Bees With Ben

PODCAST EPISODE 14: Michael Kiem from Denmar Apiaries, Cloyna, Queensland

Due to the vastness of Australia, much business happens via road and air. This extends to apiary and beekeeping, and in one great example, I source my queen bees from a wonderful keeper and breeder, Michael Kiem from Denmar Apiaries, way up in Cloyna, Queensland. Michael runs his apiary with his wife Crystal and is one of the biggest queen breeders in Australia, breeding around 30,000 queen bees per year! And that is a very important job! These little gems and builders of the colony are shipped, via Australia Post would you believe, all across the country; in my case, they travel down to Victoria where I give them their second happy home. A keeper fit for a queen (bee), I am thrilled to introduce Michael to my community for episode 14 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

To begin, let’s have a quick chat about the queen bee. The highest-ranking position in the honeybee society, the queen bee is the dominant adult in the colony and is the mother of most, if not all, the bees in the group. She can be recognised by her characteristically large abdomen and is typically the only bee of her type in the hive. Mating with many drone bees until she is fertilised, the queen then lays up to 1500 eggs each day during spring and summer, creating the colony itself. Queens have been known to colonise a hive for up to five years; however, once she cannot produce enough eggs to sustain the group, a new queen bee must take her place. Future queen bee larvae are chosen carefully by the worker bees and then nourished with a protein-rich secretion called “royal jelly”. This superfood ensures that new queens will be sexually mature enough to start the cycle all over again. However, in a dramatic beginning to life, the newly hatched queen must not only destroy unhatched rivals but also kill any existing queens in the colony!

No one knows queens like Michael Kiem. He does a lot of driving around the countryside to areas where there are flowers for his bees. Denmar Apiaries is a small, family-run business and with two full-time employees – his 13-year-old son is keen on bees too and is great at catching queens! Michael brought the business just over ten years ago from the original owners, Dennis and Margaret Kidd (who he learnt so much from); however, he also worked in Canada with a big queen breeder – he is a definite oracle on the subject! Tune in to hear Michael and I chat about his business, his positive relationship with Australia Post (helped along with a few pots of delicious honey from time to time!), the Australian queen market, his hatred of paperwork, his love of plastic bee cages, and, of course, his beer can collection!

www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 13: Adam Barassi, Tax Accountant from Barassi and Co. Chartered Accountants and Future Beekeeper

As we are all starting to learn that we need to slow down and smell the roses … but THEN we learn that in order for flowers (like roses) and other plants to grow and be smelt, pollination has to occur. Which brings us to bees, of course! Bees are the world’s number one, most-loved pollinator. Part of the process of humans slowing down involves realising what is truly important, which comes back, each and every time, to the environment. To realising that we are not bigger than this planet – in fact, it is a force far greater than us – and that if we don’t get in sync with it, if we don’t nurture it in every way possible, we are, well… doomed. Where is this going you might ask? Well, episode 13 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast is a special one, because it is the aspect of my job that I love the most. It’s the moment when someone reaches out to me, someone who has no or very little experience with bees, and says: “Ben, I want to be a beekeeper!”

In this episode, Adam Barassi – tax accountant and director of Barassi and Co. Chartered Accountants – and I chat about how he can start keeping bees. Adam got in touch just a week or so ago to express that he wanted some tips and tools and bees to help him get started; he knows nothing about bees whatsoever and has never kept any of his own. You see, this doesn’t matter! What matters is a love for the planet, and a passion for learning about these ingenious creatures. I have taught innumerable people how to look after their first colonies, and I can assure you that none of them have ever looked back – bees are a passion that teach you about the ecosystem and make you appreciate our place within it. That makes this podcast an extra special one for any person looking to keep bees for the first time, as I run through the steps with Adam.

