WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:07.120 Hey, it's your old pal Alley Ward with another straight 2 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:12.359 shooting episode of Ologies. Bees. Bees. Man, you're worried about them, 3 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.160 aren't you. Good minute you've cradled a cup of warm tea, 4 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:18.960 you've gazed out a window vacantly and thought, what the 5 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:21.640 fuck are we gonna do about these fucking bees? Well, 6 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:24.199 first thing, let's get to know them a little better. 7 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:27.320 So now, I've wanted to do this episode for literally 8 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:31.359 twelve years. When I first came across a list of 9 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:35.200 ologies back in the day, this one was honestly the 10 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:39.039 one I was most horny for. I love insects. I've 11 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:43.159 harbored a fantasy for decades that I will retire and 12 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.520 become a very wrinkly old lady who wears cotton smocks 13 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:51.799 and lovingly tends to like thirty thousand bee pets in 14 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.920 her desert garden, trying to name each one of them 15 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:58.880 a human name. Speaking of loving admiration, I'd like to 16 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.439 take time to stare at you like a grateful creep 17 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.519 and look into your eyes and say thank you ologites 18 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:10.439 for rating and reviewing, and also for leaving reviews on iTunes. 19 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:14.640 It helps so much. It lets the podcast get seen 20 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.959 by other people. And also I'm very needy for feedback 21 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.599 sometimes and I read every single one of your reviews. 22 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:27.680 Subspeciedie says, thank you, Ali. This podcast feels in neat 23 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:29.719 I didn't even know I had before I found it. 24 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.079 Your edits are like the most relatable internal commentary. And 25 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:35.400 my Twitter feed has become so much less bleak and 26 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:39.640 more full of squids. Get those squids in your timelines, guys, 27 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.959 get them right in your eyeballs. Okay, back to bees. 28 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:50.680 So is it melatology apology? There is controversy? Which is it? Okay? 29 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:52.959 I didn't know what to title this because I didn't 30 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:58.079 know what to call it. So appis malifera or APIs malifera? Whatever? 31 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.120 Is the genus and species of the year. European honeybee 32 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.920 the ones you think of commonly when someone says honeybee. 33 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.879 But there are so many species of bees. There are 34 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.879 twenty thousand species of bees. That's like if every seat 35 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:17.520 in Madison Square Garden were filled with one species of bee, 36 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:21.479 just one little bee representing just taken in the show. 37 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.280 So is it apology or melatology? I look this up 38 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:27.280 and I got nauseated with enthusiasm. I'm not lying about 39 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:32.360 that to learn that apology from Latin apists for bee 40 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:37.639 is the study of just honeybees and beekeeping, but melatology 41 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:43.039 Greek melata meaning bee is the study of all the bees. 42 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:47.080 So this episode is melatology because we talk about a 43 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.680 bunch of species, and I like my insect talk to 44 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:53.240 be inclusive as hell. So this melatologist is the president 45 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:56.840 of the Portland Urban Beekeepers Association, and I knew I 46 00:02:56.919 --> 00:02:59.120 was down to colum with her immediately when she returned 47 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.439 my email with the question how soon are you wanting 48 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:06.560 to be connected? She went for it. So a few 49 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:09.400 days later we met in my hotel lobby, and at 50 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:11.560 first I walked right past her because I thought she 51 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:16.879 was twelve. She is tiny, bespectacled with a strawberry blonde bob, 52 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:20.240 but is actually a full grown, badass bee president with 53 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:23.680 years of beekeeping obsession under her belts, but not literally 54 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.879 because how So we went up to my room and 55 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.639 I realized that she had a backpack with a bee 56 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.240 patch stitched on, she was wearing a shirt with a 57 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:35.439 bee on it, and she has a bee tattoo. So 58 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.560 she started talking and I immediately got my mic set 59 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:42.639 up because everything she says, is golden. So be prepared 60 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:46.479 to learn about weird places for nests, what color not 61 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.439 to wear, what happens when you vacuum up bees, how 62 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.479 you can become a beekeeper literally like today, why you 63 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.120 should communicate all of your needs by shaking your rump, 64 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.240 how wasps can get bent, and why these damn bees 65 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:03.719 are dying and what to do to save them, and 66 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.080 also the future of humanity. So please get so pumped 67 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:28.319 for melotologist Amanda Shah. 68 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.800 I've always been interested in weird things. 