Helping Beekeepers In The Caribbean - Bees Beyond Borders

WEBVTT

00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.660
May I have your attention, please? The following

00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:10.699
is not the real Jeff Fox release. If you have

00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:14.679
ever done a happy dance when your bees first

00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:20.640
emerged in spring, you might be a beekeeper.

00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:26.359
If you have a love -hate relationship with hay

00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:34.659
fever season, You might be a beekeeper. If you

00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:38.820
have ever seen the back of a bee from inside

00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:45.539
your veil, think about it now. You might be a

00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:56.979
beekeeper. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping

00:00:56.979 --> 00:01:00.219
presented by our good friends over at Man Lake.

00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:04.500
Question for the day, how do you use your beekeeping

00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:08.340
skills to help others? In today's episode, we're

00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:10.680
going to have a discussion with two people that

00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:13.599
have found amazing ways to help underprivileged

00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:17.280
beekeepers in the Caribbean. But first, a brief

00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.079
update on the huge losses of honeybees here in

00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.640
North America. A while back, We had Chris Hyatt

00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:28.700
on the podcast discussing how 1 .1 million colonies

00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:32.420
had been lost this year. More recent polls have

00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:36.739
increased that figure to 1 .6 million colonies.

00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:40.400
Research is still in progress to find the causes

00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.299
and we'll keep you posted as more info becomes

00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:46.219
available. Let's lighten the mood with a few

00:01:46.219 --> 00:01:49.140
fun facts about the honey bees that we so much

00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:53.329
love. Did you know? that honey bees beat their

00:01:53.329 --> 00:01:58.370
wings an incredible 11 ,400 times per minute,

00:01:58.849 --> 00:02:01.469
which creates their characteristic buzzing sound.

00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:05.150
And have you ever wondered if the bees know when

00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:07.629
you're afraid of them? Well, here's something

00:02:07.629 --> 00:02:10.830
maybe you didn't know. Bees can sense the hormone

00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:14.550
released by scared humans and will attack if

00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:17.689
they feel their hive is threatened. Did you know

00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:22.550
that honey bees can recognize human faces? So

00:02:22.550 --> 00:02:24.969
hey be nice to those bees and hopefully they'll

00:02:24.969 --> 00:02:29.430
be nice to you. And did you know that Saint Valentine

00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:33.169
is the patron saint of beekeepers and also of

00:02:33.169 --> 00:02:36.610
love? And we just dubbed him the patron saint

00:02:36.610 --> 00:02:40.250
of this podcast. I'd like to give a shout out

00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:42.530
to Vita Bee Health for their support of this

00:02:42.530 --> 00:02:46.330
podcast. Vita's Varroa Control range of products

00:02:46.330 --> 00:02:51.270
includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan Extended

00:02:51.270 --> 00:02:55.229
Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys. Now,

00:02:55.250 --> 00:03:01.449
let's have a chat with David and Beau. I'd like

00:03:01.449 --> 00:03:03.969
to welcome our two guests today. One of them

00:03:03.969 --> 00:03:08.009
you've met before, David Westerveld, but we have

00:03:08.009 --> 00:03:10.129
somebody a whole lot more fun than him today.

00:03:10.370 --> 00:03:13.259
And that is Beau Sturck. How are you, Beau? Good,

00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.159
good. I'm good to go. And David, did you disconnect

00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.259
after I just slammed on you right there? No,

00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:23.479
I didn't hang up yet. But when I go back a long

00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:26.599
ways, we know how to answer each other's questions

00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:29.360
sometimes before they're even asked. Well, I

00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:31.599
can tell you guys tease each other. So I just

00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:33.780
thought I'd jump on both sides to get started

00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:37.930
today. But we're going to be talking about. Bees

00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:40.990
Beyond Borders. We'd love to talk about nonprofits

00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:44.590
from time to time on the show. Before we do that,

00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:47.789
Bo, tell us a little bit about you and your beekeeping

00:03:47.789 --> 00:03:50.030
journey. It goes back quite a while. I've been

00:03:50.030 --> 00:03:53.550
doing bees for a little over 30 years now, and

00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:55.830
I started with a friend of mine. I made my living

00:03:55.830 --> 00:03:58.689
as an artist and had an artist friend in town

00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:01.030
here. I'm in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest

00:04:01.030 --> 00:04:03.289
city in North America, in North Florida, northeast

00:04:03.289 --> 00:04:08.389
corner. A friend came down with a multiple sclerosis,

00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:11.629
another artist, and she started needing therapy

00:04:11.629 --> 00:04:15.210
and found that she started using bees for apotherapy

00:04:15.210 --> 00:04:18.790
and it was working. At that time in Florida history,

00:04:18.949 --> 00:04:21.870
we only had 400 beekeepers in the state. Right

00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.389
now we're around 6 ,500 plus, I think it is.

00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:28.769
And with that... 400, most of them were commercial

00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:30.930
and it was hard to get bees up in this area.

00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:33.509
So there was nobody, backyard beekeepers were

00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:36.689
pretty rare. So I just raised my hand and said,

00:04:36.829 --> 00:04:39.810
hey, I'll... I'm not afraid of insects. I had

00:04:39.810 --> 00:04:43.069
a large insect collection as a kid in high school.

00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:46.089
I collected coleoptera, beetles. I had a large

00:04:46.089 --> 00:04:48.949
beetle collection. So I loved insects. And so

00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:51.529
I raised my hand. The next thing you know, I'm

00:04:51.529 --> 00:04:53.949
keeping bees for her, keeping a hive so she could

00:04:53.949 --> 00:04:56.750
go out and collect bees three times a week. She

00:04:56.750 --> 00:05:00.720
was doing them in her legs. As we know with apotherapy,

00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:04.459
the toxins release your body's cortisol, so you

00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:07.680
get that little cortisone boost. So she had mobility

00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.959
in her legs with the bee stings. And it worked

00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:12.939
for about three years before the disease caught

00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:15.300
up with her. But in the meantime, I'm keeping

00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:17.920
bees at her house. And like all beekeepers, we

00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:19.819
start dividing the hives. And before you know

00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:22.540
it, you've got too many hives. And obviously,

00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.379
now I'm in the bee business and having to learn

00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:29.569
this crazy trade. and get addictive. And I've

00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:31.290
got one of those personalities that just keeps

00:05:31.290 --> 00:05:33.310
saying, well, wait a minute, what does that,

00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:36.810
what, wait, what, what does that mean? And researching

00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:39.870
it. And before you know it, I just keep going.

