Beekeeping with Children - Have Fun, Be Safe

WEBVTT

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May I have your attention, please? The following

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is not the real Jeff Fox review If you used to

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think beekeeping would be an inexpensive hobby

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You might be a beekeeper If you are convinced

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your honey tastes better than any other in the

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whole wide world. You might be a beekeeper. Okay,

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let's do some simple math here. Now, if when

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you run a financial analysis on what it really

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costs to produce your honey, and it comes out

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to $20 a jar, and you think you're getting rich

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selling it for 15. Welcome, welcome to Be Love

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Beekeeping presented by our good friends over

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at Man Lake. Today our guest is Cindy Elsenbeck

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from upstate New York and we'll be discussing

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beekeeping with children. So if you're a parent,

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grandparent, aunt, uncle, school teacher, you

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name it, you'll get some great insights on how

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to make beekeeping with the kids in your life

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safe and fun. Before we jump into that, we have

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some news bits from around the globe. First,

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from Italy, headline, plants produce more nectar

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when they hear bees buzzing, scientists find.

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Okay, settle down, no jokes about plants not

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having ears. Let's get into the research here

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for a second. According to this new study, plants

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can actually hear bees buzzing and serve up more

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nectar when they're nearby. The research suggests

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that plants are a more active partner than previously

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thought in their symbiotic relationship with

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pollinators. The behavior could be a survival

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strategy that favors giving nectar and sugar

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to bees over so -called nectar robbers that do

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not offer plants any reproductive benefits. This

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is growing evidence that both insects and plants

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can sense and produce or transmit vibroacoustic

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signals. said Professor Francesco Barbero, a

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zoologist at the University of Turin, who led

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the research. The findings add to the truly astonishing

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multitude of ways that plants can perceive their

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surroundings, including the presence of beneficial

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and harmful insects, temperature, drought, and

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wind. In the future, the team suggested, buzzing

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noises could be used on farms as an environmentally

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friendly way to enhance the pollination of crops.

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While it's clear that buzzing sounds can trigger

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nectar production, the scientists are now looking

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into whether sounds from plants are being used

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actively to draw in suitable pollinators. And

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from Texas, a man is dead after bees swarm him

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while mowing his lawn. So what happened here

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is this guy's mowing his lawn, bees attack him,

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He runs for his vehicle. They follow him into

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it. He drives away, but there's bees in the car.

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It causes him to crash. When police arrived at

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the scene, they observed that the driver of the

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vehicle was being swarmed by bees. So that's

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inside the car. A witness said she saw the man

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and his truck nearby. Then the next thing you

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know, I look down and hear a loud boom and he's

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in my parents front yard. The man later identified

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as Stephen Daniel was mowing when he apparently

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disturbed a large honeybee nest near an abandoned

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building. Though he was still being attacked

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by the bees, officers were able to get him out

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of his truck and into an ambulance, at which

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point he lost consciousness and he died at the

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hospital a short time later. From Bulgaria? You

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think the bee die -off here in the states is

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bad. In Bulgaria this spring beekeepers have

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reported 90 % mortality rates among their bees.

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I'm not even going to say anything else about

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that. All right, let's put smiles back on our

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faces. We have a fun topic today. So let's get

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right to it. Children and beekeeping. I would

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love to welcome to the show today, Cindy Elsenbeck.

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Cindy, good morning. How are you? Good morning,

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Eric. I am fantastic. And you're in upstate New

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York? Yes. Yep. Foothills of the Adirondacks.

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Beautiful, beautiful country. It sounds beautiful.

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Where is that from the Finger Lakes? Oh, probably

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about four hours. Oh, it's a long ways. Okay.

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Yeah. All right. That shows my ignorance and

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geography today. So I've already embarrassed

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myself, but I have been to the Finger Lakes region,

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beautiful area, and I'll get out to your part

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of the state next time. We're going to have fun

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today because we're going to be talking about

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involving kids, children in beekeeping. You're

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an expert on the topic. Come on, admit it. Alright,

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okay. I hate to use the word expert, but it is

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something that I am passionate about and I've

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been doing it since COVID. Fantastic. I want

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to hear how did you get started in it? What made

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you think, hey, I'm going to put kids in harm's

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way? That was an unusual way of putting it. However,

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it is more than putting them in harm's way. It's

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more helping them to alleviate the fears that

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children seem to have with honeybees that unfortunately

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many times they get from the adults in our lives.

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When I was gifted a beehive, nothing I ever thought

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in my whole life that I would do. My son and

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daughter -in -law and three granddaughters gave

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me a beehive. And I said, oh, nice. And what

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am I supposed to do with this? I took a year,

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learned everything, touched bees, played with

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bees, treated bees, you name it. And of course,

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I fell madly in love with honeybees. And I love

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children. It is just built in. It's who I am.

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The year after I had been keeping bees, I said,

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I need to share this amazing insect with kids.

