1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,159 Speaker 1: Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife, 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to 3 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: conserving both. I'm your host, Lake Pickle. On this episode, 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: we're going to learn about one of the most vital 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: but commonly overlooked elements of our ecosystem, pollinators. Now, if 6 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: you're sitting there thinking, man, that sounds awful lot like 7 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,639 Speaker 1: a beehive, well then I would say to you, that's 8 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 1: a keen ear you got there, because it is definitely 9 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: a beehive. And if you're also sitting there thinking it 10 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: sure sounds like that, dude's awful close to it, then 11 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: I would say, well, you might as well be an 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: NHL goalie, because nothing's getting past you today. I am 13 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: indeed very close to it. It's a beautiful mid July morning, 14 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: roughly seven thirty am, and I am on a mission 15 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: to learn more about pollinators and their vital role in 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: our wild ecosystems. And I thought to myself, what better 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: way to do that than get some hands on experience 18 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: with the most widely known pollinator in all the land, 19 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: the honey beee. 20 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 2: So this is a this is a frame that you 21 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 2: at hardest okay, because it is one hundred percent cap. 22 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: Luckily for me, I didn't have to look far to 23 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: get this experience. The mother of my wife's lifelong best friend, 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: Miss Linda Easterling, has been beekeeping for the better part 25 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: of a decade, and she was nice enough to have 26 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: me over one morning, lend me a beekeeping suit and 27 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: give me a crash course in this unique hobby. 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 2: So when the nectar that they put in the seals 29 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 2: is ready, they cap. 30 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 3: It has to be a certain. 31 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 2: Water content to it. 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 3: Gotcha. 33 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 2: When that wonderful content drops, then lay it's ready to cap. 34 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 2: They know somebody's in the hive, so they are starting 35 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 2: to store. They're loading up on honey in case something 36 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 2: happens to their house. 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 3: I see, sir, now, I don't know. 38 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 2: How you can feel it with love hands. 39 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: Miss Linda and I just opened up a beehive and 40 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: now she is showing me a honeysuper that is ready 41 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: to harvest. You'll be able to see this interaction fully 42 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: on the YouTube video, but for my audio only listeners, 43 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: imagine a rectangular box lined across with wooden slats that 44 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 1: maybe have an inch spacing between each of them. These 45 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: wooden slats are honeysupers. They match the box's length and 46 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: depth and essentially provide framing for the bees to make 47 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: and store honey. We pulled a fully capped super to 48 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: get a closer look. The most shocking thing for me 49 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: holding this in my hands, you know, besides the hundreds 50 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: of bees flying around my head, was the weight of it. 51 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: An empty Honeysuper weighs maybe three to four pounds, but 52 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: this fully capped honeysuper weigh closer to thirty pounds. These 53 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: bees had been busy, pun very much intended. 54 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I would not expect it to be that heavy. Yea. 55 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 2: So it's here. Isn't that amazing? How that's and since 56 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,119 Speaker 2: I am kind of messed it up a little bit, 57 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 2: they're on your microphone too, you hear some jim buzzen. 58 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 3: That's what I was hoping for. 59 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: Can I Can I take this and hold it in 60 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: front of the camera there? 61 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, tostally honey honey production. 62 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 3: Yea, easier to see the breard and that box. 63 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 2: Go to that box. 64 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: Once we get through looking at this full honeysuper, Miss 65 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: Linda wants to show me a different, smaller hive that 66 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: will have much less honey production and will allow us 67 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: to see the brood. It was when we went to 68 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: the next time that we had a little bit of excitement. 69 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 2: That's the part and make people nervous when they're coming 70 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 2: up with your veil, your kind. 71 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 3: Of get seeded. One's in my veil. 72 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: This then weird. 73 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm gonna back up and let her out. 74 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: Yep, you heard that correctly. A single bee has broken 75 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: the force field and is now inside the veil of 76 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: my bee suit. Thankfully, Miss Linda walked me through what 77 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: to do in case this very thing happens. I'm supposed 78 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: to back away from the hive, pull open my veil 79 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: and calmly waft the bee out of there without getting stung. 