00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:42.430
Right about then, I started getting involved

00:05:42.430 --> 00:05:45.829
with the state API inspector that we had in Florida

00:05:45.829 --> 00:05:48.290
here at the time. And he was doing some mission

00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:51.850
work through the state, actually. We had a program

00:05:51.850 --> 00:05:55.980
with our governor at that point was... aiding

00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:59.120
and giving, had a separate organization set up

00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:02.220
a nonprofit called Favica, which was basically

00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:06.040
a peace corps to the Caribbean. And if something

00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.560
goes on in the Caribbean, usually Florida is

00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.339
the first one being tropical, we're... we catch

00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:14.480
all the trade and problems and issues that go

00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:17.379
down. So they started doing some missions down

00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:19.459
there and he dragged me along on a mission and

00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:22.019
said, you know, let's go and we're going to take

00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:25.120
on Barbados, I think was my first one. And we

00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.319
went down and work with beekeepers and then.

00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.259
A couple of years later, I came down to St. Vincent

00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.860
and the Grenadines, and they'd gone down and

00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:35.360
inspected, found American fowl brood in the country,

00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.279
sent me down the following year, said, we found

00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.480
100 hives. They all have American fowl brood.

00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:43.360
You get to be the bad guy and go down and be

00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.660
the issue of the hammer and start burning colonies.

00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:51.540
So I volunteered, said, great. Flew down, got

00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:54.019
down there and couldn't find any bees. I started

00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:56.240
doing my presentation and told them what was

00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:57.879
gonna go down and they said, we don't have bees.

00:06:57.939 --> 00:07:00.800
What are you talking about? We don't have, they

00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.600
haven't been here now for over a year. Sure enough,

00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:06.360
all the colonies had collapsed. They couldn't

00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.339
grow any crops. I got to see crop failure firsthand.

00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:12.079
You go in a restaurant and they'd have little

00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.259
gherkin pickles. You know, fingers, they're using

00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:18.509
a razor blade on a pickle. for cucumbers on your

00:07:18.509 --> 00:07:22.089
salad. The Grenadines had none in Bequia. They

00:07:22.089 --> 00:07:23.889
had no bees at all and they hadn't had them for

00:07:23.889 --> 00:07:27.029
a couple years because of the failure. And it

00:07:27.029 --> 00:07:30.209
was a real interesting eye -opener. So we were

00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:33.170
able to, at that point with that project, we

00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:36.290
were able to get bees from St. Lucia. We brought

00:07:36.290 --> 00:07:38.870
them in, we brought 20 hives over on a ferry

00:07:38.870 --> 00:07:43.129
into into Grenadines Island of Bequia. We quarantined

00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:45.949
them there to make sure they were clean and slowly

00:07:45.949 --> 00:07:49.110
reintroduced bees back on the island. So it was

00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:50.990
a real learning experience on that end of it.

00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:53.670
Did you burn the old equipment first? Well, that

00:07:53.670 --> 00:07:56.189
was the key was everybody had to burn their equipment.

00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:58.230
Okay, everybody get rid of this old equipment

00:07:58.230 --> 00:08:00.689
and, you know, we can't use it and going through

00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:06.470
the whole steps. And did they? No. We got it

00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:09.209
up to about 400 hives and then, you know, a couple

00:08:09.209 --> 00:08:11.730
of years later go by and all of a sudden we're

00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:13.790
having failure again. Well, what happened? You

00:08:13.790 --> 00:08:16.490
got rid of that equipment. No, we never did.

00:08:16.670 --> 00:08:19.129
Sure enough, all that equipment showed its ugly

00:08:19.129 --> 00:08:22.170
head again and it dropped it back down to under,

00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:27.170
yeah, maybe like 125 hives. And slowly by now,

00:08:27.230 --> 00:08:30.370
I was down a little two years ago and they did

00:08:30.370 --> 00:08:32.309
have most of that was gone. Most of it rotted

00:08:32.309 --> 00:08:35.750
away or termites got it. So they've started over.

00:08:36.049 --> 00:08:38.649
They've got it up to around 500 colonies at this

00:08:38.649 --> 00:08:42.350
point that I could figure out. I mean, it's hard

00:08:42.350 --> 00:08:44.409
to get an estimate. There's so many backyard

00:08:44.409 --> 00:08:47.029
beekeepers down there and they really hide their

00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:49.789
hives, keep them remote. They are a little bit

00:08:49.789 --> 00:08:52.950
more defensive with some of that African genetics

00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:54.750
in it. They're afraid you're going to want to

00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:57.570
burn them or something. But is that where the

00:08:57.570 --> 00:09:00.470
idea of bees beyond borders came from? Yeah.

00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.220
Yeah, it started with that. And so I was going

00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:06.100
down and then that organization that I was working

00:09:06.100 --> 00:09:09.139
with slowly was getting phased out with the new

00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.960
governors and the political scene in Florida.

00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:16.019
It changed and they had to close down. And so

00:09:16.019 --> 00:09:19.179
I just kind of launched it. I started working

00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:22.539
with Andrew Coté a little bit in programs with

00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:26.200
Bees Without Borders. And he wasn't really pushing.

00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.480
He was pushing more African direction. And there

00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:31.419
are groups that are working in Africa a little

00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:35.139
bit more with Bees Abroad and Bees for Development.

00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:38.179
So I've never worked with those groups, but I

00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:40.200
have worked, you know, I know Nicole and I know

00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.519
the crews, but they're more African -based. They're

00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.940
based out of the UK. And being in the US here,

00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:50.299
I felt a real need to work really with the Caribbean

00:09:50.299 --> 00:09:53.860
and be a little bit closer here, like with that

00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:57.139
aid back and forth between the country's connections.

00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:00.779
There's an old adage, you know, if the U .S.

00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:04.120
sneezes, they catch a cold. So the Caribbean's

00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.480
really susceptible to a lot of problems that

00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:08.440
come up. They actually, now it's going to catch

00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:11.960
the flu. A lot of programs in Haiti, which I'm

00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:15.019
real fascinated with, but now that's all off

00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:18.360
limits once again. Sure. Yeah, it's not safe

00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:21.659
to go into Haiti right now. No. David, tell us

00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:24.309
a little bit about the need. Well, the need is,

00:10:24.309 --> 00:10:27.190
you know, education is our main focus going down.