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So I contacted some schools and I started zooming

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and I prepared PowerPoint presentations and thank

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goodness for Zoom, I was able to share amazing

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facts and pictures and stories about honeybees

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and kids got so excited. That is awesome. When

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did you start doing things in person with bees

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and kids? As soon as I could. So as soon as I

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started doing it with a mask on, so as soon as

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schools opened back up, I was invited to come

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in. Like I said, I started with a mask. Not my

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favorite. I am a bit expressive and I like the

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kids to be able to see my face. That's how I

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started. So I would probably say 2022, as soon

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as we were having some limited access. Prior

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to that, though, I had some homeschool children

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come over to my house and we did a garage education

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session. And then we went out and I have kid

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suits because as you already know, Eric, I have

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grandchildren that are beekeepers as well. So

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we took them out in the beehives and They did

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a lot of observing and a couple of the older

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ones wanted to hold a frame and they're well

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protected. And it's just, it's just so much fun.

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I love talking to kids about bees. Let's talk

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about the fear first. Okay. If you were to guess

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on percentages here, because kids are also super

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curious, what percent are really sort of overcome

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with fear versus some that have maybe too much

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curiosity where they're not going to be safe.

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And those that are in a good place in the middle,

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like your perfect grandchildren. Thank you. I'm

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going to say that there's at least 25 percent

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that are really afraid. And it's one of the things

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that I often ask when I get started. Sometimes

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I hear things like not only are they afraid,

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but they hate. bees. And it's that sting story.

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And that's the elephant in the room. And I kind

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of have to get to the sting story before I get

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to too much else. Because once we get to questions

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and answers, they all want to share their sting

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story. So we don't want that to distract from

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the importance and the excitement. So we do a

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couple of sting stories, and we discuss that,

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yes, indeed, honeybees sting, however. they are

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way too busy collecting food for their family

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to chase children around the yard and sting them.

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So 25 % I would say are just either don't like

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them at all or are terrified of them. Probably

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about 50 % are okay with them and I'd say there's

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if there is 25 % that are where my granddaughters

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are, this is an amazing insect. There are classrooms

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that I have visited more than once. I have gone

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and seen the same group of children when they

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were in first grade, second grade, third grade.

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I just did their fourth grade presentation. Those

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kids can't wait. There is no fear. They can't

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wait to hear what I'm gonna tell them, what I'm

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gonna show them. learn something new, and they

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just love honeybees. So the sting is real, and

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we're not going to say that it's not, and they

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want to know if I've been stung, and I tell them,

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yes, I have. But as we know, it's always my fault.

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So we address it, but we get past it. And that

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just reminds me, that is one of the most common

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questions with any non beekeeper when they find

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out you're a beekeepers. Do you get stung? Right.

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Right. Oh, yes, I do. Well, of course. Right.

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Of course. But we manage it. We manage it with

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protective suits and smoke and things like that.

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Exactly. It's not out of control. And then there

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are some really weird people like me that do

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a little stinging on purpose. And we have a whole

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episode on apotherapy that people can go listen

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to, but I find it fascinating. And I don't like

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the pain, but I love the results from it. That

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is not medical advice. That is just Eric's personal

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experience here. I want to talk about the fear

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just a little bit more. Do you very often run

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into kids that... Were actually stung by something

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else and call it a bee because that's what their

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parents called it How do you educate on that?

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So I would say go let's go back to percentages

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I would say 95 % of the children that have been

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stung have not been stung by a honeybee Anything

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the flies and stings is a bee Adults, kids, it

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doesn't matter. It's a bee and they put them

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all in the bee. So in addition to keeping bees

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and teaching about bees, I love to take pictures

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of bees. So I have enlarged pictures of... many

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wanna bees. So I have yellow jackets that look

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an awful lot like a honeybee and wasps. And we

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talk about the stinging insects and the difference

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between the honeybee who is working for her family,

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who's collecting that food, who is not, like

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I said, not going to chase them and the wasp

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who is actually a meat eater and is going to

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possibly eat our little honeybee. And then there

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is the sting issue. And most children surprisingly

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know that honeybees die when they sting. So we

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always bring that up. So if they sting, do you

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really think that they want, if they die, do

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you really think that they want to sting you?

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If that is gonna be the end of their life. They

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only do it if they're absolutely terrified. as

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opposed to those other stinging insects, whose

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stingers are like a pin instead of a fish hook,

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and they can sting you as many times as they

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want to. And sometimes it seems like they're

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just having a bad day and they want to. Oh, it's

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not just a bad day. I think sometimes they just

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do it for fun. Just for funsies. Look at that

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guy on his bicycle. This is what happens to me.

