Pollination | A Pollinator Health Podcast

Livestock grazing can be very expansive. Take for instance the 'fescue belt' in the southeastern US, which spans 1,000 miles across. This week we hear from a researcher who is looking to incorporate pollinator plants into pastures, potentially providing benefits to pollinators and increasing the grazing efficiency of cattle at the same time. 

There has been an explosion in people keeping bees for a hobby. But for many, beekeeping is a bigger commitment than they expected. This week we'll help you figure out if beekeeping for you and what's involved in getting started. 

Idaho and Oregon's Treasure Valley have a deep connection to bee management for alfalfa seed, but in this episode we hear about how that tradition is being transferred to pollinator management in vineyards. 

Some of the best plants for long-tongued bees like bumble bees and honey bees are grown for livestock. We dive deep into these livestock plants and discuss how they can be incorporated into a dual use system that feeds both livestock and bees. 

There is nothing about browsing though a magazine. There are some great beekeeping magazines, but what's missing is a magazine devoted to pollinators more broadly. Enter 2 Million Blossoms, a new magazine launched in January. We talk to the editor about the magazine and how it aims to fill this gap. 

When you think of a bee you probably think of an insect hard at work growing its nest and pollinating plants. But over 10% of bees are kleptoparasites; bees that don't build their own nests, but are parasites on other bees. In this episode we learn the fundamentals of this highly-evolved and sophisticated way of living.  

Many of us put mason bees out in our backyard or farm. But when they leave the nest, do you know where they are going to forage? In this episode we hear how a sleuthing graduate student in Seattle is beginning to piece together a picture of what resources these bees are actually using.

Hedgerows can be great ways to attract pollinators in agriculture and forestry settings. But how can such relatively small plantings impact pollinator abundance and diversity on larger scales? This week we dig deep into the science of how hedgerows contribute to pollinator health. 

Literacy on pollinator biology and ecology in the US is poor. But schools can be skittish about insects, especially bees, and teachers lack resources to make pollinator education come alive. This week we hear about an initiative that to get around these obstacles - The Bee Cause Project. 

What happened in 2019 when it came to Apiculture? We visit the Apiculture unit at Agriculture and Forestry Alberta in Lethbridge to find out. Hear about highlights from Apimonida, the introduction of an Asian giant hornet in Washington and BC and problems beekeepers have been having with European foulbrood. 

People living in cities are confronted by a range of pest problems, some of which impact pollinator health. This week we hear about an initiative to make science-based information on managing these pests clearer, more intuitive and easy to find. 

The Pacific Northwest got not just one, but two great pollinator positions in 2019. Claire Kremen has moved her lab from Berkeley to the University of British Columbia and Corin Pease is the new regional Pollinator Conservation Planner at Xerces. In this show we hear about these new programs and what they have planned for 2020. 

Alfalfa leafcutting bees don't get the attention of honey bees, but they are also a remarkable example of how people have learned to manage a bee species. It's often hard to get details about this industry, but this week we bring you one of the industry's gurus - Weldon Hobbs - whose dad helped found the industry in Western Canada. 

Oregon's bumble bees are all hibernating. Mated bumble bee queen are known to winter in loose soil or leaf litter, but we don't know much more than that. This week we talk with Rich Hatfield, a biologist at the Xerces Society, about a new community science initiative called Queen Quest, to learn more about the wintering requirements of bumble bees.  

Ever heard the term "native beekeeper" before? Me neither, until I talked with Gregory Lynch from the Miel Montréal Co-op. In this episode he explains how the Co-op has developed a wide range of educational services that goes beyond (honey bee) beekeeping, to promoting native bees and urban biodiversity more generally. 

In this episode we take a stroll through the tradeshow at the world's largest beekeeping conference, Apimondia, which was held in Montreal, Canada in September. In this episode you'll hear about a machine that can turn 1000lbs of liquid honey into velvety-creamed honey, the latest in varroa control, styrofoam hive equipment and tips on how to re-use plastic foundation. 

Roads crisis-cross the state of Oregon, making roadsides an appealing focus for creating an interconnected network of pollinator habitat. But roadside habitat has to fit within the constraints faced by Departments of Transportation. In this episode we hear about some of those constraints and successes achieved in Oregon by ODOT.  

There is a lot of ground under solar panels that could be planted to pollinator habitat. In this episode guest host Maggie Graham talks with John Jacob, a Southern Oregon beekeeper who has been working with a solar panel company to get pollinator habitat into new panel installations in Oregon. 

How important are trees to the health of bees? In many cases we don't know because trees are a lot bigger than us. That doesn't stop our next guest from scaling into the canopy for her research. This week we feature PhD Candidate Kass Urban-Mead. 

Pollinating crops can be difficult on honey bees. Since 2014, the California Almond Board has been working with beekeepers, pest control advisors and groups like Project ApisM to come up with standards (Best Management Practices, BMPs) to increase the health of bees in California Almonds. This week we talk with former Director, Agricultural Affairs, Almond Board of California (ABC), Bob Curtis, about how the BMPs were developed and how effective they have been to help bees during pollination.