80 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: Is the key part of all this. Let's see how 81 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:27,840 Speaker 1: this goes. 82 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 3: We're still down there. Yeah, if she hadn't stung me, 83 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 3: come on, sweet to get out of there. 84 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: She's right there. 85 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 3: Say her bread. 86 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: Here, I thought. 87 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, you can't relate. 88 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: Despite our best attempts, we just can't seem to get 89 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: this single bee to fly back out. And at that 90 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: point is when we get another little dose of excitement. 91 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 2: Won't chip almost has another one getting in now that 92 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 2: one just got eat right right, turgoes wanting, but there 93 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: goes one day. 94 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: Then, unbeknownst to us, a few bees followed me over 95 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: when I backed away from the hive, and when I 96 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: opened the veil of my face mask up to let 97 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,720 Speaker 1: the bee out, more flew in. At one point I 98 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: had three bees inside of my face net at once, 99 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: and I am more than happy to report that I 100 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: managed to get out of this small snaffoo with zero stings. 101 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: The key component to all of this was just staying calm. 102 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: Small side mission of this episode. I will always and 103 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,679 Speaker 1: forever have a soft spot for critters that are often misunderstood. 104 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: And while the main premise of this episode is to 105 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: explain why pollinators are of crucial importance to our landscape, 106 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: I also want to rid the mindset of every bee 107 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: U se is on a mission to sting you. They 108 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: most definitely are not. At one point, one of those 109 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: three bees landing right on top of my ear and 110 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: it's still withheld fire. I think my point proves itself. 111 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: I spent the rest of the time with Miss Linda, 112 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: with no more bees inside my head net and taking 113 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: a look into the rest of the bee hives. That 114 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: she had on her property. And let me tell you, 115 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 1: if you ever get to experience what I experienced that morning, 116 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: you'll never wonder again where common terms like busy as 117 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: a bee or that person's a regular worker bee comes from. 118 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: These hives are constant work in motion, bees making and capping, 119 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: honey bees constantly flying in and out of the hive. 120 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: One of the coolest parts was watching some of the 121 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: bees fly back into the hive with visible poland that 122 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: they had collected and brought back to work for them. 123 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 1: Really never stops. Big shout out to Miss Linda Easterling 124 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: for giving me such a cool experience. If any of 125 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: y'all ever get the chance to tag along with the 126 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,279 Speaker 1: bee keeper, I promise you it's worth your time. But 127 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: let's zoom out on all of this. You may be 128 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: sitting there wondering why I'm making such a big deal 129 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: about pollinators and honey bees in particular. You've probably heard 130 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: people mention that pollinators are important, but have you ever 131 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: heard the ants than as to why. I've learned over 132 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: the years that in many areas of wildlife and habitat management, 133 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: the smaller the organism is, the easier it seems to 134 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: be for us to overlook it, regardless of how important 135 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: of a role it plays. So sit back, turn the 136 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: volume up a notch, and listen in because you're about 137 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: to learn how vital these little bugs are to not 138 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: just our wildlife and wild places, but to our own 139 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: health as well. I promised you this. At the very least, 140 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: by the end of this episode, you'll never feel the 141 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: same about going and picking up a jar of honey, 142 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: that's for sure. Sarah Dant is an American historian that 143 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: specializes in the environmental history of the American West. She's 144 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: also a distinguished professor and experienced beekeeper, and the author 145 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: of one of my new favorite books, Losing Eden. Truly, 146 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: it's a fascinating read. Y'all should check it out. I 147 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: want to open up the conversation with Professor Sarah Dant 148 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: coming right out the gate with the fact about honey 149 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: bees that most people don't know and are very surprised 150 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: to learn. 151 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 3: Honey bees in particular are unique. There were no native 152 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:17,239 Speaker 3: colony building bees in the Americas prior to the arrival 153 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 3: of Europeans. You know, you do have like small groups 154 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 3: of bumblebees. They tend to live, but only in groups 155 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 3: of like ten or fifteen. Nothing like the big honey 156 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 3: producing palm building chives and colonies that you see with 157 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 3: honey bees. Those are European bees that came over with Europeans. 