00:10:27.529 --> 00:10:30.889
Not really trying to change the way they keep

00:10:30.889 --> 00:10:33.610
bees, but let's say for like in Haiti where they

00:10:33.610 --> 00:10:37.769
do a lot of log gums or other methods of keeping

00:10:37.769 --> 00:10:40.330
bees. So instead of us going down there trying

00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:42.389
to teach them, well, you need to run Langstroth

00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:45.470
Ives, we go down and see what they have, what

00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:49.690
materials, and we try to assist them. And first

00:10:49.690 --> 00:10:51.960
of all, teaching them what parasites are out

00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:56.279
there, what diseases, and what all we can help

00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.440
them with without changing their bee techniques.

00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.820
And so we do the education. And with Bo and I

00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:06.559
both, we both have that background in agriculture.

00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:11.399
So we also assist them with other projects like

00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:16.059
in planning for bee forage and native bee forage

00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:19.899
and assisting them in learning what plants they

00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:22.759
need to have out there. And that's the biggest

00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.240
thing, especially in Haiti, where they can't

00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.200
afford to make or buy Langstroth equipment. So

00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:36.039
top bar or no frame equipment, you know, or minimal

00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:41.080
frame equipment works best for them. And we've

00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.039
done a lot of education where you're teaching

00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.559
the farmers in some of the other islands where

00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.679
they're spraying haphazardous all the time, doesn't

00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.840
matter day or night, whatever, we're educating

00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:57.159
them also. And I mean, we do some outreach here

00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:01.700
in the U .S. with education, so we do a lot of

00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:04.080
education. All right, if you could come educate

00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:06.399
some of my neighbors here, that'd be great, too.

00:12:08.370 --> 00:12:12.049
You know, I had to do the education here in Florida

00:12:12.049 --> 00:12:16.289
being regulatory before. Yeah, I mean, it took

00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:20.230
us a couple years to educate the general public,

00:12:20.350 --> 00:12:22.990
you know, the importance of honeybees. And we're

00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.190
seeing that right now in some of the Caribbean

00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:28.450
islands, where they're scared to death of bees

00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:31.509
because they're stinging insects. And here in

00:12:31.509 --> 00:12:34.269
Florida, at least, we're protected under the

00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:37.860
right to farm and the right the placement of

00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:40.460
beehives. That's what we're working with right

00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:43.700
now, some of the Caribbean islands like Barbados,

00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:47.600
where they have no laws in protecting where they

00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:51.500
can put bees. So if the neighbor complains, they

00:12:51.500 --> 00:12:55.179
could be thrown out of their bee yard, even if

00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:58.820
it's their own property. So what's the main focus?

00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:01.899
What is the mission of the organization? Food

00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:04.240
security. I think it does involve beekeeping

00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.399
is we try to really get rural development and

00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:11.179
food security for everybody. And the said old

00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:15.720
adage of eat local is the key to it all. Most

00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:19.379
of the islands throughout the Caribbean are basically

00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:23.120
importing honey at these extraordinary exorbitant

00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:26.080
prices. And they're getting it from all the wrong

00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.419
sources because they just need drums of honey.

00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:30.620
And of course, they're getting it in from who

00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:33.620
knows where. As we all know, we can't control

00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.340
what's in a drum of honey that comes in. We don't

00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.899
know if it's from Vietnam or Ukraine or China

00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:42.659
or Korea. We just really don't know these sources

00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:46.730
anymore and what quality it is. honey, as we

00:13:46.730 --> 00:13:49.929
all know. Dave and I were also involved with

00:13:49.929 --> 00:13:53.350
American Bee Federation Education Program, and

00:13:53.350 --> 00:13:57.409
we're state delegates. So we're involved on all

00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:00.049
levels of it, trying to keep this economy of

00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:02.830
bees and honey and everything moving forward.

00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:06.940
So when you talk about food security, is it mostly

00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:09.399
honey or is it the fact that they desperately

00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:12.039
need the pollinators too? They need the pollinators

00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.000
because most of the crops that they do grow,

00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:16.419
these farmers are root crops, so they are really

00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.720
looking at a lot of those cubiculates for pollination

00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:22.320
that they really need. Not as much the fruit,

00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:24.200
they're really the fruit trees and most of that

00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.600
they have other native pollinators that are out

00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.990
there. We're trying to always make them aware

00:14:29.990 --> 00:14:32.750
of all the other pollinators in the countries

00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:35.570
that we visit. But it's really trying to get

00:14:35.570 --> 00:14:38.149
pollination and food security honey. Our part

00:14:38.149 --> 00:14:41.950
in Haiti is getting to even harvest honey. They're

00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:44.649
looking at the brood like a bare wood as protein.

00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:48.850
So they actually will take the pupas and the

00:14:48.850 --> 00:14:51.529
larva and they'll fry it up. So that's a whole

00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:54.070
different commodity right in itself. So it's

00:14:54.070 --> 00:14:56.629
really hard to get them to keep bees in a box

00:14:56.629 --> 00:15:00.240
and understand. you know, to keep your your parent

00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.720
colonies going and not be eating everything there.

00:15:03.059 --> 00:15:07.860
Food is a real sick problem. Let me just take

00:15:07.860 --> 00:15:10.159
a minute here to thank our presenting sponsor,

00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.000
Man Lake. One of the things I love about Man

00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000
Lake is their commitment to education because

00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.500
that commitment shows how much they want you

00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:21.870
to be successful at beekeeping. One great resource

00:15:21.870 --> 00:15:24.389
is their mobile app. You know, it's not just

00:15:24.389 --> 00:15:27.710
for shopping. It's packed full of all kinds of

00:15:27.710 --> 00:15:30.830
helpful information, including videos, articles,

00:15:31.230 --> 00:15:33.909
plus a plant identification feature designed

00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:36.950
to help beekeepers identify and plant bee healthy

00:15:36.950 --> 00:15:40.129
plants for their area. It's free, so download

00:15:40.129 --> 00:15:43.210
the Man Lake app today. And speaking of shopping,

00:15:43.570 --> 00:15:46.710
don't forget your discount code MLBlove10. It's

00:15:46.710 --> 00:15:50.230
in the show notes for $10 off your first $100

00:15:50.230 --> 00:15:56.610
purchase. Now back to the guest. I've worked

00:15:56.610 --> 00:15:59.149
in all areas of Haiti like Dave has. We've both

00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:02.289
worked in different directions. But you get out

00:16:02.289 --> 00:16:04.970
in the mountains there and still to this day,

00:16:05.049 --> 00:16:07.830
labor, you're lucky you make a dollar and a half

00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:12.500
a day for an eight to 10 hour day. Port -au -Prince

00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:14.720
labor is up since the earthquake there. It's

00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:19.059
up to around $6 for a 12 -hour day in the sweatshops.