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Let's go sting that guy five times. Yeah, I was

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in my car just finished a bee presentation. All

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of a sudden, I was like, ouch, did one of my

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bees get out? No, it was a wasp stung me three

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times in my own car. So what I tell children

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is there are singing insects out there. And the

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best defense is to not freak out, to not run,

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to not flail your arms around, because whatever

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it is is going to be intimidated. But most likely,

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you are not being stung by a honeybee. Okay,

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I like that. Let's talk protective gear for a

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minute. When I work with new beekeepers, I recommend,

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and this is just my personal thing, you get a

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bee suit from head to toe. And you completely

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wrap up, you have the thickest gloves you can

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deal with and everything else, because if you

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do that, that's going to help alleviate some

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of your fear. The less fear and anxiety that

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we have, then the less anxious the bees are going

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to be. They're going to be calmer. We're calmer.

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It's a whole circular thing here. Do you do the

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same thing with children? Absolutely. And just

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as a little aside, I do teach adult beekeeping

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classes as well. And it's the same philosophy.

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Do not watch people on YouTube with their hair

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flowing in the breeze and a short sleeve shirt

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scooping out handfuls of bees. Don't watch it

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because they are singing insects. Like you said,

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we want you to be comfortable. So especially

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with children. So my granddaughters received

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their first bee suits when they were four and

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five. The two that are actively keeping bees.

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I have five of them that like to go out in the

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bees, but two are actively keeping bees. They

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have their own hives. So it started with just

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exactly that. From the ankles to the top of the

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head, full suit, leather gloves. You would think

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that teaching children to be calm in the bee

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yard would be difficult. And maybe for some children

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it might be. And so far I've been very fortunate.

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I have not had an extremely anxious child who

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is making a lot of noise or being overly active

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in the bee yard. But they do incredibly well.

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When you tell a child the bees can sense how

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you're feeling. and they need you to be quiet

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and to be slow. I am amazed by how well they

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do inspecting the hives. And then the children

00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.879
who are not mine, that we have friends of my

00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:31.460
grandchildren come over. I guess I do homeschool

00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.980
groups that come over. I have adults that come

00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:39.850
over. Beekeeping is just so cool. They... Also,

00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:44.450
some will come and hold a frame. When the granddaughters

00:16:44.450 --> 00:16:46.649
come over, they go in their own hives, whatever

00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:49.230
their temperament is, they know what we have

00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:52.889
to do in those situations. When I bring a guest

00:16:52.889 --> 00:16:56.529
over who doesn't know a lot about bees and maybe

00:16:56.529 --> 00:16:59.110
is a little anxious, I'd pick that hive that,

00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:01.190
you know, we all have that one that, boy, this

00:17:01.190 --> 00:17:05.210
hive is just so sweet. This hive just... is always

00:17:05.210 --> 00:17:08.210
easy going. I can go in here anytime and hardly

00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:10.410
have to use smoke. And that's what I'm going

00:17:10.410 --> 00:17:13.710
to use because it's going to be, again, that

00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:18.950
much more memorable experience that is nice and

00:17:18.950 --> 00:17:22.009
calm and pleasant, because that's what we want,

00:17:22.130 --> 00:17:24.930
right? We want them to have a good time. So what

00:17:24.930 --> 00:17:27.150
are some of the things that get them really into

00:17:27.150 --> 00:17:32.299
it? That they just get loving it? And I'm thinking

00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:34.819
of one off the top of my head while you're thinking.

00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:39.019
I had a new bee last year come over this young

00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:42.880
lady and I had a frame out and there was a bee

00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:47.279
emerging right then and there. And I pointed

00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.299
it out and that was like, wow, that's so cool

00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:52.839
to see that happening. What kinds of things turn

00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:57.140
on kids like that? Yeah, the visual is definite.

00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:03.230
Kids... love to see bees actually being bees.

00:18:20.310 --> 00:18:23.750
pollen substitutes, food and feeders, and the

00:18:23.750 --> 00:18:26.269
knowledge base to help you know how to use it,

00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:30.450
including Bella, their AIB -keeping genius. Just

00:18:30.450 --> 00:18:32.529
look for her icon in the bottom right -hand corner

00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:36.390
of your screen at manlikeltd .com. While you're

00:18:36.390 --> 00:18:39.470
there, don't forget your discount code MLBlove10,

00:18:39.549 --> 00:18:42.430
it's in the show notes, for $10 off your first

00:18:42.430 --> 00:18:49.450
$100 purchase. have an observation hive that

00:18:49.450 --> 00:18:52.250
is just a single frame observation hive that

00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:57.049
I can easily take into classrooms. And the kids

00:18:57.049 --> 00:19:00.470
will spend, and I keep it covered up until the

00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:03.029
end of what we need to talk about or what I'd

00:19:03.029 --> 00:19:05.829
like to talk about, what I'd like to share with

00:19:05.829 --> 00:19:09.690
them. Because once I take the cover off that

00:19:09.690 --> 00:19:13.670
observation hive, it is like a magnet. And it

00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:17.319
is, oh, look at this one. Sometimes, so. I always

00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.839
clean my observation hive before I go. Maybe

00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:21.380
there's a little piece of paper towel in there.