69 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:36.120 Oh wait, I have to ask you right now, Harry, 70 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:38.959 I'm gonna give you this one. Okay, You're the president 71 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:40.839 of a beekeeping organization. 72 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:45.160 Yes, I was actually just elected in January. 73 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.720 What does that entail? Are you drunk with power? Most 74 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:51.680 of the time, I try to use my powers for good. 75 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:56.439 So it's urban beekeeping because we're in Portland. It's a 76 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:57.399 pretty big city. 77 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:02.600 Yes, and there is there's an enormous backyard beekeeping community 78 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:03.319 in Portland. 79 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:06.079 Do you think that Portland lends itself to backyard beekeeping 80 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:07.360 because it's like kind of cool? 81 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:11.199 Yes, okay, yeah, and the climate is mild, and I 82 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:17.560 think that people in Oregon are gardeners. They are more 83 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.920 adept to organic, natural. 84 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:25.439 Right locally farms. Yeah, situations, Yes, they're like I'm gonna 85 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:26.399 get I'm gonna make my. 86 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:28.720 Make my own, or go to the farmer's market. 87 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:30.680 Tell me about your love affair with bees. When did 88 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:31.480 it begin? So? 89 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:36.680 I started keeping native bees about five years ago, uh, 90 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.319 Mason bees. I call it the gateway bee now because 91 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.480 I quickly, you know, became enchanted with keeping bees and 92 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:49.040 planting my pollinator garden, and you just I became more 93 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:52.800 in tune with what's going on throughout the season, and 94 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.000 I was always looking out for other bees that were 95 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:57.480 visiting my garden that I had never seen before. 96 00:05:58.199 --> 00:05:59.319 What's a mason bee? 97 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:04.800 Mason bees are solitary bees. They're known as the gentle pollinator. 98 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:10.000 They're native. They're also called blue orchard mason bees, and 99 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:14.560 they nest in these little tubes and they're super easy. 100 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:18.240 It's like bee keeping for anybody. Anybody could keep mason bees. 101 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:22.240 And they're just they're fuzzy, and they're shiny and blue 102 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:24.800 and cute, and you know, when they're coming back to 103 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:27.279 their nest, you can see little packs of pollen on 104 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:30.600 their bellies bringing it back and they're just they're really cute. 105 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:35.920 So a non yellow, non striped bee, Yes, they exist, 106 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.000 there are a lot of them. So mason bees are 107 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.399 this really beautiful kind of gun metal blue color. And 108 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.600 in a lot of the one billion photos I just 109 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:51.279 scrolled through while turning into a living, breathing, heart eyed emoji, 110 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.160 mason bees appeared to be covered in pollen a lot 111 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:59.600 like little dusty dummies. So I guess sloppy gatherers make 112 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:05.600 really good pollinators. They're just like raw like confetti pollen everywhere, 113 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:08.399 And so do they have to you put like tubes 114 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.160 out where they can kind of burrow into. 115 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.800 Yeah, So you can actually buy these little cardboard tubes 116 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:18.439 on Amazon or pribay local garden store and you can 117 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:20.199 just put out a little house to put them in, 118 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:23.839 and you can buy the cocoons. They come in little 119 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:27.000 cocoons and they hatch each spring and they you know, 120 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:29.800 pollinate for six weeks and then they lay eggs for 121 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:33.240 the next generation that will hatch out of their cocoons 122 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:34.480 the following springtime. 123 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:35.639 Oh that's adorable. 124 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:38.240 So it's a short term. You know, you can only 125 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.639 get six weeks of mason bee watching, and that wasn't 126 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.879 enough for me. So I started studying really really hard 127 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.480 and got my first beehives a few years ago, and 128 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.160 it is just spiraled out of control. 