00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:23.879
So it's a real tough life to grind out. And if

00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.519
you can have something on the side, try to get

00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.279
your food crops up a little bit and have that

00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:34.299
honey as an income source. And then they end

00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:36.159
up with a little bit of wax, hopefully, that

00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.340
they can turn into some cosmetics. We try to

00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:42.389
teach a little bit of that also. It's amazing

00:16:42.389 --> 00:16:46.029
the value of honey on almost all the Caribbean

00:16:46.029 --> 00:16:50.529
islands. 20 years ago, their honey prices were

00:16:50.529 --> 00:16:55.669
still somewhere around $10 to $15, somewhere

00:16:55.669 --> 00:16:59.269
around a four ounce bottle. So it takes you about

00:16:59.269 --> 00:17:03.190
four four ounce bottles to make a pound. And

00:17:03.190 --> 00:17:07.410
they are still getting anywhere from $25 to $30

00:17:07.410 --> 00:17:10.369
a pound for their honey. when they're selling

00:17:10.369 --> 00:17:13.230
it throughout in Haiti the same way. And some

00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:15.849
islands even more than that. I mean, it's crazy

00:17:15.849 --> 00:17:18.430
the numbers that you hear. If you had a dozen

00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:20.329
hives down there, you could actually make a living.

00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:22.890
You could fly back and forth and still come out

00:17:22.890 --> 00:17:25.970
ahead. I mean, it's just nuts. That is crazy.

00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:28.609
What's your next big project? Do you have something

00:17:28.609 --> 00:17:31.970
coming up? I do. Right now, I've got one going

00:17:31.970 --> 00:17:35.470
on. We're going to start one down in Turks and

00:17:35.470 --> 00:17:39.029
Caicos. Turks and Caicos lost their bees 30 years

00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:40.930
ago in a hurricane, and they haven't had any

00:17:40.930 --> 00:17:44.470
back. We were able to find some bees in the Bahamas.

00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:47.789
Eight or 10 years back, Ted Dennard from Savannah

00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:51.829
Bee had taken bees down to Exuma in the southern

00:17:51.829 --> 00:17:56.289
Bahamas. They've come out pretty clean so far.

00:17:56.490 --> 00:17:58.910
Jennifer Berry was working on that program. They

00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:00.990
seem to be pretty mite -free from what we've

00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:03.430
been able to find out. I'm going to go down here

00:18:03.430 --> 00:18:06.559
in this next week. We've got a beekeeper down

00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.900
there that's going to sell us four boxes of bees,

00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:11.299
and we're going to put them on a private plane,

00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:14.859
fly them into Turks and Caicos. We've got permission

00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:17.839
from the chief veterinary officer there to bring

00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.660
them into the country. So we're working with

00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:23.180
the Bahama government agency for making sure

00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:25.119
we are allowed to export them and at the same

00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.700
time allowed to bring them into Turks and Caicos.

00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.299
So we're going to do that here in the next month.

00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:32.359
and then we have a program Dave and I are going

00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.279
to be doing some teaching up in Arkansas outside

00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:38.660
of Little Rock. So things like buying bees and

00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:41.859
flying them to an island someplace sounds pretty

00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:45.240
expensive. I assume that's where the 501c3 comes

00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:49.160
in. How do you get donations? How do people donate

00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:53.150
and what are they used for specifically? Well,

00:18:53.150 --> 00:18:55.910
we're not getting paid. Dave and I are both strictly

00:18:55.910 --> 00:18:58.789
volunteers on this whole operation, as we've

00:18:58.789 --> 00:19:01.730
been doing. But we use it for exactly these kind

00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:04.730
of programs. I've got a private donor that said

00:19:04.730 --> 00:19:07.670
he would put up money for this program. He lives

00:19:07.670 --> 00:19:11.150
in Turks, and he's a new farmer down there. He

00:19:11.150 --> 00:19:14.829
has a plot of land and has enough cash on the

00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:17.470
side that he says, let's go do it. I'll put up

00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:20.490
the money for it. And so we got his security.

00:19:20.910 --> 00:19:24.490
The foundation gets money coming in periodically

00:19:24.490 --> 00:19:26.890
from different sources. I can't say it's anyone

00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:29.710
in particular, but a lot of private foundations.

00:19:30.710 --> 00:19:32.990
Grants have gotten really hard to come by anymore,

00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:36.630
especially now with the cutbacks. We were starting

00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:40.549
to work on a new program down in Jamaica. I started

00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:43.849
one down there in a couple locations, but that

00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:46.609
grant just fell through. It's gotten so hard.

00:19:46.849 --> 00:19:50.079
There's so much competition in foundations. funding,

00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:52.900
especially out of country. So we're just going

00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:55.460
to take the money and go forward with it. We

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:59.519
have a site, a link on our website on the beesbeyondborders

00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:04.819
.com site that there is a donation location on

00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:08.319
there and a QR code, I believe still on there

00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:11.559
that we can work with. So we get donations that

00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:13.579
come in and we just kind of put it toward, you

00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:16.779
know, the programs and move forward. for either

00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:21.380
for our travel trips or we never work 100 % with

00:20:21.380 --> 00:20:23.900
a program. Dave and I have gotten stuck with

00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:26.799
that already or we've gotten pulled into a country

00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:29.500
and all of a sudden the program wasn't there

00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:32.380
that they talked about it. So we always have

00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:35.039
to make them put up, they've got to put up something

00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:37.859
to meet in the program to get us enticed. So

00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:41.660
we try to do a 50 -50 if we can with programs

00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:43.579
that they've got to have some skin in the game.

00:20:43.710 --> 00:20:46.190
for us to come in and do the program because

00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:48.569
it can be real pricing and it's just the logistics

00:20:48.569 --> 00:20:51.009
and everything are just crazy. Talking about

00:20:51.009 --> 00:20:53.049
Haiti is you have to have a driver. You just

00:20:53.049 --> 00:20:57.589
can't drive down there. You need a car and a

00:20:57.589 --> 00:21:00.250
driver and the costs are just crazy when you

00:21:00.250 --> 00:21:02.930
start getting into the rentals in these third

00:21:02.930 --> 00:21:05.269
world countries like that. Port -au -Prince has

00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:07.670
no stop signs. There's no stop lights. It's just

00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:10.009
chaos. You get on the main highway. That's a

00:21:10.009 --> 00:21:12.650
four lane highway and it has an intersection.