00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:24.079
Well, here's a honeybee carrying around a piece

00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.819
of paper towel. Here's a worse one. This just

00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:29.740
happened last week. Somebody must have gotten

00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:33.619
pinched in the door when I shut it and screwed

00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:37.400
it tight because there was a bee carrying around

00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:43.200
another bee body part. The kids are not upset

00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:47.509
or freaking out. They're amazed. And of course,

00:19:47.569 --> 00:19:50.089
the poor little girl, she's working, trying to

00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:53.769
find her way to do her job to get that body part

00:19:53.769 --> 00:19:56.809
removed. And she can't find out. They feel bad

00:19:56.809 --> 00:20:00.130
because she can't complete her job. And they

00:20:00.130 --> 00:20:02.650
wonder why she keeps going. And I tell them it's

00:20:02.650 --> 00:20:07.509
because her job is to take dead bees out of the

00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:10.589
hive. I do not bring my queen. I leave her home.

00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:13.279
Sometimes I'll mark a drone just so they have

00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:16.140
something to find. And they like that. That's

00:20:16.140 --> 00:20:18.140
one of the first questions they always ask is,

00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:20.079
where's the queen? I want to find the queen.

00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:23.259
So it is fun to have something for them to be

00:20:23.259 --> 00:20:26.599
able to find. They've had the same experience.

00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:30.299
They see bees emerging, capped brood. I don't

00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:32.160
like to bring a lot of that. In the summertime,

00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:35.140
it's OK. But this time of year, it's a little

00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:38.759
cool. I don't like to have them leave home. They

00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:42.160
just sit and watch. So then I've kicked it up

00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:44.960
a notch. I have a living observation hive in

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.059
an elementary school. So I found this grant through

00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:51.779
the Bee Cause, and I said, oh, I love kids. I

00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:54.599
want to put a bee hive in a school. What school

00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.220
is ever going to let me put live bees in a school?

00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:00.099
Well, I found one. And not only put live bees

00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:02.259
in, but drill a hole through an outside wall

00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:05.099
in a building? No problem. It's on the second

00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:07.619
floor outside the library, which is perfect.

00:21:08.370 --> 00:21:12.109
And I am able to teach the kids. We usually do

00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:13.950
second and third grade, because that's when they're

00:21:13.950 --> 00:21:16.509
learning about insects and life cycle. And then

00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:19.589
they can go out and see the bees. They also see

00:21:19.589 --> 00:21:22.329
them many times during the day. The cool thing

00:21:22.329 --> 00:21:26.329
about the observation hive is we all know honey

00:21:26.329 --> 00:21:29.230
bees build wax wherever they can, right? There's

00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:32.650
a spot, oh, let's put some wax here. So of course,

00:21:32.730 --> 00:21:36.160
they put wax on the plexiglass. and the kids

00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:40.500
can see inside the cells as the life cycle progresses.

00:21:40.779 --> 00:21:43.940
It is amazing. They get to see the waggle dance.

00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:46.880
They can find the queen, and hopefully they do.

00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:51.700
So it's eight frames double -sided. It's just

00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:54.980
the coolest thing. So I've seen a lot of portable

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:57.900
observation hives. Explain a little bit more

00:21:57.900 --> 00:22:00.000
about this permanent one that you have at the

00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.059
school. What does it look like? How does it attach?

00:22:03.549 --> 00:22:08.450
Did you just take one wall off of the box and

00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:11.130
have that be plexiglass? Tell me what's going

00:22:11.130 --> 00:22:15.789
on here. Yeah, so it is up and down. It is eight,

00:22:16.049 --> 00:22:20.549
so it's four. frames, one on top of the other.

00:22:20.609 --> 00:22:24.049
They slide into grooves. And then the other side

00:22:24.049 --> 00:22:27.470
are four more frames that slide into grooves.

00:22:27.509 --> 00:22:30.430
So you have frame side back to back. So you can

00:22:30.430 --> 00:22:33.210
only see one side of the frame. You can't see

00:22:33.210 --> 00:22:36.420
what's going on in the middle. And then outside

00:22:36.420 --> 00:22:39.720
is plexiglass, and it's all screwed tight. It's

00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:43.220
safe. They cannot get out. There's vents on the

00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:46.079
side. There's a hole at the top to put in sugar

00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.089
syrup if you need to. Tray in the bottom. for

00:22:49.089 --> 00:22:52.089
Varroa mite to fall into. And then there's a

00:22:52.089 --> 00:22:54.410
hole that's drilled through the wall. And there's

00:22:54.410 --> 00:22:56.890
a tube that the bees, it's not really a tube,

00:22:56.910 --> 00:22:59.509
it's a short space actually, where they come

00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:02.650
and go. There's a little porch, that's what I

00:23:02.650 --> 00:23:04.970
call a porch, a little landing right outside

00:23:04.970 --> 00:23:09.930
this hole. And the hive is on a bracket that

00:23:09.930 --> 00:23:12.730
swivels. So they can look at one side and they

00:23:12.730 --> 00:23:15.569
can look at the other. And when they're not using

00:23:15.569 --> 00:23:18.559
it, it has a quilted cover that keeps it because

00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.759
we know honey bees work in the dark. So it keeps

00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:24.859
it covered. It's in a place that is warm enough.

