Importance of LOCAL Beekeeping With Guest, Mr. Ed (Jeff Horchoff)

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 have

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lost more than five hive tools and your lawnmower

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has found two of them, you might be a beekeeper.

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If once a year your kitchen becomes sticky from

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floor to ceiling. You might be a beekeeper. If

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you think that Varroa mites were created by Satan

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himself, you might be a beekeeper. Welcome welcome

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to Be Love Beekeeping presented by Man Lake.

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We have a really fun show today as we'll be joined

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by guest Jeff Horchoff or as he's affectionately

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known by the nickname Mr. Ed. He's a beekeeper

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in Louisiana, a YouTube star and someone who

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really loves honey bees and knows how to find

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the joy and fun in beekeeping. And we're excited

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to announce for our listeners that right now

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are on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, iHeart, et

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cetera, that this is our first episode that's

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also a full video episode. So if you want to

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see Mr. Ed as well as hear him, check out the

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episode on our YouTube channel, Be Love, Be Keeping.

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But however you prefer to consume your podcasts,

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hey, we are just glad you're here. Before we

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chat with Mr. Ed, let's check some honeybee headlines

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from around the world. Coming to us from the

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BBC, bee attack injures dozens in France. Several

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dozen people were injured, with three rushed

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to hospital in critical condition in an unusual

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bee attack in a French town. Local authorities

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said 24 passersby were hurt when hundreds of

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bees suddenly attacked people in the central

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southern town of Irelac on Sunday morning. The

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three that were in critical condition are now

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stable. According to local media, one of them

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was a 78 year old woman who was stung 25 times

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and had to be resuscitated after cardiorespiratory

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arrest. Police and firefighters fenced off the

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area and a beekeeper was called in to save the

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day. He came in, he got a lot of smoke going,

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I'm not sure what all else he did, but he saved

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the day. Eventually he moved the beehives completely

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out of that area. So the question is, what caused

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the bees to go crazy and be attacking people?

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They don't have Africanized genetics there. According

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to the mayor, Pierre Mathonnier, Asian hornets

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threatening a beehive may have been the catalyst

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for the attack. But Christian Carrier, the president

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of the regional beekeepers union, was really

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skeptical of that. He said that bees generally

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avoid leaving their colonies altogether in the

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presence of Asian hornets. Instead, he said that

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the unusual incident may have been due to the

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bee colony becoming too large for its beehive

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and becoming quote, overactive when the beekeeper

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handled it. It may be that the bees didn't have

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enough space and that their colony had no intention

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of swarming. This can trigger strong aggression,

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he said. However, he also said that bees could

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be stressed because of a problem with the queen,

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or could have been reacting to external factors

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such as heat waves, early blossoming in May -June,

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and subsequent lack of food in July, or a sharp

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drop in temperatures. So, it could be anything

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from hornets to heat waves to drop in temperature.

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Nobody really knows. What we do know is the causes

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of the incident will be analyzed and that the

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beehives have been moved outside of the town.

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This next brief story would be funny if it weren't

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so sad. A beekeeper and grandmother who keeps

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her bees in a private woodland in Dorset, England,

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said that her beehives were vandalized last month.

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She believed that it was bored teenagers who

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kicked over 23 of her beehives. With a lot of

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effort, she fixed the broken boxes, settled down

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her bees, and eventually got things back to normal.

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But then it happened again. Here's a quote from

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her. My hunch is that it's a fellow beekeeper.

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It just smacks of jealousy and somebody with

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a grudge against me. The first incident we put

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down to mindless vandalism. Everything that was

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on stands was now on the ground. It was in all

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directions, so I know it wasn't the wind and

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it wasn't animals because nothing was chewed.

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I was gobsmacked. But if kids had done it, I

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don't think they would have risked or been bothered

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to go all the way back to the middle of nowhere

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to do it again. The area has never been an issue

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before for bored kids, and this is the first

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time that we've had such trouble in over 20 years

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of beekeeping. I believe whoever's done it had

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a motive for doing so. I think it's someone with

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a grudge. Alright, enough of that. Let's get

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to our guest. I'd like to welcome to the show

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today, one of the funnest beekeepers out there,

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Mr. Ed, how are you? Just doing great. Great,

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Eric. Thank you for inviting me on this evening.

