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About Bees, Culture & Curiosity

About Bees, Culture & Curiosity

By: Ron Miksha
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Bees of all sorts are the engines of agriculture and the glue of ecology. Join us as we explore everything About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity.2025 Natural History Nature & Ecology Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Apitherapy and the Joy of Bee Stings

    Apitherapy and the Joy of Bee Stings
    Mar 30 2026

    Season 8 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Apitherapy and the Joy of Bee Stings

    Happy World Apitherapy Day, March 30, marked on the birthday of the founder of apitherapy, Filip Terč.

    Oh, and I heard that it's also Ron Miksha's birthday.

    Recorded in Calgary during March 2026

    Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation.

    Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site
    About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/

    Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: miksha@gmail.com
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    36 mins
  • Spring 2026 Trailer and News Briefs

    Spring 2026 Trailer and News Briefs
    Mar 28 2026
    Season 8 Episode 0: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Spring 2026 Trailer and News Briefs Starting off Spring 2026 with a preview of the season ahead plus some chat about 12 recent bee news stories. From the United Kingdom, Bee brain model offers insights into next-gen AI. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/bee-brain-study-offers-insights-into-next-gen-ai/ Social encapsulation of parasite eggs by honeybee colonies https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-40183-5 In Sweden, the trade association Beekeeping Entrepreneurs collected honey from Swedish grocery stores, sent samples to Estonia for analysis using new DNA method. https://www.landlantbruk.se/dna-test-av-importhonung-visar-omfattande-fusk From Spain: New traps at Palma Port aim to detect deadly invasive hornets before they spread across Mallorca https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2026/03/05/140661/new-traps-palma-port-aim-detect-deadly-invasive-hornets-before-they-spread-across-mallorca.html From the NYTimes: A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/climate/glyphosate-roundup-retracted-study.html March 8, NYTimes: A Trump Order Protected a Weedkiller https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/climate/bayer-white-phosphate-glyphosate-roundup-trump-executive-order-munition.html Canada's population declined by more than 100,000 people in 2025 Canada reports first annual population decline on record - The Globe and Mail Pascarella's 2024 paper on bee diversity Bombs versus bees: bee diversity on military bases and preserves in Texas, USA Wild populations of Apis mellifera have now been classified as endangered in the European Union following a recent reassessment for the IUCN Red List. Wild honeybees now officially listed as endangered in the EU Bees Kneez Apiaries: Beechina emergency-level bushfire destroyed 50 hives, kills about three million bees https://www.perthnow.com.au/wa/bees-kneez-apiaries-beechina-emergency-level-bushfire-destroyed-50-hives-kills-about-three-million-bees-c-21933066 From CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation making butter. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/how-to-churn-butter-while-running-9.7127209 From Taipei Times, Beehive tech could help boost fruit production https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/03/16/2003853892 USDA American beekeeping statistics https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/hony0326.pdf Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation. Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/ Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: miksha@gmail.com
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    58 mins
  • March is Orange Blossom Month

    March is Orange Blossom Month
    Mar 23 2026

    Season 7 Episode 12: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – March is Orange Blossom Month

    Orange Groves, Honey Bees, and a Vanishing Industry

    Orange blossom honey begins in the groves—but those groves are disappearing.

    In this episode, beekeeper and writer Ron Miksha explores the history, biology, and quiet decline of North America's citrus landscape. From Florida's once-million acres of orange trees to today's shrinking groves, this is the story of bees, nectar, and a changing agricultural world.

    We begin with a simple question: why do oranges grow in groves, not orchards? From there, the episode moves into the ecology of citrus flowers—how they produce nectar, how bees detect scent compounds like linalool and geraniol, and how entire colonies mobilize during bloom.

    Along the way, we examine the numbers behind orange blossom honey production, including how a single acre can produce enormous nectar potential—but rarely does. We also look at the realities facing modern citrus: urban expansion, climate pressures, and the devastating effects of citrus greening disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid.

    This episode blends personal experience, ecology, and history—from 1970s Florida bee yards to today's fragmented groves.

    It's a story about honey, yes—but also about landscape change, risk, and the uncertain future of beekeeping in citrus country.

    Recorded in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in March 2026.

    • orange blossom honey
    • citrus groves Florida
    • honey bees citrus pollination
    • how orange blossom honey is made
    • citrus bloom beekeeping

    Please subscribe, like, love, and follow. We live or die by your adulation.

    Podcast website: https://sites.libsyn.com/540327/site
    About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/

    Finally: email your questions, comments, and angst: miksha@gmail.com
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    1 hr and 8 mins
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