00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:28.460
They get to see the progression. So you know

00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:30.519
how we talk about, so now all of a sudden they

00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.079
start bringing in nectar and they make honey.

00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:35.180
All of a sudden they're seeing frames that are

00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:40.240
honey. It is just amazing. Right outside there's

00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.339
a door that goes out onto the roof, which is

00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:48.680
perfect. It's a flat roof. So... I can take that

00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:51.980
observation hive outside. You can block the entrance.

00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:54.740
I have two friends that help me because it is

00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:59.039
heavy. And we don't want them to swarm, if at

00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:02.019
all possible. So we can take that out and we

00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:03.920
can pull some frames of brood, just like we were

00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:06.220
going to do a split in one of our eight -frame

00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:09.539
hives. beehives at home so we can pull some of

00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:14.039
that brood, put in some empty frames and potentially

00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:18.319
prevent them from swarming. So it's managed very

00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:22.119
similar to an eight frame beehive that we might

00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.140
have, except we can't add honey supers. Do you

00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:28.359
have a picture you can send? Absolutely. Of course

00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.759
you have pictures. You said you take bee pictures

00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:32.950
too. Go ahead and send a picture. We'll figure

00:24:32.950 --> 00:24:36.150
out how to post this maybe to our Instagram page

00:24:36.150 --> 00:24:38.130
or something like that. All right, you got it.

00:24:38.210 --> 00:24:42.049
That will be fun. I will be happy to. How about

00:24:42.049 --> 00:24:45.750
an awkward topic? How do you explain to these

00:24:45.750 --> 00:24:48.829
kids about drones and exactly what their life

00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:51.009
is all about? I knew that's what you were going

00:24:51.009 --> 00:24:54.289
to say because it always comes up, right? So

00:24:54.289 --> 00:24:58.880
I want My sessions to be interactive. I don't

00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:01.579
want to stand up there and talk at kids I want

00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:03.480
it to be so I'll go in saying oh, we're gonna

00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:05.180
talk about life cycle next thing I know we're

00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:08.180
doing pollination and we're doing this It's just

00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:10.640
like, you know, we talked about with your podcast.

00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:15.519
Let's go with wherever it goes So I always talk

00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.460
about who lives inside the hive Everybody seems

00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:20.799
to know there's a queen and that it has to be

00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.000
a queen and there's one we're good with it Then

00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:26.900
we get to the next two members And the first

00:25:26.900 --> 00:25:31.119
question I ask is who do you think does most

00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:35.640
of the work in the beehive? If you think the

00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:37.819
boys, I always do the boys first because guess

00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:41.279
what? That's who they think does most of the

00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:44.279
work. So I say, who thinks, you know, boys do

00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:46.819
most of the work? Most of the children raise

00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:49.900
their hand. And then who thinks the girls do

00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:51.700
most of the work? And we get a few, and then

00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:56.019
I raise my hand. And I tell them that not only

00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:58.880
do the girls do most of the work, they literally

00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:04.700
do all of the work. And we go through. absolutely

00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:07.819
everything, but the big things of taking care

00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:11.240
of the babies and making the home and bringing

00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:14.339
home the groceries. That's when I talk to kids,

00:26:14.339 --> 00:26:16.480
I say, no, but the flower is a grocery store

00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:20.480
for honeybees and they bring home the groceries.

00:26:21.299 --> 00:26:26.539
Before I even get to say anything about boy bees,

00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:30.579
hands go up. So if the girls do all the work,

00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:34.009
what's the boy bee do? and you know it's coming.

00:26:35.049 --> 00:26:41.210
So without getting into detail, I tell them that

00:26:41.210 --> 00:26:45.769
as we all know, you need a boy and a girl for

00:26:45.769 --> 00:26:49.170
there to be babies. So the boy's job is so that

00:26:49.170 --> 00:26:52.509
the queen can have babies. Now if I'm talking

00:26:52.509 --> 00:26:55.789
to adults, I can go into more details, but with

00:26:55.789 --> 00:27:00.910
kids, I leave it pretty simple as that. I try

00:27:00.910 --> 00:27:04.009
to find a positive spin on our drone. So I will

00:27:04.009 --> 00:27:08.089
say things like in the spring, their bodies are

00:27:08.089 --> 00:27:10.589
a little bigger, so they may help keep the hive

00:27:10.589 --> 00:27:14.569
a little bit warmer in the spring. And then we

00:27:14.569 --> 00:27:18.930
talk about how long do bees live. So when we

00:27:18.930 --> 00:27:22.549
talk about what happens to the boy bees in the

00:27:22.549 --> 00:27:27.460
fall, the young men seem to get a little... upset,

00:27:27.859 --> 00:27:30.319
and some of the girls as well, that the poor

00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:33.680
drones get kicked out, but I assure them that