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I really do appreciate it. I am a huge believer

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that beekeeping should be fun. And when you and

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I were talking the other day, I could tell you've

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got the same philosophy. In fact, I even wrote

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something down. You said beekeeping should be

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fun first. Yeah. Explain I make that a big point

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in my presentations because There's there's a

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lot of people who have never been beekeepers

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becoming beekeepers and There's some something

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Inspired them to want to become to keep bees

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to have bees something inspired them and A lot

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of people are very much aware of what was the

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impetus to begin being a beekeeper. But I think

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that the underlining reason that people do it

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is because they think it's going to be fun. That

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somewhere inside of them, they say this is going

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to be fun. Regardless of why you become a beekeeper,

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a particular element of that reason why is in

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your heart, in your mind, you said this is really

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going to be fun. So I stress that point of beekeeping

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should be fun all the time because all too often

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we get caught up in the particulars of keeping

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bees and that can be making you more aware of

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what has to be done instead of the fun that you

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should be having while you're doing it. And many

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beekeepers will lose that aspect of fun because

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they are so caught up with the particulars of

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being a beekeeper. People get so serious. I don't

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see many people having fun doing it. Oh yeah.

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And you know what? If you really love the bees,

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it really is fun. Yeah. But some people just

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put on their straight face and like, I'm not

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going to get stung no matter what today. And

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I've got to do this, this, this, this, and this.

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And the bees are going to cooperate either that,

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or they've got to have a PhD to do everything

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exactly right. And then it's easy to lose some

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of that fun aspect of it. So that's exactly right.

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That's exactly. Do you like to be called Mr.

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Ed? Oh yeah, that's definitely my name. Okay.

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By the way, for those of you listening that don't

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know Mr. Ed, He's like a god on YouTube. No,

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don't say that. 150 million subscribers or something?

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No, no, not 150 million. Okay, 150 plus thousand

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and that's really impressive. Right. but that's

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because you have an addictive personality and

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people just love you. So I appreciate you taking

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a few minutes to be with us today. Oh, Eric,

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I'm happy to be there. Like I said, I like to,

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I like to talk about bees. Just ask my wife.

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I like to talk about bees almost every chance

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I can because I find them so fascinating. I belong

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to two bee clubs and I go to the meetings every

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month, both, both of me. Cause I just like doing

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it. I like being around people. who are interested

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in bees, and I like hearing their stories of

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their experience of keeping bees, because each

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beekeeper's story is unique. We may follow same

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procedures, but the experience of that procedure

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is unique to the individual beekeeper. And those

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are what are so interesting to hear. Somebody's

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perspective, their perspective of the experience.

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That's... It's a great feeling to be around that,

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because when you hear it, when I hear it, it

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relives my experiences. So it's kind of like

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a drug feeding, you know, you're feeding your

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addictions, in a sense. Another thing that's

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amazing to me, speaking of unique, is how every

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colony can be unique. In what sense? Well, they

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have different personalities, they do things

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at different times. You may have two colonies

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that you brought up side -by -side, treated them

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exactly the same way, and all of a sudden one

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is swarming and the other's not. Or one is just

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happy to be there and practically give you a

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kiss when you do a hive inspection and the other

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not. And they're just all unique and different.

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And I'm sure they have a zillion similarities,

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but I love the uniqueness too. Right. I agree

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with what you're saying. It's true. I don't try

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to categorize bees in particular. It's generalized

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with them in the sense that how they behave.

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But I would say that every time I open up a wall

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or a ceiling or a floor or whatever where I have

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access to this colony, There's no doubt it is

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unique because I see something brand new every

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single time I open up an area to expose a beehive.

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And without fail, once that hive is exposed,

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I always, always, always just pause, just to

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take it in. It'll never be that again. And so

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this is the moment. That's, that's one of the

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things I also, another thing I talk about in

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my talks is Beekeeping gives the beekeeper the

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opportunity, the chance to live in the moment

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that you're on. That when you open up your box,

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there it is, right here. Well, you know, it's

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not going to do you any good if you're in your

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mind, you're back there worried about what you

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ate for lunch or how are you going to pay for

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your car note or your house note. If you're not

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present in the moment, you've already lost that

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uniqueness that you talk about. Keeping bees

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affords the beekeeper the opportunity to practice

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a lost trait that is living in the moment. Because

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that's where life is lived. It's not lived in

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the past. It's not lived in the future. It's

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in the present. It gives beekeepers the chance

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to train themselves to be present to what's in

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front of them. The whole rest of the world can

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disappear. All that your being is, is right in

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front of you. And this is one of the sayings

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I say quite often as my experience as a beekeeper

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is I lose myself in the wonder of the bees. So

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it's not, it's not I'm no longer Jeff, Mr. Ed,

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I'm present with the bees. And so in the sense,

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there's a communal thing going on that you're

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there with the bees and you can take all this

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stuff in and it happens in a blink of an eye.