Adam, however, is definitely a good match for beekeeping! A keen gardener, he wanted to keep bees on his property so that they could help pollinate his fruit trees and vegetable garden plus get a little honey on the side. In this episode, we chat about: the best place to set up your hive; what's involved in looking after bees; the genetics of bees and choosing which bee is best for you; basic information on pests and diseases bees are prone to catching; beekeeping clubs and mentoring; registering with the Department of Primary Industries; and last but not least, the importance of bees making honey for themselves first and foremost (but thankfully they are often happy to share!). A big thank you to Adam for getting in touch, and for the amazing opportunity to answer some common questions that new beekeepers have when they first start out. Tune in!

https://www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 12: Stephen Heatley, owner of Kangaroo Island Ligurian Queen Bees, Kangaroo Island

Artists are known to be eccentric people, but from my experience, some of the best and most interesting beekeepers are similarly colourful characters. To be so obsessed with one small, yet mighty, creature takes a certain personality, and a little wackiness and a lot of passion seem to be quite usual key ingredients in the recipe of a great beekeeper. That is why I am excited to introduce you to Stephen Heatley, owner of Kangaroo Island Ligurian Queen Bees, Kangaroo Island, for Episode 12 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

Any of you that have visited Kangaroo Island know is a truly magnificent place. Situated off the mainland of South Australia near Adelaide, this glorious part of the world captivates all who visit its shores. Did you know that over a third of Kangaroo Island is protected as nature reserves? This gem is home to an abundance of native wildlife like sea lions, koalas and a myriad of bird species. In the west, Flinders Chase National Park is famous for its penguin colonies and striking coastal rock formations, stalactite-strewn Admirals Arch and the sculpted Remarkable Rocks. Maybe it is being surrounded by this glorious nature that makes this passionate beekeeper from Kangaroo Island such a special and remarkable character.

Stephen grew up on the Australian mainland in New South Wales but moved to Kangaroo Island 13 years ago to pursue his passion for bees. There are only a small number of commercial beekeepers on the island, and while they focus predominantly on producing honey, Stephen has a passion for a special strain of queen bee – the Ligurian Queen Bee – which apparently can only be found in its pure form on the secluded Kangaroo Island, and is believed to have been introduced into Australia by the United States in 1885 from Italy. You will hear just how passionate Stephen is about these unique queens, and you will learn how he is working hard to keep them alive and well in one of Australia’s most spectacular and special nature locations.

Tune in to hear this eccentric and wonderful beekeeper, queen breeder, and honey producer talk about his business, Kangaroo Island Ligurian Queen Bees; about bouncing back from the fires that devastated the Island earlier in the year, including the time is takes for flora to rejuvenate to the stage where bees can get a good feed; about the Ligurian Bee Monument; and many other very niche aspects of beekeeping with the brilliant and quirky Stephen Heatley.

https://www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 11: Anita Long, Founder of the Tasmanian Junior Beekeeping Group, Tasmania

Dedicated, passionate, friendly, outgoing, patient, encouraging, warm, a wealth of knowledge – my praise for Tassie beekeeper and educator extraordinaire Anita Long is endless. I met Anita three years ago, and she has never ceased to amaze me with her vision and commitment. Anita is the founder of the Tasmanian Junior Beekeeping Group and program; she also runs in-school programs for kids about bees and beekeeping. Throughout my entire career as a beekeeper and educator, I have never met a person so committed to helping children be involved with bees and beekeeping; she has a unique and special way of tailoring complex, often scientific knowledge to suit children, ensuring they understand the information and can use it to carry out safe beekeeping practices. She also generates a very positive educational environment for children where they can thrive, gain confidence, make new friends, and nurture their wellbeing. I have seen all this firsthand, and it is for this long list of reasons that I am thrilled to welcome Anita to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast!

In 2017 Anita started the Tasmanian Junior Beekeeping Group program in Hobart in order to give kids and adolescents the opportunity and space to learn about the importance of bees and set them on their way to becoming independent beekeepers. This is a monumental achievement – over the three years I have known Anita, I have also gotten to know the Tassie Junior Beekeepers and they are an incredible bunch! Every time I head south to visit, I am filled with awe and inspiration at how much these kids know, and in turn, I am always blown away by Anita’s work in helping them every step of the way. The group is thriving, and, in my opinion, the program is the best and only of its kind in the country – I sure wish I had such an experience with bees when I was a little tacker! Anita and her programs are a hugely valuable service to both the environment and the community; what she teaches will have an ongoing generational impact as young environmentally savvy beekeepers grow up to be older ones, and the cycle continues. To top it off, the program reached international success recently when Anita took a junior beekeeper to Slovenia for the 2019 International Centre for Young Beekeepers beekeeping competition!