00:21:13.109 --> 00:21:15.269
And it literally, there's no light. And it's

00:21:15.269 --> 00:21:17.029
just like the cars, you're just going through

00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:19.329
this and it vibrates. And all of a sudden you're

00:21:19.329 --> 00:21:21.630
through it. And you just go, how did I get through

00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:24.430
a fourth lane, across a four lane highway and

00:21:24.430 --> 00:21:27.089
make it? You may have somebody standing in the

00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:30.490
middle that looks like a police officer directing

00:21:30.490 --> 00:21:34.430
traffic, but no one follows him. No, no. That's

00:21:34.430 --> 00:21:37.339
the thing. It's chaos. Or it's just a regular

00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:39.359
citizen that was trying to cross the street and

00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:42.960
got stuck. You just can't ever get to the other

00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:47.720
side until midnight or something. Hey, give us

00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:50.500
an idea. What has been one of your favorite projects?

00:21:50.859 --> 00:21:53.579
Where was it? How did it go? Haiti, actually,

00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:55.980
I've done a couple programs down there for over

00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:58.259
the years, quite a few, and I was working in

00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:01.500
a real remote area up in the mountains and came

00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:04.680
across a character that had six logs on the ground

00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:07.740
and had no beekeeping experience. It was taught

00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:10.259
to him by his grandfather, had never seen a smoker

00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:13.160
before. No clue. We worked it through that I

00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:15.880
was able to show him how to build some top bar

00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:18.779
hives. He was two and a half hours off road,

00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:21.480
off the grid, completely up in the mountain.

00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:23.819
The four -wheel drive couldn't go and we'd walk

00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:26.279
a half hour from there back into the village.

00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:29.839
And we were able to get some moped to bring us

00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.240
in some sheets of plywood. And we cut it up with

00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.039
a handsaw, taught them how to do top bar hive

00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:39.460
with it. I've designed a hive, you get four of

00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:41.640
them out of a sheet of plywood, top bar hive.

00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:43.759
And then just get a thick plank of wood and we

00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:47.900
just cut our top bars with that. So we had minimal

00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:52.519
amount of equipment put into it. And after a

00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.440
year, he was up to about 25. And when he got

00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.500
25 of these colonies going, he was able to get

00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.940
enough money to afford a moped. And the moped

00:23:01.940 --> 00:23:04.500
got him into school, and then he got it up to

00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:07.140
50. And now he was able to go to college, and

00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:09.819
he became an agronomist in four years. So all

00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:12.099
of a sudden it went from having just logs that

00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.640
he had no clue as to what it was to becoming

00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:19.140
now an agricultural officer in that region of

00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:21.819
Haiti in the mountains. And he was able to get

00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:25.079
other people involved to start packaging honey.

00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.420
And before you know, they were able to make a

00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:29.980
drum of honey and sell it to a candy company

00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:32.940
in Port -au -Prince. I don't mean to overdo what

00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.690
you're doing or... Throw hyperbole on it, but

00:23:35.690 --> 00:23:38.490
you guys are humble about it that story. You

00:23:38.490 --> 00:23:43.369
just told me Bo Your help has affected generations

00:23:43.369 --> 00:23:46.750
Hopefully that's not just one person getting

00:23:46.750 --> 00:23:50.589
a meal tonight. That's long -term Generational

00:23:50.589 --> 00:23:53.430
help and that is spectacular. Yeah, I know it's

00:23:53.430 --> 00:23:55.490
it's it's really humbling when you go in and

00:23:55.490 --> 00:23:58.630
You know after I got the hive then then it became

00:23:58.630 --> 00:24:00.789
down to okay. No, I've got a guy I've got top

00:24:00.789 --> 00:24:03.799
bar hive here built take a log and now I've got

00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.079
to stick my arms in this log and pull out the

00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:08.839
frames and transfer it. How do you transfer a

00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:12.900
log, hive into any other equipment? I mean, it

00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:15.680
was just crazy. Well, especially a guy that wears

00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.940
no protective gear. Yeah, exactly. It was pretty

00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:22.779
humbling to take a machete and kind of pull these

00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:25.880
crumbs of froth. frames comb out, and you don't

00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.240
have rubber bands. So I took an old bed sheet

00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.359
and I made little hammocks out of bedsheets and

00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:34.240
tied them to the top bar. And when you're working

00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:37.160
in a place like that, where do you stay? It's

00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:40.160
pretty, it's pretty remote. I try to get to a

00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:43.119
hotel. I mean, if you can, that's been kind of

00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:47.420
my goal anymore. Getting older as I am, I'm in

00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:50.119
my mid 70s, early 70s there. I just have to have,

00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:54.740
I need hot water and no bugs. No bedbugs and

00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:57.559
hot water is what I tell them. And I'm good to

00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:02.019
go. I've stayed in tin sheds. I mean, you name

00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:05.660
it, you're just in really remote. In fact, the

00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:07.420
first time I was down there, the first night,

00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:09.740
they put me in a metal building. We shared a

00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:11.339
light bulb with the people on the other side

00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:15.720
of the wall, even. And I had a cot in a bucket.

00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:18.279
And about three in the morning, somebody opens

00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.920
the door, comes walking in, the guy says, My

00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:24.119
neighbor, I have no idea who it is. Some guys

00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:27.000
walking in the room and he says, my roommate's

00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.980
snoring. Can I sleep in this other cot at three

00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:31.900
in the morning? And he's going to wake up and

00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:35.799
go, okay. No idea to wake up in the morning to

00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:37.839
see some guys sitting there combing his hair.

00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:41.119
It's just the baffling. You never know what you're

00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.319
going to get. And they come in there carrying

00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:45.640
roosters in there and under their arm. And that's

00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:47.500
going to be your breakfast. You're just like,

00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.720
what? Okay, here we go. That sounds like a real

00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:53.819
adventure. I want to go with you sometime. Hey,

00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:57.279
David, in some of these remote places, Bo mentioned

00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.420
American Falbrood in another country than that,

00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:04.900
but do you see the same kind of problems in those

00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:08.319
countries that you see here? Yeah, American Falbrood

00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.480
isn't as widespread down in the islands, but

00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:14.480
they're starting to get more Varroa and even

00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.900
small high beetles are starting to get into there.

00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:21.099
And most of the islands we deal with, like Haiti,

00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:25.019
they have agricultural persons down there, like

00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:27.039
the agronomists that Beau was talking about.