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It's not like this is like some prolonged half

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an hour experience. It's a very quick thing because

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there is business to do at hand, but that pause

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to take this in and to live in that moment, there

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you go, that's beekeeping right there at its

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fullest, right there. That's great advice. Do

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you think that's why it's so therapeutic? For

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sure. It can be. You know, if they choose that,

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it can be. You know, like you said, people keep

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bees for varied reasons. You know, some people

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want the science of it. Some people want the

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honeys. You know, whatever their reason, it still

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doesn't change that there is the opportunity

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for that beekeeper to experience what is right

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in front of them to the fullest. That opportunity

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is there. Yeah, absolutely. You and I could talk

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for hours about everything with beekeeping. When

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we were chatting the other day, we kind of narrowed

00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.659
it down of what our topic is going to be tonight.

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And that is the importance of how to keep bees

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where you are. And for example, You're in Louisiana,

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deep south, I'm north in the mountains. We're

00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.759
doing things completely opposite. Our experience

00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.460
I should say is completely opposite although

00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:58.200
the bees aren't. Right. So we do need to learn

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about bees but we need to learn about beekeeping

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where we are and bee behavior where we are. Let's

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start it off by please explain what it's like

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where you are. So I live in southeast Louisiana.

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And like I told you when we spoke on Monday or

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the other day, I always think that this particular

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part of the United States, the Southeastern part

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of the United States, in some way we are isolated.

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We live like in a bubble because we aren't afflicted

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with a lot of the issues that are prevalent in

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other areas of the United States. in particularly

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the mite count, and it may be due to that mite

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count being lower than in other areas. We have

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a tremendous feral bee population in our area.

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That is due to habitat. We have tremendous expanses

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of marsh areas, lowlands, areas that are high

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in food. sources, resources for the bees, as

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well as habitat, water, protection. And so these

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things facilitate the growth of the feral bees,

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because for us here, particularly in my area,

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we're prone to flooding, high waters due to just

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because we're so low as our elevation. New Orleans,

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which is 50 miles from here, is their elevation

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is five feet below sea level, where my house

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is right here in the beta springs, I'm 27 feet.

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So we're very low. And we're very flat. So people

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tend to build houses elevated. And these elevated

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houses are just ideal situations for bees swarms

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to to find and then move into. And so Consequently,

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I'll probably do, I'd say I'll probably do about

00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:09.019
50 or 60 removals a year. And so many of them

00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:13.660
are in elevated houses because that's a great

00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:17.789
place for bees to find a new location. Quick

00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:20.349
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00:17:38.970 --> 00:17:41.529
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00:17:41.849 --> 00:17:44.829
I fire up the app, find out what it is, then

00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:47.210
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00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:49.690
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00:17:50.190 --> 00:17:53.190
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00:17:53.190 --> 00:17:55.809
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00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:58.829
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00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:04.089
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00:18:04.089 --> 00:18:09.970
plus we have with our climate of warm weather,

00:18:11.029 --> 00:18:14.789
almost subtropical weather all year round. our

00:18:14.789 --> 00:18:19.470
bees fly. The coldest months are always January

00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:22.869
and February. Other than that, even our winters

00:18:22.869 --> 00:18:26.430
we might get four days of temperatures below

00:18:26.430 --> 00:18:31.710
20, maybe, but it's not all the time. So it's

00:18:31.710 --> 00:18:36.309
very mild temperatures and so our bees fly almost

00:18:36.309 --> 00:18:39.309
all year round. So of course you need to have

00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:43.680
a lot of stores for your bees to be able to let

00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:47.200
them do that. And with the food resources in

00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.180
our area, that's generally not an issue. You

00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:55.539
mentioned mite count. Do your colonies have small

00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:59.099
mite counts, just naturally? Like I told you

00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.319
before, I don't treat. I'm treatment -free. I've

00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.640
never treated. I know that the only time I really

00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:09.160
go into my hives is to when I split them and

00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:13.099
when I collect rent. So when I split them, I

00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:17.140
check the drone brood because that's in the burr