158 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: I'm sure y'all heard that the first time, but just 159 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: in case you didn't, or you need to hear it 160 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: again for the sake of making sure you heard it right, 161 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: I'm going to repeat it for y'all. Honey Bees one 162 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 1: of the most famous insects in the entire country, one 163 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: of the few bugs that proliferate themselves in American pop 164 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: culture by being mentioned in nursery rhymes, folklore, and song lyrics. 165 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: Are not native to America. So how did they get here? 166 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: Did the European settlers bring them here? On purpose? 167 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 3: Absolutely? They did, absolutely brought bees. Because you think about it, 168 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 3: some of the most addictive substances that we know of 169 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:22,119 Speaker 3: are sugar and salt, and sugar is not naturally occurring 170 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 3: in any kind of great quantity commodity in the natural world. 171 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 3: It's one of the reasons we crave it because it's 172 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 3: such a great source of energy, and we forget that nowadays. 173 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 3: You know, with high fruit toase, corn syrup and Halloween 174 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,120 Speaker 3: and soda pop and McDonald's, we forget that if you 175 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 3: think about it, in nature, sugar is really rare. And 176 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 3: so when people I mean, and we're talking about people 177 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:54,079 Speaker 3: as far back as Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, they're 178 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 3: cultivating bees because bees make honey, and honey is delicious, 179 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 3: and if sugar is a rare commodity, then you want 180 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 3: to do whatever you can to facilitate your access to it. 181 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 3: So when Europeans came to the Americas, starting with the Pilgrims, 182 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 3: are really who we think are one of the first 183 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 3: groups to bring honey bees with them. Absolutely, they deliberately 184 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 3: brought them because they wanted to bring with them that wonderful, 185 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 3: rare source of sugar. But bees being bees, they swarmed 186 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:39,200 Speaker 3: and moved away from human habitation into the wild. So 187 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 3: you have both. You have wild bees and you have 188 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 3: kept domestic bees by colonists, and they're so successful that 189 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 3: native people actually call them English flies because they absolutely 190 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 3: associated the presence of honeybees with the arrival of Europeans. 191 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: That really is some wild information we just got there. 192 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: Humans have been colonizing bees for the collection of honey 193 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: for thousands of years, with evidence dating back to the 194 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: ancient Egyptians. Bees were so successful when they were brought 195 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,720 Speaker 1: to the Americas by the European settlers that native Americans 196 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: referred to them as English flies. And here's one factor 197 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: I want to focus on next. In that last bit, 198 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,319 Speaker 1: you heard Professor Dant use the term swarming. Her exact 199 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: words were they swarmed and moved away from human habitation. 200 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: That fact is very important to the whole point of 201 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: this story. And let's break down the many reasons why 202 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: a swarm of bees is oftentimes brought up in a 203 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: negative connotation, usually associated with people getting attacked, stone and 204 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: all sorts of other horrors, when in fact, bees swarms 205 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: serve a very specific purpose that has nothing to do 206 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: with such horrors, and I think we should learn what 207 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: that actually is. 208 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 3: Well, one of the things that I think some people 209 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 3: may be familiar with is a bee swarm and why 210 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 3: do bees swarm? What does it mean? All of that? 211 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 3: To me, that's that's really interesting, and it's it's one 212 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 3: of the for me, it was always one of the 213 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 3: great teaching moments when I would get a call for 214 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 3: a swarm, because actually what I did was I gave 215 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 3: my name and number to a couple of pest control 216 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 3: companies and the nine one one people, because people would 217 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 3: either call them and say, oh my god, you're gonna 218 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,439 Speaker 3: come spray these bees, or they would call nine one one, 219 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 3: oh my god, we were being invaded. And fortunately all 220 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 3: those groups would say, okay, let me give you somebody 221 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 3: a call, and so I would I would go out 222 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 3: and get the swarm. And it was a great opportunity 223 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 3: to interact with people who were completely freaked out that 224 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 3: there was this big wad of bees in the tree 225 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 3: in their yard and here's this girl with no gloves 226 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 3: on and a veil just kind of walk out there 227 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,319 Speaker 3: in jeans and not freak out at all with