00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:30.619
They have, like, extension officers. But most

00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:33.799
of them, if they have any education, they get

00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:37.019
out of there, come either to the states or to

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:40.319
other islands. So it's amazing when we get the

00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:43.950
lake. We were actually in Haiti. I remember there

00:26:43.950 --> 00:26:46.609
was an extension agent there that had about 50

00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:51.220
hives of bees. And after myself and another person

00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:53.759
had gone through the bees, we found Varroa mites

00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:57.420
and we showed him the Varroa mites. He was an

00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:01.880
extension agent for Haiti, and he was so amazed

00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.420
he had decided he could spend enough time to

00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:08.460
pull the Varroa mites out of the hive. And we

00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:10.839
were like, no, you're better to figure out a

00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:14.200
treatment or, you know, try some different products

00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.420
and get rid of them. But he felt that his time

00:27:17.529 --> 00:27:19.950
value of the time was low enough that he could

00:27:19.950 --> 00:27:23.849
do it by hand and get them out. But then we got

00:27:23.849 --> 00:27:27.009
the same person we were looking at, and you talk

00:27:27.009 --> 00:27:30.490
about people they have very little to do with.

00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:33.529
We looked at his feet, and he had a pair of shoes

00:27:33.529 --> 00:27:36.150
on, it looked like. But when we really looked

00:27:36.150 --> 00:27:39.329
at him... He had the top part of the shoes, the

00:27:39.329 --> 00:27:42.190
soles were totally gone, and he was still, because

00:27:42.190 --> 00:27:44.970
he wanted to impress us that he had shoes, he

00:27:44.970 --> 00:27:47.490
was walking around with nothing but the top of

00:27:47.490 --> 00:27:50.849
the shoe on. And walking over these, we called

00:27:50.849 --> 00:27:55.009
them cow horn cacti that they use for fencing,

00:27:55.549 --> 00:27:57.609
because they've got these big hard cactuses.

00:27:58.210 --> 00:28:01.890
Those things could pierce through my boots that

00:28:01.890 --> 00:28:05.930
I wore. And to watch him walk barefoot, well,

00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:09.990
sort of barefoot over him was amazing to us.

00:28:10.809 --> 00:28:13.450
And the other, I was going to tell a story from

00:28:13.450 --> 00:28:16.089
being in the little town of Plaisance, which

00:28:16.089 --> 00:28:20.529
is in the southeast side of Haiti, sort of middle

00:28:20.529 --> 00:28:23.490
part. You're just in the mountain area. We had

00:28:23.490 --> 00:28:26.150
an educational program we were doing one morning.

00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:30.839
And we asked the people how far was the furthest

00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:33.839
distance anybody had come for this training.

00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:37.339
And we had, I think it was 27 people in the training.

00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.759
One guy had walked 21 miles to get there and

00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.940
actually had started two days before. He'd started

00:28:44.940 --> 00:28:47.920
in the afternoon, walked during the night to

00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:50.920
get there and walked two nights to get to that.

00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:54.789
So and then stayed. And that was the first meal

00:28:54.789 --> 00:28:58.329
when we had we buy like Bo was saying we purchase

00:28:58.329 --> 00:29:01.890
a lot of stuff. So normally the meals are something

00:29:01.890 --> 00:29:04.650
that we pay for. And that was the first meal

00:29:04.650 --> 00:29:08.490
he had had in three days. And so it was an honor

00:29:08.490 --> 00:29:11.829
to give him a smoking tool and a big lighter.

00:29:12.049 --> 00:29:14.430
It was really funny because he'd never owned

00:29:14.430 --> 00:29:19.329
or never seen a lighter before. And so, you know.

00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:23.460
He'd always made fire with either sticks or or

00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:27.099
had it always going. So yeah, the simple things

00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:30.019
in life. I had a guy one time walking four hours

00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:32.579
each day, each each morning for four days in

00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:34.859
a row. He walked four to five hours in the morning

00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:37.220
and at night going home in the mountains. And

00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:38.980
there's this, you know, it's just all gravel

00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:41.359
pass up through the mountains. It's not flat

00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:44.339
land at all. It's pretty rough. So I've made

00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:47.559
you got rice and beans and peas before he left.

00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:51.119
Yeah. That economic situation that brings up

00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.460
a really hard question and that is if you're

00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:56.839
educating somebody and you're working with them

00:29:56.839 --> 00:30:01.259
with their bees and for example They have you

00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:04.859
know, they're overrun with Varroa. I Have a feeling

00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:07.079
they can't afford to go out and buy some kind

00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:11.099
of treatment even if it was in the country What

00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:13.180
do you do? How do you help them in those kind

00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:16.190
of situations? You teach them methods that they

00:30:16.190 --> 00:30:19.410
can do like breaking brood cycles. The biggest

00:30:19.410 --> 00:30:22.450
thing down in Haiti and most of the Caribbean

00:30:22.450 --> 00:30:26.210
and islands is they have temperatures pretty

00:30:26.210 --> 00:30:32.230
much 75 to 90, 95 degrees year round. So they

00:30:32.230 --> 00:30:36.269
don't go off of seasonal brood breaks. So you

00:30:36.269 --> 00:30:39.750
end up having the nectar flows. So if you have

00:30:39.750 --> 00:30:44.059
a dearth, your brood will break. So we also try

00:30:44.059 --> 00:30:47.440
to teach them to split or, you know, separate

00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:51.019
the queen out. So you do a queenless split and

00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:53.700
allow that brood to break. And then they can

00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:56.980
do methods of powdered sugar is one, even though

00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:59.599
they can't afford the powdered sugar. It was

00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:02.279
so amazing to us. We taught them powdered sugar.

00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:05.640
They collect the powdered sugar, sift the mites

00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:08.700
back out of them, or they'd pour it into, you

00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:11.990
know, let it sift down into water. And then take

00:31:11.990 --> 00:31:15.269
the water and let it dehydrate to get the powdered

00:31:15.269 --> 00:31:18.910
sugar, the sugar crystals back out. And it was

00:31:18.910 --> 00:31:22.009
amazing to watch them do that. I mean, like Beau

00:31:22.009 --> 00:31:25.930
said, in Haiti, it's not unusual for it to be

00:31:25.930 --> 00:31:31.670
less than a dollar a day for income. And so what

00:31:31.670 --> 00:31:34.730
they can save on, we've had some that try to

00:31:34.730 --> 00:31:37.829
use botanicals. They have a couple different

00:31:37.829 --> 00:31:41.390
plants down there. that it seems that if you

00:31:41.390 --> 00:31:44.509
use the leaves that cause the bees to actually

00:31:44.509 --> 00:31:47.210
start grooming and removing the mite. So, you

00:31:47.210 --> 00:31:51.789
know, combination of brood splitting and doing

00:31:51.789 --> 00:31:54.960
that can assist. We're trying to get a little

00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:57.299
bit more research to have them do down there.