00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:37.119
when the queen starts laying in the spring, not

00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.359
to worry, well actually starts laying in the

00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:42.900
winter, not to worry, she is going to start laying

00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:46.359
boys first. They are needed. They are important

00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:51.859
to the hive. They just don't do much work. Like

00:27:51.859 --> 00:27:54.259
I say, they're the teenagers in the basement

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:57.059
playing video games, going out drinking with

00:27:57.059 --> 00:28:01.339
their buddies. You got it. Yep. I want to hear

00:28:01.339 --> 00:28:04.680
more about your granddaughters. How old are they

00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:10.059
and how is this affecting the grandmother -granddaughter

00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:14.880
relationship? Oh, there have been so many positive

00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:18.299
things from this, Eric, that it's Just amazing.

00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:23.059
So they are currently 11 and 10. There's about

00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:26.259
a year and a half between them. So the one just

00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:30.880
turned 10 and they have been in the bee yard

00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:34.940
since they were four and five. One of my favorite

00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:38.980
pictures is one of the older granddaughter who

00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:43.160
at the time was five. When you get excited about

00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:46.819
something, you can easily transfer that to other

00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:51.059
people. So after spending a year learning about

00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:54.740
bees, I shared, I shared, I shared. How exciting,

00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:57.740
how wonderful. So it's time to go out in the

00:28:57.740 --> 00:29:00.579
bees. They're all suited up. They've got their

00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:02.980
boots on over the bottoms of their pants. They've

00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:05.299
got their gloves on, little tiny peanuts, and

00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:08.730
out we go. The older one, the only thing she

00:29:08.730 --> 00:29:13.410
wanted to do was feed the bees. I just want to

00:29:13.410 --> 00:29:15.970
feed the bees. And to this day, her favorite

00:29:15.970 --> 00:29:20.309
thing is watching her bees and caring for them.

00:29:20.849 --> 00:29:24.990
So she goes out. This was an installation. We

00:29:24.990 --> 00:29:27.470
installed a nuc. They came out and they watched.

00:29:27.690 --> 00:29:30.009
They did pick up some frames that didn't have

00:29:30.009 --> 00:29:32.769
as many bees on them. So the five -year -old

00:29:32.769 --> 00:29:37.309
picks up a dandelion. and she stands there and

00:29:37.309 --> 00:29:40.730
don't you know a bee comes and lands on that

00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:45.150
dandelion and that is my favorite picture of

00:29:45.150 --> 00:29:50.109
this five -year -old so proud holding this dandelion

00:29:50.109 --> 00:29:55.170
that it's just it's mind -boggling they open

00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:59.769
their mouth that they're 10 and 11, so last year,

00:29:59.809 --> 00:30:03.869
9 and 10, they, without assistance, open their

00:30:03.869 --> 00:30:07.490
hives. They inspect their hives. They need a

00:30:07.490 --> 00:30:09.710
little help taking honey supers off, but so do

00:30:09.710 --> 00:30:14.210
I some days. But the one of my granddaughter's

00:30:14.210 --> 00:30:17.759
hives had swarmed. And so I told her they love

00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.240
to find their queen. So I said to her, don't

00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.640
even worry. That queen is not marked. Haven't

00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:26.859
had a chance to mark her yet. Don't even worry

00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:29.720
about finding your queen. Look for signs that

00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:32.799
she's there. Look for your eggs and your larva.

00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:35.880
So I have both of them. So I'm kind of going

00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:37.960
between hives because I want to show me things

00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:40.680
and ask me things. So all of a sudden she goes,

00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:43.849
oh, I found my queen. I said, no. No, you didn't.

00:30:43.970 --> 00:30:47.470
Because it's not marked, you can't. So I go about

00:30:47.470 --> 00:30:51.509
helping the others. Really, I'm really sure this

00:30:51.509 --> 00:30:54.670
is my queen. So I go over, sure enough, there

00:30:54.670 --> 00:30:59.369
she had found her unmarked queen. They are incredible.

00:31:00.049 --> 00:31:05.369
And our relationship is just phenomenal. They,

00:31:05.369 --> 00:31:07.710
when I go to their classes, they get to help

00:31:07.710 --> 00:31:14.309
talk. They are excited that I come. They are

00:31:14.309 --> 00:31:21.089
proud of me. So this past January, my 11 -year

00:31:21.089 --> 00:31:25.289
-old was chosen to go to the North American Honey

00:31:25.289 --> 00:31:30.950
Bee Expo as scholarship for next gen. So that's

00:31:30.950 --> 00:31:35.390
our relationship. It was the most amazing time.

