard? It was a little bit, yeah. I was really smiling, but I was trying to keep my mouth closed. So I probably just looked kind of funny sitting there like trying to smile without. Having bees crawl in my mouth. But I think the wildest thing was how ticklish it was. And then the queen was really loud, too. I didn't expect that. No, I always see the queen. I spot her when we're open hives and everything. But I haven't been, I guess, that up close and personal with one to be able to hear her chirp a bunch. So it was really interesting. And then getting it off was even more interesting, because you're standing there, like, with bees on your face. You're like, now what? Like, you're just going to shake them off. I'm like, what? They're like, yeah, just one, two, three, shake. I'm like, oh, okay. And they fall. They do. They fall off into the box.

28:01 They're fine. They just get all put in that box and they go back in their hive. And then you just brush the few that stayed on off and you're good to go. Did you feel like you needed to at times be like, okay, calm, calm, just breathe. Was there ever a time when maybe a little anxiety creeped in? I think there was a little anxiety in the beginning when they're just kind of like throwing them on your face. And you're like, what did I, what did I send myself up for? But the rest was just pure excitement. I was so excited to be there and so excited to have them. And that was like one of my goals that I made back in January when I first got this position. I was like, I want to do a beebeard. So I actually got that to happen and that got that to be done.

28:47 And the fact that it was just no stings and it was just so, it was so peaceful. They were just buzzing and crawling around and then you take them off and you're left with a little bit of bee poop, but otherwise fine, unharmed. Better than bee stingers, I tell ya. Exactly. And it's just, it's great for telling random people and they go, what? They didn't sting you? And I'm like, no, they're... They're not there to sting, and they're gonna sting if they have to if they really are scared, but they're not. And most of the time, that's how honeybees are. They're not really scared. They've got a job to do, they're busy, they don't care about us. It's only when we get in the way of them. So true. Do you have a picture of that that we can post with this?

29:29 I do, yes. I can send that to you afterwards. You didn't have your crown on at the same time, did you? No, I didn't. Okay, next time. Crown and beebeard. Yep. You're right. You're actually right. Is there gonna be a next time? I wouldn't say no. If the bees were happy and calm and the weather was nice, I would not say no to another beebear. Cool. Well, before we wrap up, I'm just gonna give you the last say. Tell me what you find is the most joy in all of this. I mean, you're spending a whole year doing this, as well as going to school. Is it meeting with kids? Is it just being able to spread your love of bees? What do you love about this whole thing?

30:10 I think that's hard to just pick one. You can have up to three. How's that? One, bee beer. Two is probably just, for my own interest, getting to meet beekeepers that are so different and special in level of experiences. I mean, I'm from California. I don't have hurricanes. I go to Florida, and they're teaching me about what to do when a hurricane's coming towards your hives, and that's... it's something that would've crossed my mind. So you're getting experience beyond what you, what you even could have thought of in terms of beekeeping knowledge. So that's just, that's fantastic, that's amazing. But the second thing is definitely seeing people's curiosity grow. When you get to show them the bees and you get to get them past maybe that initial fear or that initial like confusion or just that they didn't understand. and getting to see them like they asked that next question. And then they step closer and then they want to know more about honeybees. So it's great getting to watch that learn and then see like that own spark happen.

31:11 Well, thanks for all you're doing out there spreading the good word about our little friends, the honeybees. And you know, the time never came up, but I was hoping at some point I could call you Miss Honey. My kids love Matilda. Oh my god. Gosh, I never even thought about that. You didn't think about that. Matilda and Miss Honey, that's you. And I love that movie. Oh, now I got to watch that again. She's this sweet, wonderful schoolteacher that eventually adopts Matilda and, yeah. Most kids just say the bee lady. You can hear them whispering, they go, the bee lady's here. So now I got to change that. Have them call you Miss Honey from now on. Mm -hmm. I like that.

31:51 I like it. I'm glad I could somehow contribute to what you're doing out there this year. Anyway, have fun. This is going to be a fun time in your life you're going to remember forever. So just totally enjoy it. Thank you so much. And thank you for having me. Where are you going to be traveling to next? Or do you have a schedule online they can look up? I know September. I don't quite know beyond that. I know I go to Nebraska for, I believe, their state fair September 3. And then I go to Ohio September 10. And then I'll be in Texas towards the end of September. So a lot of quick trace. Fine, Miss Honey, Delaney Craighead. Good to see you. Thank you so much.

32:34 Thanks again for joining us on Be Love, Be Keeping presented by Man Lake. Another big thank you goes to B2B Health for their support. Vita's Varroa Control Ranger products includes Capistan, Epigard, and now Varroxan Extended Release Oxalic Acids Trips. Hey, thanks a lot guys. And if you haven't yet, please subscribe to and follow the show, tell your friends about it, and click on over to BeLoveBeKeeping .com to sign up for our free newsletter. If you have a guest suggestion or topic you'd like discussed on the show, shoot me an email, erik at BeLoveBeKeeping .com. And remember, if you're not just in it for the honey or the money, you're in it for the love. See you next week.