Tune in to listen to Anita and I chat about the Tasmanian Junior Beekeepers, her educational programs, and her relentless passion for bees!

https://www.facebook.com/Tasmanian-Junior-Beekeepers-1303984119658011

PODCAST EPISODE 10: Lindsay Bourke of Australian Honey Products, Tasmania

I love Tasmania. Over the past few years, I have been lucky to pop across Bass Strait relatively regularly to hang out with my bee-mates in Tassie – young and older, this beekeeping community has a great appreciation and understanding of the island’s unique and precious environment. It sure is a remarkable place, one of the most spectacular on Earth in my opinion, and that’s why I am so pleased to welcome fifth generation Tasmanian beekeeper and honey magician, Lindsay Bourke from Australian Honey Products to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

To my knowledge, Lindsay is the beekeeper with the largest number of colonies in Tasmania, having over 4000 hives! That’s epic beekeeping! In Tassie, there is only a 10-week window where the bees can collect nectar to make honey, and the three biggest crops for honey are manuka, leatherwood and clover. Now Lindsay is an award-winning honey producer – for example, in 2018, he won first place in the international prize at the Australian Bee Congress for his leatherwood and light amber honey varieties as well as his honey mead. How does he do it? Commitment and passion that leads to experience and success. You see, Lindsay started Australian Honey Products way back in 1966 with just 200 hives (still a decent number!); he cleverly purchased properties with his income from the business, and now is a leading property owner in Launceston. After a hiatus from beekeeping and honey production for some years, Lindsay returned to the land of liquid gold in 2002 when he made Australian Honey Products an award-winning enterprise, exporting his product to countries such as Korea, Japan, Tahiti, Germany, Jordan and United Kingdom. The company has expanded in many ways, taking on new product lines, which has enabled Lindsay to cleverly diversify his business by adding honey beverages, honey ales and honey meads to the company’s product list. Also, in 2008, Lindsay did something special when he purchased the oldest apiary in Tasmania – the Sheffield Honey Farm, formerly H L Jones & Sons, Barrington Apiary – which was established in 1898.

As a business owner myself, I find Lindsay’s story truly inspiring – his smart business choices, willingness to take risks, and consistent work in a variety of areas makes me think about what I might like to do in the future. I hope that these choices, made over the course of his career, are also interesting for other small business owners listening to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

Tune in and listen to Lindsay and I chat about his path, Australian Honey Products, and how different it is keeping bees in Tasmania to keeping on the Australian mainland due to the weather conditions. Also, find out why Lindsay has a love for the Braula fly (controversial I know!), saying that he finds the little devils cute in their own weird way!

PODCAST EPISODE 9: Warm Greetings and Gratitude from Ben

In this episode, I send out my warmest hellos and thank you’s to all the incredible people that make the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast a reality. It’s one thing to have a podcast, but it’s a very different thing for that podcast to be a successful place for the sharing of information and stories; a very different reality and pleasure to make a podcast that builds community in a way that is enriching and pushes past geographical boundaries. As many of you know, a podcast is a project I wanted to pursue for a really long time – for ages, friends, family and colleagues told me, “Ben, you NEED a podcast!”, and I have no doubt this is because I tend to talk…a lot. I love talking, I love sharing. I love people. And I am so thankful for all the listeners who tune in every week to hear me discuss bees with talented and passionate bee-lovers and beekeepers from all over the world. This is especially true in this time of isolation and I feel uplifted to know that I am producing something that might bring a little joy to someone’s day when the times feel tinged with uncertainty. I can see from the number of people listening that that is actually happening! Amazing. Secondly, I want to say an equally big thank you to the incredible and generous contributors to my beekeeping podcast – to the friends, old colleagues and new connections that give up their valuable time to talk to me and the broader Ben’s Bees community about what they do, how they got to where they are today, and how they keep that fire burning. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

On top of much love and thanks, episode 9 features a yarn about what I have been up to in this chilly weather – mainly jarring honey and making hives and frames ready for spring. However, I also just finished an amazing book called ‘Interviews with Beekeepers’ by Steve Donohoe, which I review. It features a wonderful chat with the lovely Richard Noel, who I was lucky enough to meet and hang out with in the north of France a couple of years ago – what a small world it is! This book is a real page turner for any beekeeper and is available online at Book Depository.