00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:19.680
comb. When I separate the hives, I look in there

00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:24.839
and I'm gonna find some mites in there, but two,

00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:28.539
three, it's not overrun by mites. And I don't

00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:31.900
do mite washes. I don't check. I allow the bees

00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:35.900
to take care of themselves. I lose hives, but

00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:40.890
our losses, this last year we had about it wasn't

00:19:40.890 --> 00:19:45.250
bad last year about 20 21 percent uh hive loss

00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:48.549
you have so many swarms and do so much splitting

00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:53.369
it's easy to make that up oh yeah i i always

00:19:53.369 --> 00:19:56.450
whatever my losses are i make up with splits

00:19:56.450 --> 00:20:00.609
over what i lost you called yourself to me a

00:20:00.609 --> 00:20:04.990
hands -off beekeeper oh yeah i am and i have

00:20:04.990 --> 00:20:08.440
to get this out there okay And even though I

00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:12.220
totally respect everybody's different beekeeping

00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:16.380
style or approach or philosophy, what you do,

00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:19.799
hands off, doesn't work everywhere. I just want

00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:22.460
people to know that. If you try that where I

00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:25.339
am, your bees are dead. That's just his life.

00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:29.940
Okay? I've tried, it doesn't work. It is hard

00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:33.240
enough when we're really keeping track of Varroa

00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.339
to get your bees through winter when they can't

00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.119
fly for a few months and the temperatures are

00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:42.279
below zero every night and there's two or three

00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:46.180
feet of snow on the ground. Okay but I'm jealous.

00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:48.839
I wish I could be more of a hands -free beekeeper

00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:51.059
because I could do a lot more of it that way

00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:54.200
and it just I don't know just sounds a little

00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.759
more fun and carefree versus some of the worries

00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:01.980
we have here. I think it is just the area that

00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:06.420
I'm in allows me that freedom. And I also add

00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:09.000
on to every time I say, you know, I'm a hands

00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.960
-off beekeeper, that I don't recommend you doing

00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:15.279
that. You know, that's the way it works for me

00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.599
here. I'm not gonna say it's gonna work for anybody

00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:21.559
else where they live. It works for me. And that's

00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:24.539
really, like you said, just when we started,

00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:28.680
you have to learn how to keep bees. where you

00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:32.279
live. It's that simple. You can't expect to have

00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:35.339
your bees survive keeping your bees if you live

00:21:35.339 --> 00:21:38.279
in Minnesota the way that I keep them here in

00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.700
Louisiana. It's not going to work. It's not going

00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:45.160
to work. I'm blessed. I don't have to do all

00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.259
the things most beekeepers have to do to keep

00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:51.819
our hives going. They just do it by themselves.

00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:54.880
Let's address newer beekeepers for a minute.

00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:58.309
How do they learn? I mean, you're saying you

00:21:58.309 --> 00:22:00.690
got to learn how to do it in your area. What

00:22:00.690 --> 00:22:02.990
is your recommendation on how they learn to do

00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:08.450
that? I think that basic tools that every beekeeper

00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:12.809
needs to be aware of to have particular successes

00:22:12.809 --> 00:22:17.650
doing bees. The first one is they have to know

00:22:17.650 --> 00:22:21.170
bee biology. They have to have an understanding

00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:27.490
of bees and how they operate, how they grow,

00:22:27.609 --> 00:22:32.950
how their life cycles are, the particular aspects.

00:22:33.190 --> 00:22:36.829
Because of all the different ways of keeping

00:22:36.829 --> 00:22:40.130
bees, of all the varied ways of keeping them,

00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:45.150
bee biology does not change. It's the one constant

00:22:45.150 --> 00:22:50.329
of everything, bee biology. So as a new beekeeper,

00:22:50.670 --> 00:22:55.950
that would be paramount in becoming successful.

00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:01.920
learning bee biology, followed closely by learning

00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:06.200
what is the nectar sources, what is blooms in

00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:10.700
nature, at what time, so that you can coordinate

00:23:10.700 --> 00:23:13.920
what you need to get done in your bee hives,

00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:17.680
so that they can stay in pace with what's going

00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:20.960
on in nature. Because it's all in all of beekeeping,

00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:24.789
particularly with raising nukes to sell or honey

00:23:24.789 --> 00:23:28.109
processing, building up a honey production, it's

00:23:28.109 --> 00:23:34.630
all about timing. If you're not aware of a time

00:23:34.630 --> 00:23:37.809
pattern in your beekeeping, you're not going

00:23:37.809 --> 00:23:40.470
to ever really go beyond a certain point. You

00:23:40.470 --> 00:23:43.210
may always have bees and they may always be in

00:23:43.210 --> 00:23:46.470
a yard, but you're not going to get the growth,

00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:50.250
the potential of doing it. So you have to...