efty 228 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 3: thousand bees buzzing around, and yeah, it sort of makes 229 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 3: you feel like superhero. So what happens is in a hive, 230 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 3: they'll get really two crowded. They've been successful, they're too 231 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 3: many bees in a hive. They need to split up. 232 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 3: So the queen that's in the hive will take a 233 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 3: portion of the bees and they'll fly usually somewhere within 234 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 3: one hundred yards or so of the hive itself. So 235 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 3: when you see a big, you know, basketball of bees, 236 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 3: what you're seeing is solid bees, and in the middle 237 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 3: is the queen. They're all around her. She's in the middle, 238 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 3: and they're just hanging out, usually literally in a tree, 239 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 3: and they've got scouts going out all over the kind 240 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 3: of side looking for a new home. In the meantime, 241 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 3: in the hive, they have started the process of making 242 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 3: a new queen. And you have to feed baby bees 243 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 3: a certain substance called royal jelly, and if you keep 244 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 3: feeding it to them, don't grow into queens. You can 245 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 3: only have one queen in a hive, and so whicheverone 246 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 3: comes out first, goes through the hive, finds every other 247 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 3: ges stating queen and kills her. So I'm number one 248 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 3: and that's it, and then she becomes the new queen. 249 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 3: But at that point she's infertile. So the swarm is 250 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 3: up in the tree with the original queen, a lot 251 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 3: of bees, and at this point they're they're most vulnerable. 252 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 3: They're also pretty easy to manipulate because they don't have 253 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 3: anything to lose except the queen. So if you've ever 254 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 3: seen the thing where somebody does like a beard of bees, 255 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 3: that's what they're doing. They're messing around with a swarm 256 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 3: they don't have a hive, they don't have honey, they 257 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 3: don't have brood, they have nothing that they need to protect. 258 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 3: So they're up in a tree. They've got scouts going 259 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 3: out looking for a good place to go. And when 260 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 3: one of the scouts comes back and says, I found it. 261 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 3: This is the place. Bring them young, like, this is 262 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 3: the place we got to go, then they all fly 263 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 3: and so if you've ever seen a swarm, it's pretty exciting. 264 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 3: In a tree, they're just kind of up there like 265 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 3: a basketball. But then when they decide to go, they 266 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 3: all go, and the din is incredible. It's really loud. 267 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 3: They're all moving, and then they'll be gone. So the 268 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 3: moral of that story is if you see a swarm, 269 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 3: you don't have to panic because they're not gonna stay. 270 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 3: They're looking for a new place and that the most 271 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 3: they're gonna be there for two or three days. They 272 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 3: don't have food, they don't have water. They're sending people 273 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 3: out to get that, but they don't have that, so 274 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 3: their motivation is to find a new house. 275 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: Important honey bee fact number one, and it's mainly tied 276 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: to a function bees swarm when they're trying to move 277 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: to a new home or a new hive might be 278 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: a better term. And we heard earlier that bees were 279 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: so successful when brought to the Americas that they swarmed 280 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: and left places of human habitation. And here's why that's interesting. 281 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: Think briefly back to the last episode on Mississippi Black Bears, right, 282 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: Remember the historical record we read from the book by 283 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,680 Speaker 1: James T. McCafferty. It had a documented Delta pioneer making 284 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: use of wild honey in the eighteen hundreds. Think about 285 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: that for a second. I don't know about y'all, but 286 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: that leads me to ask the question, how quickly can 287 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: these tiny bugs spread? 288 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 3: Probably the Pilgrims bring bees with them. I don't think 289 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 3: the Spanish conquesitors did, who would have come before that. 290 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 3: But the first Pilgrims come in Jamestown is in the 291 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 3: early sixteen hundreds, and we do know that by the 292 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 3: eighteen fifties their bees in California. So it just does 293 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 3: not take very long at all for them to move, 294 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 3: and to move pretty efficiently and quickly across the continent. 295 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: Not only is a swarm the bees function for spreading, 296 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,239 Speaker 1: but it's an incredibly efficient function for spreading By that 297 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: quick math. It means that honey bees managed to cover 298 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: the entire country from east to west in around two 299 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty years time. And when you think about 300 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: how tiny those bugs are, that's quite an impressive feat. 301 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: But now we have to address why that's important. 