129 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.360 This is a good addiction to happen. It is side note, 130 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.160 an addiction to bees would technically be called ready for 131 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:05.839 this melissaphilia. And I only know this because I researched 132 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.360 addicted to bees and I found that this was a 133 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:12.759 common self professed ailment of beekeepers. And then I looked 134 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.199 up the fear of bees and found out it was 135 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:19.079 melissa phobia. So we now know that one be addiction 136 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:23.040 is common. And two, all of your friends named Melissa 137 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:28.079 are named after bees. Melissa in Greek means bee, so 138 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:32.039 extra shout out to any Melissa out there keeping bees. 139 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:33.840 Double duty on the bees. 140 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.360 One of the most surprising things about getting into beekeeping 141 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:44.320 was getting connected to this great community of hobbyists, professional scientists. 142 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.720 I am surrounded by really really wonderful beekeepers and there's 143 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:49.879 been a lot of support there. 144 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.159 And did you like bees or insects as a kid 145 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:54.960 or did you when did you develop an interest. 146 00:08:55.799 --> 00:09:01.200 I've always been kind of into nature and and you know, 147 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:04.879 all that stuff, but it wasn't until I saw this 148 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.840 documentary called More Than Honey that I really felt the 149 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:12.200 need to start learning about bees. 150 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:12.759 What is it? 151 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:18.360 It's well, it speaks to the challenges that our pollinators 152 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.840 are facing, and like there's real trouble. People need to 153 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:25.919 get on board and help. So I started. That's when 154 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.440 I got into Mason beekeeping because that was something I 155 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:33.799 could do immediately without a lot of pre study. And 156 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.440 you know, planting my pollinator garden stuff you can kind 157 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.480 of do on your own without a big investment or. 158 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:46.000 And now that this is partly I imagine the concern 159 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.960 came out of colony collapse, colony collapse disorder, right and 160 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:54.360 just in general, we got a problem with the bees, right, Like, 161 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:56.879 y bees need our help right now. If bees could 162 00:09:56.919 --> 00:09:58.159 have a telethon, they'd be like you. 163 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:04.360 Guys, dial in all now, help would be So what 164 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:05.039 is happening? 165 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:08.120 Like it's it's pesticides. So I know that one room 166 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:12.200 was like cell phones are killing bees now, but like, 167 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.960 so what's happening? So if we the bees are dying 168 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.639 and then without the bees, we don't have things pollinated, 169 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.120 which is important for agriculture and just in general botany. 170 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:22.919 But like, what's going on with these bees. 171 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.799 So what we're seeing is, you know, bees are being 172 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:33.559 put into nest boxes that aren't ideal. Oh and if 173 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:37.120 you look at the industrial bee keeping complex, bees are 174 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:43.759 being forced to pollinate and work outside of their normal cycle. 175 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:48.120 Oh and and so they're being pushed to these limits 176 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:52.120 and it's weakening their immune systems. And when there's monoculture 177 00:10:52.480 --> 00:11:00.600 and pesticide use involved, it causes them to collapse. There's verites, 178 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.759 there's diseases that come with that because that also weakens 179 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:04.679 ser immune system. 180 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:09.240 Okay, aside on these veroamites. Their genus and species name 181 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:16.399 is verroa destructor, and they are like bedbugs to bees. 182 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.799 They are these tiny, flat, kind of button shaped, rusty 183 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.399 brown little nasties, and when they feed on bees, they 184 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:27.639 drain them of fats and lymph and they leave these 185 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:31.440 open wounds that make the bees more susceptible to fungi 186 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:36.200 and viruses like one that deforms their wings. So these 187 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:39.519 kind of mites, verromites, were introduced into the US in 188 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:44.200 the eighties. I don't mean to talk shit, but everybody hates. 189 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:48.120 Them, and so I think that it's a complicated issue. 190 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.679 It's not just the pesticides. It's not just the monoculture, 191 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.399 not just the flimsy boxes that were keeping them in. 192 00:11:56.840 --> 00:12:00.000 It's all of that together and trucking them around the country. 193 00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:04.399 That's not normal. That's not what they're designed to do. 194 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.039 What is their normal life cycle? Do? They only work 195 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.559 in certain months and we're like, yo, we got stuff 196 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:11.799 to pollinate, right. 197 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.120 It's February, got almond trees to pollinate. 