Lastly, I wanted to shout out and ask the Ben’s Bees community and listeners of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast to help me make this podcast an even greater success. First, please leave a review of my podcast on iTunes – for people working online (which is many of us at the moment), a positive review really helps more people find out about projects such as mine. Second, please follow on Spotify. And third, I love a friendly text message to +61437077792, so go ahead, send me some love! Let’s make the Ben’s Bees community bigger than ever! Big thanks in advance for your reviews, follows and texts. Love Ben x

https://www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 8: John Edmonds from Edmonds Honey, Geelong, Victoria

John Edmonds is a chatty, enthusiastic, warm-hearted bee bloke and business owner. With a wealth of experience that goes back into his family history, John is noted for saying, "keeping bees is like a jigsaw, get all the little parts of the puzzle together and you will get the finished puzzle.” Owner of Edmonds Honey based in Geelong, John is the only commercial beekeeper I know of in Australia that uses jumbo-sized beehives (similar to the ones used in Europe), and he does mighty well with his set up. For these reasons, I am beyond delighted to welcome John to the BEES WITH BEN podcast for Episode 8!

John’s business, Edmonds Honey, is a family affair that began with John’s father, Murray. Murray Edmonds began beekeeping after the Second World War, when he received his first hive from his uncle. Having spent his holidays around familial bee lovers who kept their own colonies near Tallangatta, he learnt some of the tricks of the trade. John’s father kept bees at Ruby in Gippsland before moving to Geelong where he then kept hives at the You Yangs, Brisbane Ranges, Bannockburn and Balliang. John followed his father’s lead, accompanying him to the hives, and helping out his dad where he could. As the years progressed, and due to some tough circumstances, Murray and John would spend their evenings making bee boxes and frames for money – the silver lining being John starting to keep his own bees! As time rolled along, John purchased beehives, a honey extracting caravan, and the tools he needed; soon after, in 1982, Murray suggested they partner up, and Edmonds Honey was born!

As the business grew, Edmonds Honey began selling to markets, supply distributors and stores. The Edmonds started to rear queen bees for sale, finding the best race of bee for the Southern Victoria region to be the Carniolan – as John described, “They proved to be thrifty, docile, still on comb, productive, disease resistant and excellent wintering.” In 2001, Murray retired. Sadly, soon after, John’s dear friend Leon became ill, and John took over his beekeeping equipment sales. Nowadays, Edmonds Honey has around 500 beehives in the Western half of Victoria for honey production, mainly on forest and farm sites. Edmonds Honey, as described by John, is “produced without chemicals and is a as natural as possible and we endeavour to have straight-line varieties.”

So, tune in to hear John and I chat about John’s journey, his family business, and some incredible anecdotes such as the remarkable ways bees wax was used in the 1940s to lubricate bombs and bullets in World War II! Don’t miss it!

www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 7: Neil Stuckey from Sticky Stuckey Honey, Gippsland, Victoria

I don’t get jealous much, but I am a tad envious of my dear friend Neil. With a name like Neil Stuckey– yes, like Sticky, Stuckey Honey– what’s not to turn a little green over; it’s the kind of last name keepers dream of, and it seems to me that the gods (or his parents at least) must have known that Neil would be a bee lover and a maker of delicious honey when they went about making and naming him. It’s a pleasure, therefore, to introduce you to this great friend and colleague of mine, a man I have known for some eight years now, to the BEES WITH BEN podcast.

Last week I travelled down to the beautiful Gippsland area of southern Victoria (one of my favourite places in Australia, even on Earth), and recorded this little episode on site, at Neil Stuckey of (you guessed it) Sticky Stuckey Honey’s (perfection!) packing plant at Flynns Creek. Neil is a real inspiration for me. Why? This keeper sells over twelve varieties of honey; selling honey is his main income (which is quite unusual to be honest), and he sells a whopping two tons of honey per week on average. He also has over 100 colonies of his own, which is a love-project, keeping his hives purely because he is passionate about bees. In parallel, Neil pollinates on the side, and his bees do really well when on the canola fields out near his joint! Neil really is a wealth of knowledge and has been a go-to for the local media for some big issues to do with health and honey regulations. Neil’s unapologetic and down-to-earth approach is based on his huge experience, and he sure makes a lot of sense to me!

On a personal note, anyone that knows Neil well knows that red gum honey is his favourite as it reminds him of his childhood. What a sweety-sticky-Stuckey honey Neil is! And his lovely partner Ann is equally as divine – she makes the most amazing country food, including that time when she made me lobster thermidor when I came to visit! What absolute gems. For these reasons, I am thrilled to welcome Neil Stuckey to the BEES WITH BEN podcast where we talk all things bees, southern Victoria and honey varieties with a true-blue local treasure. Tune in! 