00:31:35.470 --> 00:31:38.880
And she was so excited, just the two of us. got

00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:42.920
to go and visit the vendors and listen to speakers

00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:45.440
and oh oh we have to sit in the front row she

00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:48.220
says because you know we don't want to miss anything

00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:54.619
amazing it is just it's wonderful and that same

00:31:54.619 --> 00:32:00.319
little girl when she graduated from pre -k she

00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:03.880
literally crawled down the aisle because she

00:32:03.880 --> 00:32:06.940
didn't like anybody looking at her. She now does

00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:09.779
presentations in front of her class. It has built

00:32:09.779 --> 00:32:13.819
her self -esteem, her confidence. I'm telling

00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:17.380
you, getting your kids excited about bees, it's

00:32:17.380 --> 00:32:20.859
a great thing. And this certainly isn't just

00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:24.359
grandparents and grandchildren. This is parents

00:32:24.359 --> 00:32:29.220
and your children. And I'm sure we could think

00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:33.000
of a lot of other relationships, too. But I think

00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:36.980
it's brought probably a new level of closeness

00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:40.420
that you would not have had otherwise. Yep. And

00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:44.039
someday in the very, very distant future, you're

00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:45.940
going to be gone and guess where your grandkids

00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:49.180
are going to remember the most. Right. I think

00:32:49.180 --> 00:32:53.400
so. I think so, too. I agree. All right. Couple

00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:55.819
more things before I let you go. I want to hear

00:32:55.819 --> 00:32:58.240
a wild and crazy beekeeping story. You are a

00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:01.019
fun person, which means you probably have 50

00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:05.319
of them. Give us one or two. All right. Oh, two.

00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:10.940
Good. OK. So I'll tell you my first since I get

00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:15.240
to do two. So the first one is not as crazy as

00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:18.390
the second one, but it's pretty hysterical. So

00:33:18.390 --> 00:33:21.210
I wanted an observation hive. So I'm getting

00:33:21.210 --> 00:33:23.769
to go to schools and I want to bring my bees,

00:33:23.910 --> 00:33:26.349
right? Because we already talked about how much

00:33:26.349 --> 00:33:30.549
kids love seeing bees and watching them. So I

00:33:30.549 --> 00:33:35.410
need an observation hive. So Jim too has directions

00:33:35.410 --> 00:33:38.130
online for free to build an observation hive.

00:33:38.190 --> 00:33:41.289
So my husband's pretty crafty. So I gave him

00:33:41.289 --> 00:33:44.589
said instructions and I said, build me this observation

00:33:44.589 --> 00:33:48.650
hive. So he did. and he's up, yeah, I'm just,

00:33:48.650 --> 00:33:51.289
I'm not crazy about how it came out. I'm not

00:33:51.289 --> 00:33:54.349
sure that this is really gonna be, I said, it's

00:33:54.349 --> 00:33:58.289
fine, it's fine. So I go out, pull a frame of

00:33:58.289 --> 00:34:04.519
bees, I put it in, I shut it up, I... Take it

00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.200
back up to the garage as I get up there. Bees

00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:09.820
are pouring out of this thing left and right.

00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:12.179
Hundreds of bees are just pouring out of this

00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:14.960
and I'm freaking out. Not because the bees are

00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:17.699
pouring out because I want to show the kids.

00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:21.840
So I'm grab the duct tape. I'm duct taping the

00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:25.420
thing around and around. I probably ended up

00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:28.019
with about 100 bees still in there and the children

00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:31.530
did see them and they enjoyed it, but. We ordered

00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:34.210
an observation hive online and it's been much

00:34:34.210 --> 00:34:38.090
better than mine. My poor husband tried very

00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:41.789
nicely to create. By the way, as a beekeeper,

00:34:42.510 --> 00:34:45.469
if you have never had an experience of driving

00:34:45.469 --> 00:34:49.809
with a car or truck full of bees flying around,

00:34:49.929 --> 00:34:53.469
you're not there yet. All their level. All right,

00:34:53.530 --> 00:34:56.349
go ahead. Story number two. So the other one,

00:34:56.349 --> 00:34:59.570
again, it involved children. So I had a presentation

00:34:59.570 --> 00:35:02.289
in the morning, nine thirty. I had to be there

00:35:02.289 --> 00:35:06.050
at nine thirty. So I wanted to wait until the

00:35:06.050 --> 00:35:09.989
very last minute to get the bees out of the hive,

00:35:09.989 --> 00:35:12.210
because we know that the morning they're not

00:35:12.210 --> 00:35:15.409
morning insects. That's not their time of day.