302 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 3: I think the way we could sort of sum up 303 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 3: what we're going to talk about here today is like this, 304 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 3: pollinators need you, and you need pollinators. When we're talking 305 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 3: about pollinators, we're talking about a really broad group of 306 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 3: insects and even small mammals, of which bees are certainly 307 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 3: but you know, bats are pollinators, birds are pollinators, there's bees, 308 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:09,920 Speaker 3: there's other kinds of insects, all kinds of animals pollinate. 309 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 3: They are so essential and that basic service that they 310 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,919 Speaker 3: provide accounts for one out of every three bytes of 311 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 3: food that one of us takes. So you think about 312 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 3: that the next time you're at a meal and you go, okay, 313 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 3: one bite of food, two bye of food, third bite, 314 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 3: you have to say thank you pollinator. Every third byte 315 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,879 Speaker 3: of food you have to be saying, man, thank you pollinator. 316 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 3: That's how essential they are to the world around us. 317 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 3: And they're not charismatic megafonn it you know. So if 318 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 3: you get an elk or a bear or something like that, 319 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,199 Speaker 3: people want to type it this is a bug, and 320 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 3: it's a bug that stings you sometimes. So it's one 321 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 3: of those really essential things that people just k a 322 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 3: take for granted that Well, of course I have fruits 323 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:11,160 Speaker 3: and vegetables and various cooking oils, and you don't ever 324 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,879 Speaker 3: really stop to think, so what made that possible? And 325 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 3: the answer is if it came from something that flowers 326 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 3: or makes seeds, it needed a pollinator to make that happen. 327 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:30,239 Speaker 3: You need pollinators because without them, suddenly most of the 328 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,920 Speaker 3: food in the world is going to get shut off. 329 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: Okay, so we now know that honeybees and all pollinators 330 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: are important to us, and it truly affects everything facilitating 331 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: plant reproduction, food reproduction, agriculture, biodiversity, wild plant success, and 332 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 1: ecosystem health. As you can imagine, this affects a whole lot, 333 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: from something as large as row crop yields to something 334 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: as specific as the deer hunting quality on your property. 335 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 1: And that's no joke. But here's where the story or 336 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 1: it gets deeper and more nuanced. You already, I hope. 337 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: So because we're diving in. One of the first big 338 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: and interesting facts we learned about honeybees is that they 339 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: were not a native species to North America. And most 340 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: of the time, not always, but most of the time, 341 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: when you hear a story about an exotic species being 342 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: brought to North America, it commonly ends with a negative outcome. 343 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: But that's not the case with honeybees. And why is that. 344 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 3: Made of pollinators in particular have been suffering for the 345 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 3: last one hundred years. I would say a lot of 346 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 3: that has to do with again development, agricultural expansion. You 347 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 3: used to pesticides and other kinds of poisons. But you know, 348 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 3: it's really hard when the plants that they evolve to 349 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 3: pollinate are not there, not there because we we've mowed 350 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 3: them down, we've plowed over them, we've paved over them, 351 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 3: or you know, again going back to this idea of 352 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 3: climate change, as the earth warms up, we're seeing plant 353 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 3: regimes moving. And when those plant regimes move, the pollinators 354 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 3: don't necessarily know to go with them. It's it may 355 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 3: be too far to fly, it may be all of 356 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 3: those things. And if it's warming, sometimes those plants are 357 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,640 Speaker 3: blooming earlier than they used to before the pollinator has 358 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 3: typically whatever hatched out or moved into the area. So 359 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 3: we have these miskined bloom and fertilization issues that are 360 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,440 Speaker 3: the consequence of climate change. And again we don't even 361 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 3: think about those kinds of things. But several species of 362 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:01,880 Speaker 3: native bumblebees, for example, have declined in geographic range and 363 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 3: their numbers in the last twenty years. I think I 364 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 3: talked about in my book. For Western states now no 365 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:16,239 Speaker 3: longer have bumblebees. Idaho, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Oregon they 366 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 3: don't have bumblebees. Bumblebees were native to the Americas prior 367 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,439 Speaker 3: to the arrival of Europeans. Now they're gone completely in 368 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:30,959 Speaker 3: those states, and that matters because the native plants that 369 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:37,120 Speaker 3: they co evolved with now don't have this fundamentally important 370 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,919 Speaker 3: elevator to go with them. And so honey bees, in particular, 371 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,479 Speaker 3: the number of highs in the America is just, you know, 372 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,160 Speaker 3: to sort of ball park it. Between the nineteen forties 373 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 3: and now, the number of managed hives has dropped by 374 00:22:52,920 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 3: about half. And that's in part because it's really straining 375 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 3: to be a bee keeper, even a hobby bee keeper. 