00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:00.000
Also, I mean, here in the States, we always claim

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:02.539
that, you know, bees live 40 days down there.

00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:05.339
They're flying a little bit more. And the bees

00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:08.799
seem to be a little bit smaller. We believe we're

00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:10.559
kind of come to the conclusion that the bees

00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.599
gestation period is a little bit quicker. So

00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:15.980
they don't have quite as much of a mite problem

00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:18.640
just having that quicker gestation turnaround.

00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:20.839
And the bees just don't live as long because

00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:23.480
they're flying so much more. But we're doing

00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.680
seeing more and more climate change is really

00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:29.480
taking some little bit of an effect we're seeing.

00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:33.259
We they've mentioned seasons down there. We're

00:32:33.259 --> 00:32:35.759
starting to see more of a just a wet season or

00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.799
dry season. We're not seeing these ebb and flows

00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:43.380
like we used to dry, wet, dry, wet. And so they're

00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:45.440
really getting to be it's getting harder and

00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:48.200
harder for them to get a crop of honey in these

00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:50.980
dirt seasons. Right now we're just in Barbados

00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:54.210
here. a couple weeks ago, Dave and I, and it's

00:32:54.210 --> 00:32:56.410
really in a dirt season again. And it should

00:32:56.410 --> 00:33:00.349
be more rain should have started or not. So it's

00:33:00.349 --> 00:33:02.829
really a tough, tough time for everybody. One

00:33:02.829 --> 00:33:05.910
of our biggest programs, it wasn't our biggest

00:33:05.910 --> 00:33:08.569
program, but probably the most beneficial one

00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:11.890
was probably when we did Dominica where, you

00:33:11.890 --> 00:33:15.390
know, we had them down there. They were making

00:33:15.390 --> 00:33:19.910
about three pounds of honey per hive per year.

00:33:20.140 --> 00:33:23.380
And after Bo and I had spent two trips down there,

00:33:23.819 --> 00:33:27.140
they were actually up to about 30, 35 pounds

00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:30.880
of honey. And all of that was actually technique.

00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:33.900
We taught them not to take the honey right as

00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:37.240
soon as it was being capped to allow them to

00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:41.140
store the surplus and then pull that little bit

00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:45.200
off out of the honey super. It really made a

00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:47.420
difference, but then they got hit by a humongous

00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:51.400
hurricane and wiped out about 98 % of their bees.

00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:54.660
So they're just starting to come back. All right.

00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:57.920
Let's end on a fun note here. Bo, you look like

00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:00.799
someone, and with all your traveling, I bet you've

00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:04.480
had many multiple wild and crazy beekeeping stories.

00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:06.920
uh... man which one do you want which what which

00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:09.619
direction do you want to go crazy or just are

00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:12.280
funny let's start with funny and go crazy after

00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.659
that funny funny i had a good one done in indiana

00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:18.860
uh... it was my first real encounter with african

00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:21.500
icebees and they dragged us around the island

00:34:21.500 --> 00:34:24.579
and uh... all of a sudden they got everybody

00:34:24.579 --> 00:34:27.719
decided this little tour group of ours and about

00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:29.619
uh... dozen people and they all wanted to go

00:34:29.619 --> 00:34:32.239
up and look inside of a hive In Guyana, they

00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:34.619
take, everybody's ever worked with African bees,

00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:37.480
they'll actually take 55 -gallon drums and light

00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:40.320
them on fire around the outsides of the apiaries,

00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:44.139
the big fields, and they will literally fog the

00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:48.119
entire basin fields in smoke. Besides having

00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:50.679
somebody, it's a full -time job for one person

00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:53.400
to run a smoker, and their smokers are not like

00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:56.400
ours. They're three times the size. They literally,

00:34:56.599 --> 00:35:00.940
they look like a two -gallon... two to three

00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:03.940
gallon cans with a big bellow on it. And their

00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:06.619
job is to smoke. And they started smoking it

00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:08.219
and I said, there's too many people, I'm out

00:35:08.219 --> 00:35:10.840
of here. I just knew the CO2 coming off their

00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:13.380
breath was gonna set them off. And sure enough,

00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:16.539
I got about 100 yards away, if not a little bit

00:35:16.539 --> 00:35:21.090
more, 120. 120 yards away from it. And man, I

00:35:21.090 --> 00:35:23.409
could hear the dogs starting to bellow and a

00:35:23.409 --> 00:35:26.949
goat yelling. And I knew that hell was breaking

00:35:26.949 --> 00:35:30.409
loose down on the field. And sure enough, out

00:35:30.409 --> 00:35:33.269
of the thickets comes Jerry Hayes. Everybody

00:35:33.269 --> 00:35:36.510
knows Jerry. Yeah, I know Jerry. He comes out

00:35:36.510 --> 00:35:38.710
of there and pushes, and I said, this ain't looking

00:35:38.710 --> 00:35:41.030
good. He says, no. And I says, well, I'll tell

00:35:41.030 --> 00:35:42.809
you what, Jerry. He says, I'm not going to have

00:35:42.809 --> 00:35:45.010
a job if this starts happening. At that point,

00:35:45.010 --> 00:35:48.130
he was our chief vaper here in Florida. And he

00:35:48.130 --> 00:35:50.150
says, I'm going to be out of a job if this happens

00:35:50.150 --> 00:35:53.610
in Florida. And with that, I said, well, I'm

00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:55.610
going to have the distributor ship for EpiPens.

00:35:55.969 --> 00:35:58.449
And he said, man, that's a good idea. You take

00:35:58.449 --> 00:36:01.170
the East Coast, and I'll take the West. And man,

00:36:01.170 --> 00:36:03.829
with that, a guy come running. They had a t -shirt

00:36:03.829 --> 00:36:06.449
over a guy's head. And he come out of there,

00:36:06.570 --> 00:36:08.469
Ben, he was so stung up, they ran him to the

00:36:08.469 --> 00:36:11.510
hospital the next day. His eyes were swollen

00:36:11.510 --> 00:36:14.769
shut and his lips were as big as cucumbers. I

00:36:14.769 --> 00:36:18.010
mean, it was crazy to see that environment, how

00:36:18.010 --> 00:36:21.030
fast African bees can go off on people. And they

00:36:21.030 --> 00:36:25.030
just yelled, everybody back in the bus, go. They

00:36:25.030 --> 00:36:27.849
will track you down. And they have a memory as

00:36:27.849 --> 00:36:31.230
African bees will remember up to three days later,

00:36:31.650 --> 00:36:34.340
you can't get near it. And when one colony goes

00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:36.539
off, it's the one next to it goes off and the

00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:39.099
next one next to it goes off. So when they all

00:36:39.099 --> 00:36:42.199
go, it's craziness. Do you think that's because

00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:44.780
of the pheromone released when stinging is going

00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:47.940
on? Yeah, absolutely. Or do you think they see

00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:50.420
the behavior of another hive and react on that?