00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:52.299
You have to be aware of biology. You have to

00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:55.359
be aware of the growing on what's in nature.

00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:59.420
And you have to be aware that it's all in timing.

00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:03.460
You have a very, very, very, very small window

00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:06.960
to get your bees up and going. And then then

00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.720
you can kind of like slack off. But it's very

00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:16.019
intense in those that early spring time. And

00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:18.859
you better be ready for it if you want to have

00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:22.579
success. Give me an example. For example, you

00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:26.339
do splits at what time and why? What's the nectar

00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:30.319
flow going on? I start our splits. So for us

00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.079
in Louisiana, and again, it's very unique, our

00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:37.920
red maples and willows are blooming and it can

00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.519
be as early as early December to mid December.

00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:46.940
Our first food sources for the bees are in December,

00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:50.920
December, January, right? So And I talk about

00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:55.380
this in my talks. And again, this aspect of what

00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:58.980
beginning beekeepers should be aware of, it all

00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:03.779
starts with the winter solstice. So the moment,

00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:08.460
December 22nd, which is the shortest day, the

00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:11.680
shortest amount of daylight hours in a day, after

00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.519
December 22nd, it incrementally gets longer.

00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.589
Daylight becomes longer. So as the daylight becomes

00:25:19.589 --> 00:25:23.930
longer, then nature starts coming alive at that

00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:29.009
point. So if you, as a beekeeper, can understand

00:25:29.009 --> 00:25:33.690
this concept that what's going on in nature is

00:25:33.690 --> 00:25:37.529
going on, it's going on in your beehive as well.

00:25:37.809 --> 00:25:43.349
So as this daylight hour is increasing, photosynthesis,

00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:46.779
the trees are making leaves. photosynthesis getting

00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:51.420
ready to happen, the bees are now starting to

00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:55.319
build up. Our queen is laying in December. In

00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:58.099
early December, she's already laying because

00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:01.799
once that willow pollen starts coming in, boom,

00:26:01.859 --> 00:26:05.440
she's going to start up again. So with the start

00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:09.539
of the daylight hours increasing, then the start

00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:13.859
of the whole process of splitting our hives begins

00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:17.650
because I'm already mid -February, I'm going

00:26:17.650 --> 00:26:21.029
into my hives, inspecting them to see if I've

00:26:21.029 --> 00:26:24.109
got swarm cells in there. So it's interesting.

00:26:25.009 --> 00:26:28.309
There's a few things that I go into a hive to

00:26:28.309 --> 00:26:31.990
tell me what's going on outside of the hive.

00:26:32.369 --> 00:26:35.250
And so I go in that hive and I can see, yeah,

00:26:35.250 --> 00:26:37.170
well, we're starting to get brood production.

00:26:37.910 --> 00:26:39.890
We're getting a little bit of pollen, a little

00:26:39.890 --> 00:26:45.420
bit of nectars coming in. But it's just a buildup.

00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:49.440
It's a very, very gradual, slow buildup. And

00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:52.940
I don't even start worrying about anything until

00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:57.279
I see drone brood being produced in the hive.

00:26:57.619 --> 00:27:01.819
Because once you see drone brood production starting,

00:27:02.759 --> 00:27:07.640
it's getting ready to start. You're still two

00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:10.960
weeks, three weeks away from it happening, but

00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:14.319
it's getting ready to happen. So, this is the

00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:17.220
time as beginner beekeepers, you need to have

00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:22.039
everything set up in preparation for what's coming.

00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:25.980
Now, for me, it's February, but where you are,

00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:29.440
that's probably not until April probably, right?