198 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.840 Get up, let's go. So Portland is relatively temperate, and 199 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:21.320 Amanda says that the bees do survive over winter and 200 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:24.519 then they're up and at them in late March, early April, 201 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:28.159 and then by November they start shutting down for winter again, 202 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.360 living off the honey. And they have smaller colony numbers, 203 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:36.519 but the summer bees are the most extra they're out there. 204 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.200 The summer bees only last about six weeks because they 205 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:41.759 literally work themselves to death. 206 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.399 Oh yeah, and most of them are women anyway, ryes. 207 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:48.360 They needed to take a break, right. 208 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:51.360 It is like because most of the workers, the workers 209 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:51.879 are all women. 210 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:52.840 The workers are all women. 211 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.120 Yeah, yeah, and so they work themselves to death to death? 212 00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:59.639 Yes, good, yeah, I had no idea. 213 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.279 Yeah, someone needs to step in and be like, girl. 214 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:04.000 Just take a day off. Once in a while. 215 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:08.440 Don't worry about these flowers for to day, right, And so, now, 216 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:10.519 what can a person do? This is one question that 217 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.480 I got so many times that I can't even attribute 218 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:14.639 it to a single listener, But like, what can we 219 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:21.159 do for the bees? You started becoming interested in apiculture 220 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.240 because of their plight, but you went like full hog 221 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:29.480 and now you're the president of association like this and 222 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:32.879 this in the scale of like zero to ten, Like 223 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:34.159 what can the average person do? 224 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:37.240 I always tell people you don't have to be a 225 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.840 bee keeper to help the cause. The biggest thing that 226 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.759 bees need right now, honey bees and native bees is 227 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.799 food that's safe, you know, Providing plant seeds that haven't 228 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.039 been pre treated with pesticides and check the labels because 229 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:53.320 a lot of them are pre treated. 230 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:53.879 Oh I don't know. 231 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:58.600 Yeah, and planting plants that haven't been pre treated with 232 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:01.879 systemic pesticides. That's one of the big issues. 233 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.759 I didn't know what a systemic pesticide was because I 234 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:09.000 live in la and my garden is a parking lot. 235 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:12.000 But they're the kind of pesticides that live in the 236 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.200 tissues of the plant instead of just being misted over 237 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:19.600 the leaves. Man agriculture is a warfield. There are poisonings, 238 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:24.679 sudden vanishing of tens of thousands of family members, There's 239 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:29.080 billions of dollars at stake. It's like a candyland of microdramas. 240 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:34.279 Another thing that native pollinators are struggling with is habitat. 241 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.279 So if you can have a corner of your yard 242 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.200 where you know you can have that compost pile on 243 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:42.120 the ground for bumblebees to nest in, or there, you know, 244 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:45.399 there's lots of other ground nesting bees. So like having 245 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:51.039 that awareness, you can make your yard its own little 246 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.000 nature site and the bees will come. They will come. 247 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:56.879 You don't have to worry about like setting out a 248 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:58.519 party and you're like, no, even care. 249 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.559 Right, you don't have to send it. Just plant the 250 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.759 safe flowers, put out some habitat. They'll be fine. 251 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:07.799 And now you keep saying native bees, and I feel 252 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:12.399 like we need to educate some people that honeybees non 253 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:13.840 native species. 254 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.240 Correct, not native and we brought. 255 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.639 Them over from Europe for their for to use them 256 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:23.240 as honey producers. But can you tell me a little 257 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:27.399 bit about the difference between honeybees and native bees and 258 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:31.279 should honey bees should we be should we be using 259 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.320 honey bees in this environment. 