PODCAST EPISODE 6: Kirsten Traynor from 2 Million Blossoms

I recently declared my love for podcasting. Despite it being an activity that many people told me I would lap up, I had no clue just how good spreading my love of bees, the environment, cooking and healthy living would feel. Having a podcast has meant that I have been able to share some of my dearest bee-related friends with the world, but this week, I am super excited to share the story of an amazing individual who I have not had the benefit of meeting as yet, but am over the moon to welcome to the BEES WITH BEN podcast: Kirsten Traynor from 2 Million Blossoms!

When I came across 2 Million Blossoms website, I was way more than impressed. Based in the United States, 2 Million Blossoms is a website and quarterly publication which aims “to awaken readers to the vast diversity of pollinating insects and animals. To delight, entertain and name those well-adapted creatures buzzing through our world, because the more we know about pollinators, the better we can provide habitat.” Founded by Kirsten, this quarterly magazine features short and long form articles that explore the myriad of ways that bees, birds, butterflies and bats bring life and healing to our planet. As mentioned, the publication will be available in print for your enjoyment, and 2 Million Blossoms also offers a free e-newsletter on their website.

Chatting to Kirsten was a real dream. Incredibly articulate and well-versed on everything bee-related, she describes that – despite following her love of words via an English major at university – she realised that bees where her true passion. This led her to complete a PhD in biology, where she studied the impact of pesticides and varroa on bee colony health. Incredible! She also combined her love of bees with her love of writing when she edited for the American Bee Journal and Bee World. Not to mention, she is also the author of Two Million Blossoms: Discovering the Medicinal Benefits of Honey! These days, Kirsten is the editor and founder of 2 Million Blossoms, and a true force in the bee world, and for all of the amazing reasons mentioned, I am delighted to introduce you to her in Episode 6 where we chat about Kirsten’s publishing projects, the healing properties of honey, varroa mites and the effects of chemicals on bees, especially the queen’s ability to lay eggs. Don’t miss this one! Tune in https://anchor.fm/ben-the-beeman https://www.2millionblossoms.com

PODCAST EPISODE 5: Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, Bees for Development, France

A few years ago, I visited one of my favourite countries in the whole world, France. During my stay, I was lucky enough to be well looked after by my now dear friend, Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, and his lovely partner, Kim. Spoilt with handmade ice-cream (thanks Kim!) and wonderful conversation about how bees are doing the most incredible job to take care of the planet (in more ways than just pollination), my stay with Milan really solidified our friendship and taught me a great deal about the amazing organisation he works for. Since that time in France, we met again at APIMONDIA in Montreal in 2019 and have stayed in regular contact ever since! For that reason, I am delighted to welcome my good friend Milan to the BEES WITH BEN podcast!

Tune into Episode 5 to hear Milan and I chat about the wonderful work happening right now in the developing world – work that combines a number of incredibly dedicated and compassionate individuals, and, of course, a huge number of equally delightful bees! Bees for Development is an organisation that promotes beekeeping to combat poverty and help build sustainable, resilient livelihoods for the people that need it most. When I thought bees couldn’t do more for the good of humanity, I am happily proven wrong.

Founded in 1993, Bees for Development was the first organisation to fully understand and acknowledge the reasons why beekeeping can be such a useful tool for relieving poverty while helping to retain biodiversity. Based in Monmouth in the UK, the organisation has worked with over 50 countries across the world to help people generate an essential income to feed their families and provide basic needs: these projects are happening in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda (to name just a few locations). The company shows local farmers how to make and maintain low-cost beehives so that people can harvest and sell their own honey, turning natural and renewable resources into a vital livelihood that (if that wasn’t enough!) helps the environment at the same time! The company also carries out important bee-work for the World Bank, United Nations FAO and IFAD, EU, DFID, USAID and other international organisations.

Alongside all this remarkable work, Bees for Development has a generous and ethical philosophy to sharing information (one that I find vital and sometimes unusual in this day and age). They provide free information to beekeepers in poor countries, with publications – Bees for Development Journal and Teaching and Learning Boxes-- sent to readers in 130 nations. These documents share knowledge and advice, and the organisation’s website includes an open-access information portal that is the largest of its kind in the world! Considering the incredibly difficult state of affairs right now across the globe, there hasn’t been a better time to support a more worthy organisation.