00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:33.059
Yeah. Yeah, we're lucky if we see bees flying

00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:35.740
if they have a few warm days in March. Otherwise,

00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:39.329
it's April before they can even get out. Yeah,

00:27:39.329 --> 00:27:42.650
so again like what you said before you have to

00:27:42.650 --> 00:27:48.690
know keep bees specific to your area and And

00:27:48.690 --> 00:27:51.910
I preach this all the time at our clubs that

00:27:51.910 --> 00:27:56.109
you know if you want honey if you're not Haven't

00:27:56.109 --> 00:28:00.029
made your splits by the middle of March You ain't

00:28:00.029 --> 00:28:03.509
gonna get no money you get some but if you want

00:28:03.509 --> 00:28:07.160
honey production you had better have your hives

00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:11.039
split before March 15th, because if you're not

00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:13.579
split before March 15th, well, at least the ones

00:28:13.579 --> 00:28:18.380
that can be split, then more than likely, your

00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:21.400
hives are gonna swarm on you. You gotta be ahead

00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.900
of them so they don't swarm on you, because if

00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:26.839
they swarm on you, there goes your honey. That's

00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:30.640
the biggest fear for me is losing that primary

00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:34.180
swarm, because that's my old queen, and that's

00:28:34.180 --> 00:28:37.470
where my honey is. with my old queen. Yeah. And

00:28:37.470 --> 00:28:39.930
where beekeeper A is, maybe a couple of weeks

00:28:39.930 --> 00:28:42.390
behind you or maybe a couple of months behind

00:28:42.390 --> 00:28:45.710
you. I have found that it's also really interesting.

00:28:46.329 --> 00:28:50.789
It's made me a lot more observant of things like

00:28:50.789 --> 00:28:54.789
nectar flows because when I first got into beekeeping

00:28:54.789 --> 00:28:58.069
many years ago, I read all this stuff about the

00:28:58.069 --> 00:29:00.829
dandelions are going to be the first thing that

00:29:00.829 --> 00:29:03.390
they're going to be able to forage on. Right.

00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:06.940
Well, We have lots of dandelions around here.

00:29:07.099 --> 00:29:11.000
I never see bees on them. Well, why is that?

00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:14.079
Because they found something they like better.

00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:17.039
That's exactly right. Something easier for them

00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:20.720
to get than dandelions. So then I'm like, okay,

00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:22.960
well, there's nothing else down at ground level.

00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:26.779
It's got to be these trees or those trees. Even

00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:29.200
though they don't have flowers, bright flowers

00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:32.859
like an apple tree or something, they have flowers

00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:36.170
and that's where those bees are going or some

00:29:36.170 --> 00:29:39.069
shrub or something which is what i said earlier

00:29:39.069 --> 00:29:42.809
about learning what's in your area and when it

00:29:42.809 --> 00:29:45.230
blooms because you're going to be a better beekeeper

00:29:45.230 --> 00:29:49.470
if you know those things absolutely hey i don't

00:29:49.470 --> 00:29:53.990
think i warned you about this uh ed but everybody

00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:56.710
that comes on the show gets to tell their favorite

00:29:56.710 --> 00:30:01.089
wild and crazy beekeeping story Now this can

00:30:01.089 --> 00:30:03.509
be something that happened to you that is painful

00:30:03.509 --> 00:30:07.509
or embarrassing or just super, super unusual.

00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:10.369
Can you think of anything like that? Well, you

00:30:10.369 --> 00:30:11.809
should have told me that before where I could

00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:15.329
have thought of it. I'm guessing you have a thousand

00:30:15.329 --> 00:30:17.450
of them and the hard part is narrowing it down.

00:30:17.650 --> 00:30:22.589
There's not a lot of real things that man, it's

00:30:22.589 --> 00:30:25.970
like a well actually like catching that Mark

00:30:25.970 --> 00:30:29.839
Queen. That was a big deal. That was. Tell everybody

00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:32.200
about that. That was before we were recording.

00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:35.640
It is it's a great story. So I have been keeping

00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:40.859
bees since 1978 and As I said, I'm a hands -off

00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:43.920
beekeeper. So I don't mark Queens. I mean, I

00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:46.579
know what they are I've seen them in other people's

00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:51.960
hives my theory on Mark Queens is if you mark

00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:54.519
you Queen if a beekeeper marks their Queen particularly

00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:59.809
a new beekeeper Gets a mark Queen The only thing

00:30:59.809 --> 00:31:03.529
that Mark Queen does for that beekeeper is say,

00:31:03.789 --> 00:31:05.509
I'm going to go into my hive and see if I can

00:31:05.509 --> 00:31:07.710
find my queen. And I think that's the worst thing

00:31:07.710 --> 00:31:10.410
you can do is to open up your hive just to go

00:31:10.410 --> 00:31:13.589
find your queen. It's terrible. So it's like

00:31:13.589 --> 00:31:16.009
she's got this mark on it and you can find her.