376 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 3: Since about two thousand and six, as I wrote about 377 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 3: in my book, there is this phenomenon that scientists called 378 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:18,199 Speaker 3: colony collapse disorder or CCD, and they're mystified by it, 379 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 3: not quite sure what causes it. Is it pathogens, is 380 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:31,360 Speaker 3: it parasites, Is it pesticides? But and we don't know. 381 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 3: It could be again this kind of perfect storm of 382 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,880 Speaker 3: all of them coming together. But what it means is 383 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 3: that every year, on the order of one third to 384 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 3: one half and sometimes as much as seventy five percent 385 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:52,400 Speaker 3: of domestic bee hives don't make it every year. And 386 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,360 Speaker 3: it's it just breaks your heart. You know, you go out, 387 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 3: you work your bees. One week in Likember, the hive 388 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 3: is thriving. You've got brood, you've got a queen, they've 389 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 3: got honey. Everything is good. And two weeks later to 390 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 3: go out to check on your high and there's nothing there. 391 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 3: They're just gone. And they can't leave in late September, 392 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 3: that's not when they swarm. They're not going to be 393 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 3: able to make a hive, gather enough food get themselves 394 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 3: through the winter. So they're all going to die. But 395 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 3: they don't die at your hives. They're just they're just gone. 396 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: So why are we so focused in celebrating the success 397 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: of the honeybee, a non native insect, because our native 398 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: pollinators have been severely depleted. Some studies show up to 399 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: one fifth of our North American pollinators and an elevated 400 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: risk of extinction. And honey bees aren't exactly thriving right 401 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,720 Speaker 1: now either. So what are the implications of this? Is 402 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: there anything we can do to combat it? And honestly, 403 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,880 Speaker 1: why isn't it being talked about more? I run into this, 404 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: especially also when we were talking about quail. It does 405 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: seem like, you know, talking about it being you know, 406 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: them not being charismagmatic megafauna. There has to be some 407 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:30,119 Speaker 1: sort of connection there, because it's like the smaller the object, 408 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: the smaller it seems in like objective life, Like there's 409 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 1: not people interacting with honey bees or bumble bees every day, 410 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: and so they're easy to forget about because they're so small, 411 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: and it's not it's not all the time in front 412 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: of us how beneficial they are to us in our environment. 413 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 1: And the thing is like one of the biggest eye 414 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: opening things for me and I even you know, I 415 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 1: knew what pollinators were. I knew that bees played a 416 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 1: huge role in our ecosystem, and an ecosystem, health and 417 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,320 Speaker 1: native plans. But I other think for me was being 418 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 1: able to actually see it right. And the first time 419 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 1: that I saw it was a place that I get 420 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 1: to go to just about every year in South Florida, 421 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 1: in the Mayaka Prairie. And man, it's gonna sound like 422 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: I'm indulging the story a little bit. When you go 423 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 1: to a place like that, like they like they have bees, 424 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: they produce honey off that's called my Aka Prairie honey. 425 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 1: My friends at black Beard's Ranch put it out. It's 426 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: it's great stuff, obviously, but it's not just the bees. 427 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,199 Speaker 1: Like that whole area like is permeated and it's just 428 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: teeming with life. The plants. There's gopher tortoises, there's turkeys, 429 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: there's ephemeral wetlands, and there's ducks in there. There's all 430 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 1: sorts of water birds and it just all like congruently 431 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: works with one another. The instant issue that I see 432 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:55,920 Speaker 1: there is I'm like, man, I know what this does 433 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 1: to me when I see it, But you can't how 434 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: do you get everybody to see that? You can't walk 435 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: everybody in the world, and everybody that dwells in the 436 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,440 Speaker 1: cities and everybody that doesn't know this stuff, you can't 437 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: walk them out to a prayer like that and go see. 438 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: I wish you could, but you can't. 439 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 3: Well, and I think you're onto a really important idea 440 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 3: and it's something that you know. I certainly see that 441 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,720 Speaker 3: you're doing with this entire podcast, which is people care 442 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 3: about what they know, but sometimes they don't know what 443 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:35,159 Speaker 3: to pay attention to and why what they see might matter. 