260 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:41.960 With native bees, they're actually more effective pollinators than honey 261 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:44.360 bees are. But honeybees sort of get all of the attention, 262 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.480 and they can be used in the agricultural industry, they 263 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:53.080 can be used as livestock to pollinate large crops. But 264 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:56.799 native bees are more effective pollinators. And we have over 265 00:15:56.840 --> 00:16:01.240 four thousand species of native bees in America, so there's 266 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:02.879 a lot of them out there, but they sort of 267 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.919 don't get the attention that they need because the honey 268 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.279 bees are, you know, the star of the show and 269 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:11.320 they're the ones getting you know, the cry for help 270 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:13.519 is for the honey bees, but really it's the native 271 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:17.240 bees that need the habitat. They need variety in their diet. 272 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:21.759 So when you have like these giant fields of almonds 273 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:26.759 or cotton or corn or soy beans, that's not good 274 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:29.759 for the native bee population because they need variety. 275 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.879 Oh, so the agriculture kind of cuts them off from 276 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:36.440 the flora that would be out there. Now, yes, got it. Yeah, 277 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.039 And so planting things in your backyard on your property 278 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:41.919 that are good plants for them, is it helps them out? 279 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.360 Yes, And having variety and making sure that you have 280 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:50.480 plants blooming as long as possible during the growing season. 281 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.639 And now what do you keep. 282 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:59.320 I plant a lot of oregano, mint, lavender and stuff 283 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:02.600 that's really easy to grow. This kind of blooms long season. 284 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:06.960 Borage is a really great bee food and it's super 285 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:08.200 easy to take care. 286 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:10.240 Of and you can eat the flowers. 287 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:13.880 Yes, yeah, and they're deer resistant. Oh you have deer 288 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.960 coming through your property. 289 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.880 Now what kind of bees do you keep? 290 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.000 I keep mason bees and I keep honey bees. 291 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:24.799 Okay, yeah, So the jump to honey bees where you're like, 292 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.319 I'm going in like I'm becoming a bee keeper, like 293 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:32.599 hardcore bee keeper. How did you approach that? 294 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:38.400 I started studying honey bees very shortly after starting my 295 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:42.200 venture with Mason Bees. But the thing that really kicked 296 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:47.079 it into high gear was early spring a couple of 297 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:50.039 years ago. I was in my backyard and I hear 298 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:52.480 a bunch of people calling my name, Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, 299 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.599 got it, come quick, come quick. So we run out 300 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:56.599 of the fry yard and there's a swarm of bees. 301 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:00.640 There's a honey bees swarm collecting in the maple tree 302 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:05.640 in my front yard. It was just I'd never seen 303 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:11.599 a swarm before, and it just felt like a sign that. 304 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.519 Is thrilling, that's like finding a puppy. Yes, so exciting. 305 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.920 I have never felt that kind of exhilaration in my life. 306 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:23.920 It was really special. And so I called the swarm hotline. 307 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:26.039 There's a hot line that you could call and they'll 308 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:29.880 let beekeepers know there's a swarm. And the sky came 309 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:36.079 and he was like the Sam Elliott of beekeepers, so tough, 310 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.720 and he had the mustache and everything. And the swarm 311 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.920 was up high in this tree and he gets out 312 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.200 this ladder and it's rickety. It's this tripod ladder thing, 313 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.759 and he just goes up there and he's got this 314 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:55.240 special vacuum for vacuuming up the bees and he just 315 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:58.839 just gets gathers them up and you know, puts them 316 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.960 in his car and drives off. Why can I keep 317 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.000 them in mind, I wasn't quite ready yet. I didn't 318 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.319 have hive to put them in. I did't anything, and 319 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:13.400 so but that was what really made me like realize, 320 00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:16.720 this is it. I'm doing this. So I spent the 321 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:21.200 rest of that year like getting my equipment, taking beekeeping classes, 322 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:26.480 reading more, joining the organization and just you know, getting. 323 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:29.559 Myself ready before you go Amazon priming a whole be setup, 324 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:32.079 which you can totally do for like two hundred dollars. 325 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.160 You may want to check with a local beekeepers association 326 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:38.440 first because they can sometimes rent or lend out equipment, 327 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.279 which is very handy, or they can tell you which 328 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:44.279 stuff is bunk and not to buy. One thing that 329 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:47.599 Amanda always has on under her be suit is her 330 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:51.680 bee tattoo, and it covers the entirety of her right bicep. 331 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:57.480 It's this gorgeous floral mural featuring, of course, her favorite 332 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:00.759 tiny friends. At what point did you get your be tattoo? 