00:35:15.949 --> 00:35:20.670
So I was dressed and ready to go. So put on my

00:35:20.670 --> 00:35:25.480
jacket. put on my gloves and lit my smoker. Now,

00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:29.300
I happen to be wearing black capris, and capris

00:35:29.300 --> 00:35:31.260
may not be as popular anymore. They're kind of

00:35:31.260 --> 00:35:33.940
a cross between a short and a pant, and they

00:35:33.940 --> 00:35:36.340
were black. But, you know, I had on a yellow

00:35:36.340 --> 00:35:38.980
top, you know, I gotta, you know, look the part

00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:43.539
here. So I go out to the beehive and I take off

00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:48.900
the outer cover and... instantly greeted by thousands

00:35:48.900 --> 00:35:53.260
of little faces. So I smoked them. Well, oh darn,

00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:57.699
that smoker went out. Oh, I said to myself, that's

00:35:57.699 --> 00:36:01.800
okay. I'm just gonna pull one frame. I really

00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:06.380
don't need that smoker. So a few more bees came

00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:08.719
out and at this point I got a couple of stings

00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:11.679
on top of my hand through my gloves. I wear nitrile

00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:14.440
gloves at this point of my beekeeping career.

00:36:15.179 --> 00:36:18.260
Took a couple of stings, but again, you know,

00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:21.619
it's for the kids. So I'm not done. I'm not going

00:36:21.619 --> 00:36:25.260
to give up yet. So I pull out a frame. Well,

00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:31.119
with that, anger ensued and the backs of my calves

00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:33.900
got stung. And I did what I tell children never

00:36:33.900 --> 00:36:38.199
to do. I ran like a fool to the house, flailing

00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:43.070
my arms, being chased by thousands of bees. Well,

00:36:43.070 --> 00:36:45.010
probably not. But you know how it seems like

00:36:45.010 --> 00:36:48.050
at the time. It seems like that. So I get up

00:36:48.050 --> 00:36:51.409
to the house. They don't follow me into the garage.

00:36:52.369 --> 00:36:56.909
So what did I do? I lit my smoker. I went back

00:36:56.909 --> 00:37:00.469
out and I got that frame of me. Put it in my

00:37:00.469 --> 00:37:04.070
observation while I took it. Determination. And

00:37:04.070 --> 00:37:07.760
I have learned now that it's probably better

00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:11.559
to grab that frame of bees in the afternoon and

00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:14.800
let them sit in the nice garage just overnight

00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:18.079
than try to risk doing it in the morning again.

00:37:18.980 --> 00:37:21.340
Oh, it's fun to learn all these lessons, isn't

00:37:21.340 --> 00:37:25.159
it? Hey, any last minute advice for parents,

00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:28.519
grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers that want

00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:32.260
to work with kids? Get them interested. Show

00:37:32.260 --> 00:37:36.059
them the amazing thing that are honey bees children

00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:39.820
are Just blown away when they find out that that

00:37:39.820 --> 00:37:43.920
honeycomb is made from wax that the bees actually

00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:48.739
make on their own bodies that They don't have

00:37:48.739 --> 00:37:51.719
a nose yet. They have an incredible sense of

00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:55.440
smell That they don't have ears yet. They can

00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:59.539
communicate with vibration the amazing things

00:37:59.539 --> 00:38:04.519
that are Part of a honeybee are incredible things

00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:06.679
to share with children. And when they become

00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:10.659
amazed, they become much less afraid. Great way

00:38:10.659 --> 00:38:13.280
to put it. Cindy, thank you so much for being

00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:15.559
on the show. And you know what? Thank you for

00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:18.400
reaching out to me and offering to be on the

00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:21.559
show just to let everybody know out there. If

00:38:21.559 --> 00:38:24.360
you're a plain old beekeeper or have a fun story.

00:38:24.949 --> 00:38:28.150
or want to chit chat about bees, hey, I'm always

00:38:28.150 --> 00:38:31.230
here. Shoot me an email. You can find all that

00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:33.789
in the show notes and on the website. And we

00:38:33.789 --> 00:38:36.250
would love to hear from you. And thanks again,

00:38:36.309 --> 00:38:38.730
Cindy. Thank you, Eric. It was my pleasure to

00:38:38.730 --> 00:38:42.170
be here. And I just hope that everyone has a

00:38:42.170 --> 00:38:44.730
great day. And we always remember to be happy.

00:38:47.909 --> 00:38:50.449
Thanks again for joining us here on Be Love Beekeeping,

00:38:50.710 --> 00:38:54.420
presented by Man Lake. Remember right now to

00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:58.219
follow or subscribe and share this podcast. Also

00:38:58.219 --> 00:39:00.559
a quick shout out to Vita Bee Health for their

00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:04.019
support. Vita's Varroa Control range of products

00:39:04.019 --> 00:39:07.960
includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan,

00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:11.619
Extended Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys.

00:39:12.460 --> 00:39:15.179
Enjoy spring everybody, enjoy your bees, and

00:39:15.179 --> 00:39:17.559
remember, if you're not just in it for the honey

00:39:17.559 --> 00:39:20.480
or the money, you're in it for the love. See

00:39:20.480 --> 00:39:22.980
you next week. you