00:31:16.230 --> 00:31:19.769
Well, it makes it easier. Well, I don't agree

00:31:19.769 --> 00:31:23.890
with that philosophy. So I don't mark my queens.

00:31:24.309 --> 00:31:28.269
And I've been doing removals For 15 years, I've

00:31:28.269 --> 00:31:30.670
been doing removals, going to people's houses,

00:31:30.869 --> 00:31:35.250
taking them out, catching swarms. I've been doing

00:31:35.250 --> 00:31:41.170
that 2011. So it's 14 years. 2009 is when I started

00:31:41.170 --> 00:31:45.250
doing that. And two weeks ago, we did a removal

00:31:45.250 --> 00:31:50.210
across the lake about 40 miles away. And it was

00:31:50.210 --> 00:31:54.490
a apartment complex in a big metropolitan area.

00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:58.980
removing the comb. And I take a lot of care when

00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:01.640
I'm removing the comb to locate the queen because

00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:04.519
I think it's very important to make sure she

00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:07.460
is safe when I do removal. So I take a lot of

00:32:07.460 --> 00:32:11.880
care to locate her. And I probably find her 85

00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:14.500
% of the time when I do a removal, I'll locate

00:32:14.500 --> 00:32:18.640
the queen and cage her. So I'm doing the removal,

00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:22.279
open up the wall, start cutting out the comb.

00:32:22.539 --> 00:32:26.079
I cut out a huge piece of comb. and I start vacuuming

00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:29.160
the bees off of it and there's the queen running

00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:32.019
around and she's got a big blue dot on her and

00:32:32.019 --> 00:32:35.480
so I was I said look at this I got a marked queen

00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:40.000
I've never ever seen that and I know that 2025

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.559
is is blue supposed to be blue so there's no

00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:49.579
way that this was a 2025 queen that swarmed and

00:32:49.579 --> 00:32:52.480
then was developing so it was just somebody had

00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:56.390
marked the queen With that color cuz that those

00:32:56.390 --> 00:32:59.670
bees had probably been in the wall since probably

00:32:59.670 --> 00:33:03.109
February or March they've been in that wall based

00:33:03.109 --> 00:33:07.730
on the comb age of the comb. So It was not a

00:33:07.730 --> 00:33:11.869
2025 queen, but it was a marked queen and that

00:33:11.869 --> 00:33:17.369
was very very unique That absolutely is. All

00:33:17.369 --> 00:33:20.250
right before I let you go if anybody's wondering

00:33:20.619 --> 00:33:23.480
Hey, where is the fun in beekeeping? Where has

00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:26.559
it gone? Hey, give us some advice. Where is it?

00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:32.500
And with that, why do you love bees? So, I keep

00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:36.079
the bees for a group of Benedictine monks here

00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:38.779
in Covington. I'm their beekeeper, right? Before

00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:41.980
we even had bees at the Abbey, I was discerning

00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:46.359
to become a monk myself. So, I was going to be

00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:51.109
a monk. Part of the... the work of monks is,

00:33:51.190 --> 00:33:53.890
you know, you, you have jobs and I've always

00:33:53.890 --> 00:33:56.430
been a woodworker. So I was already involved

00:33:56.430 --> 00:34:00.529
in their, in their casket building and the bees

00:34:00.529 --> 00:34:03.829
would then be a further job that I would be assigned

00:34:03.829 --> 00:34:08.409
to as a monk. So I developed the bee program

00:34:08.409 --> 00:34:13.289
over there. And with the aim of that being my

00:34:13.289 --> 00:34:17.480
job when I was a monk and So one of the things

00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:20.159
that happened, and the question is, so you have

00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:23.400
to know that part about me, that I had aspirations

00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:27.800
and desires of becoming a monk. In that monastic

00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:32.380
life, prayer is a very, very, it's like half

00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:37.159
of being a monk is a prayer life. And what I

00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:41.059
learned through the prayer life of the monks

00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:44.880
is a spiritual relation with bees. In other words,

00:34:45.230 --> 00:34:49.230
The bees were no longer just these bugs in a

00:34:49.230 --> 00:34:53.210
box, but rather they were the creation, the work

00:34:53.210 --> 00:34:58.610
of God. And in bees, I see the hand of God. And

00:34:58.610 --> 00:35:02.269
for me, because you asked me what it is, this

00:35:02.269 --> 00:35:07.269
is the fun of beekeeping, because when I work

00:35:07.269 --> 00:35:12.650
bees, I'm not doing work, I'm doing prayer. Because

00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:18.440
for me, it's a very spiritual experience, not

00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:24.360
just a physical act that's going on. It's a twofold

00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:29.079
part and it becomes, beekeeping becomes more

00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:32.940
meaningful through this act of offering of, it

00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:36.179
becomes prayer. Your work becomes the prayer.