333 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:04.920 I got my bee tattoo in twenty sixteen. 334 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:07.559 Oh so this is after you started keeping honeybees? 335 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:11.799 Yeah, shortly after. And it's funny because I had it 336 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.200 done in four sessions, and I was doing it in 337 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:18.359 the springtime, and after two of the sessions, I caught 338 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.240 swarms that day on two occasions. 339 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.839 No way, that's kind of freak. 340 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:25.400 It's totally freaky. 341 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.640 So do you go help catch swarms too? Yes, so 342 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:32.119 you become the Sam Elliot of bee keeping, the Lady 343 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.079 Sam Elliott. So you use what a vacuum? Do you use? 344 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:36.799 Is it like a modified black. 345 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:38.720 And deck girl, haven't. I don't have a bee back. 346 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:42.640 I use other methods. But you can make a bee back. 347 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:44.720 You just have to make sure the suction is not 348 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.519 very strong, and you know, collects them in a bucket. 349 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:52.400 But I use other methods. And the thing about going 350 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:55.720 out to catch a swarm, you don't know what you're 351 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.000 going to find when you get there. They might be 352 00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:01.279 really high up in a tree, might be wrapped around 353 00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:04.559 a tree trunk and a shrub. Or I caught one 354 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.839 that was on the ground. They were just in a 355 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:10.079 pile on the ground, and it was it was really 356 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:12.920 really early spring. It was kind of cold, and so 357 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.240 they were just kind of laying there cold. They you know, 358 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:19.599 they couldn't move, and so I very very carefully used 359 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:23.400 sheets of card stock to kind of scoop them up 360 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:25.920 and put them into the box because I didn't know 361 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:30.039 what else to do, and it worked. But you just 362 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.599 that's the exciting thing about swarm catching. You just you 363 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:34.880 don't know what you're gonna find. 364 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:38.680 Sometimes are they agitated? Sometimes? Yeah, do you ever see 365 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:41.680 killer bees? Or I feel like no, no, they're it's 366 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:45.160 too cold here for them. They're central northern California as 367 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:45.920 high as they go. 368 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:47.920 Okay, yeah, I feel like we heard a lot about 369 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.200 that those in like the nineties or like killer bees. 370 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:54.799 Yeah, yeah, we don't have them there. 371 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:59.559 And so when you're catching a swarm, have you been 372 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:00.759 have been stung before? 373 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:01.720 Yeah? Yeah? 374 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.519 Which hurts more the tattoo or the beasting. 375 00:22:05.799 --> 00:22:11.839 The basting is kind of an anxiety inducing adrenaline rush. 376 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:13.720 Okay? Is that because of the venom? 377 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:19.599 Yeah, it's your body reacting to it and keeping you 378 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:23.799 from having a bad reaction. But the tattoo is a 379 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:25.920 more long lasting pain, for sure. 380 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.839 It's more like a burn, right, Okay, So it's like 381 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:33.160 a it's a I guess one is a quick poke 382 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:35.440 in the other is a more systemic situation. 383 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.519 So what's in an angry b butt that's not in 384 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:42.880 a tattoo gun is a good question. Let's break it down. So, 385 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:47.440 b venom contains a compound called melatin, which makes red 386 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:51.799 blood cells burst, which hurts, and there are other proteins 387 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:56.680 that destroy cell membranes, cause pain, destroy nerve tissue. There's 388 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:00.519 also histamine in b venom, which makes your capillaries and 389 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:05.079 causes itchy welts. So when bees sting, they release a 390 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:10.519 pheromone that says, hey, bitches, I'm in trubs, causing other 391 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.599 worker ladies to come and kick your ass. It's a 392 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.759 last ditch defense. Bees don't want to see you, they 393 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:19.440 don't want to die. They would really, really rather very 394 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.000 much not. Yeah, how many times have you been stung 395 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:22.359 by bees? 396 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.680 I've only been stung four times really, and last season 397 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:28.680 I didn't get stung at all, which is kind of crazy. 398 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.759 I'm trying to be really super careful and thinking about 399 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.880 the times that I had been stung. It was totally 400 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:39.599 my fault, really because I wasn't being careful. There were 401 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.519