00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.570
It's the pheromones in the air. Yeah. The funny

00:36:53.570 --> 00:36:56.289
part of that was that we had amongst the people

00:36:56.289 --> 00:36:59.949
there was David Dijon, the African beef genesis

00:36:59.949 --> 00:37:04.170
from Brazil, and he was with us. And he says

00:37:04.170 --> 00:37:06.210
that even down in Brazil when they get like that,

00:37:06.289 --> 00:37:08.789
they'll actually wear a plastic shield in front

00:37:08.789 --> 00:37:11.789
of their face under their veil. They have a plastic

00:37:11.789 --> 00:37:14.070
shield because the bees are actually releasing

00:37:14.070 --> 00:37:17.269
venom in the air and it vaporizes and it'll close

00:37:17.269 --> 00:37:21.340
your eyes up when it gets really thick. I have

00:37:21.340 --> 00:37:25.199
not heard of that. That is, wow. Yes. Okay. Hey,

00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:27.619
Dave, you also mentioned that wherever Bo goes,

00:37:27.900 --> 00:37:31.559
swarms go. What do you mean by that? It seems

00:37:31.559 --> 00:37:35.159
like throughout the travels that we've had, it

00:37:35.159 --> 00:37:38.320
never fails wherever we're at. I mean, we were

00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:41.900
driving through, I think it was a Lutheran. All

00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:44.780
of a sudden, there was a swarm of bees going

00:37:44.780 --> 00:37:47.920
through the edge of a town. As we drove through

00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:50.900
the swarm, we had to stop the van we were in

00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:54.340
and get out and we caught the bees in a box.

00:37:54.860 --> 00:37:57.739
And it was so funny because we had to go, Bo

00:37:57.739 --> 00:38:02.099
went and found a box and we put the bees in the

00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:05.239
box and everybody was just amazed because I mean,

00:38:05.360 --> 00:38:07.820
as you know, with the swarm, I don't even think

00:38:07.820 --> 00:38:10.219
did we have a smoker that day? I just remember.

00:38:10.619 --> 00:38:13.679
No, no, no. We caught these bees and put them

00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:17.480
in the back of the van in a cardboard box and

00:38:17.480 --> 00:38:20.460
everybody was just amazed because that actually

00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:24.820
made the news. It had me in a bright yellow shirt

00:38:24.820 --> 00:38:30.139
that I was wearing and Bo and us just picked

00:38:30.139 --> 00:38:34.280
up the bees and it was kind of funny because

00:38:35.590 --> 00:38:38.150
Chikara, who was with us, she's like, wherever

00:38:38.150 --> 00:38:40.769
y 'all go, bees just coming. That's happened

00:38:40.769 --> 00:38:43.650
in Arkansas. It's happened in Barbados. It's

00:38:43.650 --> 00:38:46.369
happened in Freeport, Bahama. Freeport, yeah.

00:38:46.829 --> 00:38:48.949
Yeah, we were getting a swarm out of the bushes.

00:38:49.050 --> 00:38:51.190
I was teaching them how to do a removal. They

00:38:51.190 --> 00:38:53.030
are all, of course, suited up in their white

00:38:53.030 --> 00:38:55.150
jumpsuits, and we're coming in. Next thing you

00:38:55.150 --> 00:38:57.650
know, the news crew shows up. As the news crew

00:38:57.650 --> 00:38:59.969
shows up, they go, where's the body? They thought

00:38:59.969 --> 00:39:02.230
we were the coroners going into the bushes looking

00:39:02.230 --> 00:39:06.610
for a dead body. No, we're just beekeepers. No

00:39:06.610 --> 00:39:10.170
bodies here except bees. We're trying to get

00:39:10.170 --> 00:39:13.269
a plug for the beekeeping association. Hey, you

00:39:13.269 --> 00:39:15.670
two are awesome. I appreciate you being with

00:39:15.670 --> 00:39:20.110
me today. It's beesbeyondborders .com. Any last

00:39:20.110 --> 00:39:24.289
words? Enjoy beekeeping. I think that's always

00:39:24.289 --> 00:39:27.650
the main thing is find your passion and whatever

00:39:27.650 --> 00:39:29.829
you like to do with bees and learn. The more

00:39:29.829 --> 00:39:33.409
you learn, the better off we all become as beekeepers

00:39:33.409 --> 00:39:37.110
and ambassadors for this wonderful little insect.

00:39:37.570 --> 00:39:39.590
It's like we talk about here. It's all about

00:39:39.590 --> 00:39:42.849
the love of bees. David? That's for sure. Well,

00:39:42.929 --> 00:39:45.630
one thing we do like is training the trainers.

00:39:46.369 --> 00:39:48.369
And you know, when we go down to the islands

00:39:48.369 --> 00:39:52.269
or even into any of the states that we go to,

00:39:52.590 --> 00:39:55.389
we try to train people so that they can follow

00:39:55.389 --> 00:39:57.829
through with what we love to do, which is loving

00:39:57.829 --> 00:40:00.130
bees. Yeah. Now we're getting, we're getting

00:40:00.130 --> 00:40:02.230
older and we like to train trainers. That's our

00:40:02.230 --> 00:40:05.960
big goal is we can't do it all. I'm ready to

00:40:05.960 --> 00:40:08.280
support you and get down there and join you sometime.

00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:10.880
Thanks again guys. Love having you. Thank you

00:40:10.880 --> 00:40:14.000
very much. Thank you. Thank you Eric. Have a

00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:19.440
good one. Thanks again for joining us here on

00:40:19.440 --> 00:40:23.199
Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake. Another

00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:26.360
great place for more information on everything

00:40:26.360 --> 00:40:29.599
related to this podcast is in our email newsletter.

00:40:30.139 --> 00:40:32.880
You can sign up for it for free at BeLoveBeekeeping

00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:36.039
.com And remember, if you're not just in it for

00:40:36.039 --> 00:40:38.400
the honey or the money, you're in it for the

00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:39.900
love. See you next week.