00:35:36.579 --> 00:35:41.139
So why would I want to make my prayer anything

00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:44.960
but the best it can be? So I want it a good offering

00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:48.760
so when I work bees this is the best I'm at my

00:35:48.760 --> 00:35:52.179
best I want to do my best because this is how

00:35:52.179 --> 00:35:55.960
I praise God through this work so that for me

00:35:55.960 --> 00:36:01.380
is the fun part and that that is what keeps my

00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:04.460
aspect of why I'm a beekeeper for so many years

00:36:04.460 --> 00:36:08.619
alive because every time I'm doing it it's new

00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:13.309
every time I open it up it's new I don't see

00:36:13.309 --> 00:36:16.849
the same oh, same oh, even though it is, because

00:36:16.849 --> 00:36:21.769
I see it as a prayer, as offering, and as such,

00:36:21.909 --> 00:36:25.190
it's a beautiful thing, and I'm part of that.

00:36:25.710 --> 00:36:30.769
And therein lies also my joy, my happiness, my

00:36:30.769 --> 00:36:33.730
fulfillment, because I am fulfilled in doing

00:36:33.730 --> 00:36:37.769
this. Each beekeeper has their own philosophies

00:36:37.769 --> 00:36:42.380
on why they keep bees, but It is the individual

00:36:42.380 --> 00:36:48.199
philosophy that also gives the beekeepers longevity

00:36:48.199 --> 00:36:52.420
of being a beekeeper, purpose, and direction.

00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:58.199
It goes way beyond just bees. Many, many, many,

00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:02.440
many of my friends, fellow beekeepers, it is

00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:06.420
an experience of prayer, of seeing God in the

00:37:06.420 --> 00:37:10.380
bees. I don't talk about it a lot, but it's just

00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:16.360
a very, I think, unspoken thing in Beekeepers,

00:37:16.519 --> 00:37:19.760
because we have a hard time putting the exact

00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:23.679
words to why we do it. But for me, it's very

00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:28.460
specific why. And I try to portray that, even

00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:31.500
though I don't talk about it in my videos, that's

00:37:31.500 --> 00:37:34.940
what I try to portray, that if you can see the

00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:38.280
joy that's inside of me when I'm doing this,

00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:41.599
the reason behind that joy is because it's an

00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:44.280
offering, and I'm praising God by what my work

00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:48.420
is. That is so beautiful. Wow, best answer I've

00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:51.159
ever had to that question by a mile. You'll get

00:37:51.159 --> 00:37:53.860
better. They'll get better ones. Mr. Ed, Jeff

00:37:53.860 --> 00:37:56.440
Horchoff, thank you so much for being with me

00:37:56.440 --> 00:37:58.800
today. Oh, thank you so much for inviting me,

00:37:58.840 --> 00:38:03.469
Eric. Thank you. God bless you, brother. Thanks

00:38:03.469 --> 00:38:05.650
again for joining us here on Be Love, Be Keep

00:38:05.650 --> 00:38:09.469
being presented by Man Lake. Remember right now

00:38:09.469 --> 00:38:12.530
to follow or subscribe and share this podcast.

00:38:13.090 --> 00:38:16.090
Also a shout out to Vita B Health for their support

00:38:16.090 --> 00:38:19.750
of the show. Vita's Varroa Control range of products

00:38:19.750 --> 00:38:24.510
includes Apistan, Apigard, and now Varroxan Extended

00:38:24.510 --> 00:38:27.690
Release Oxalic Acids Trips. Hey, thanks guys.

00:38:27.809 --> 00:38:30.809
We really appreciate it. Enjoy this beautiful

00:38:30.809 --> 00:38:33.829
summer, enjoy your bees and remember, if you're

00:38:33.829 --> 00:38:36.710
not just in it for the honey or the money, you're

00:38:36.710 --> 00:38:38.710
in it for the love. See you next week.