444 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 3: And so when people can know more about something as 445 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 3: simple as a honeybee or a pollinator bee, then this 446 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 3: start looking for it. And once you pay attention, you 447 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 3: see it. It's like when you learn a new word 448 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 3: and then all of a sudden, oh my god, the 449 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 3: thing is everywhere. It's just that you weren't paying attention before. 450 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 3: And so the great thing about pollinators and honey bees 451 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 3: in particulars you can see them anywhere. You can see 452 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,440 Speaker 3: them out on a prairie, you can see him right 453 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:15,120 Speaker 3: in downtown where you are, and if you don't see them, 454 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,680 Speaker 3: that ought to be a good indicator that something's off here. 455 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 3: Bees and pollinators in general are really good ecosystem indicators. 456 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 3: They're the ones who tell you this is working or 457 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 3: it's not working, And I'll add my little anecdote to 458 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 3: your story. I got to go to Central Park in 459 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 3: New York City a few years ago, and it was 460 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 3: in the spring, and I mean the park was just 461 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 3: erupting in bloom, and the host that we were with 462 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 3: was just exclaiming about, Oh, this is so wonderful and 463 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 3: it's nature in the city and da da da da da. 464 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 3: So I was under a crab apple tree and it 465 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 3: was a it must have been one hundred and fifty 466 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 3: years old. It was huge into the air, the branches 467 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 3: draped all the way to the ground, and I was 468 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:14,640 Speaker 3: surrounded by pink. The air was pink because of all 469 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 3: the blooms, and there was not a bee to be heard. 470 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 3: There was not and that thing should have just been humming. 471 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 3: So I'm at our place in Phoenix right now, and 472 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 3: in the backyard is an alverti tree that was just blooming, 473 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 3: covered in yellow flowers, and I mean, there's a din 474 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:41,240 Speaker 3: from the bees up in that tree. It should have 475 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,360 Speaker 3: been like that, but it was in the middle of 476 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 3: Central Park, and so I thought, yeah, it looks like nature, 477 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 3: but it's not complete nature, because you're missing this really 478 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,640 Speaker 3: essential player. And so when people start to pay attention, 479 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 3: just like you're talking to When you pay attention, you realize, man, 480 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 3: that is so cool, look at this one. And then 481 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,680 Speaker 3: when you pay attention you realize, Okay, there's six different 482 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 3: kinds of things working on these flowers. It isn't all 483 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 3: just a bee. It's lots of different things. So yeah, 484 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:23,040 Speaker 3: I'd love to encourage people to pay attention because when 485 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 3: you do, you learn, and when you learn, you care. 486 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: If you haven't caught on yet, one thing that I 487 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: really like to do when someone drops some seriously good 488 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,520 Speaker 1: information on us is to key in on one or 489 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: two phrases that stick with me. Professor Dant said, people 490 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: care about what they know, and to pay attention because 491 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: when you do, you learn, and when you learn, you care. 492 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: I can tell you from a quick personal anecdote. When 493 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: my wife Lacy and I bought the home that we 494 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: currently reside in, it, like many other homes, consisted of 495 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: a front and back laan made up of completely exotic 496 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: plants that offered little to no value you to any 497 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: sort of wildlife, and in the springtime, when all of 498 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: it was in bloom, it was void of any bugs, birds, 499 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: or really anything living besides the plants themselves. In the 500 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: past few years, I've gotten rid of many of those 501 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: exotics and planted some native pollinator plants like butterfly weed, 502 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: blazing star, eastern cone flower, prairie flocks, and partridge peas. 503 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: And let me tell you something, it's borderline silly how 504 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 1: happy I get when I walk outside or look through 505 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,280 Speaker 1: the window and see a beer moth buzzing around those plants. 506 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: It's a lot easier to appreciate and love something when 507 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: you understand it. I want to round this episode off 508 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: by letting Professor Dant give us her opinion on the 509 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: future of pollinators here in the US, as well as 510 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: things that we can all do to help preserve them. 511 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,240 Speaker 1: And if it's all right with y'all, I then want 512 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:56,480 Speaker 1: to go back to the beehives with Miss Linda. 513 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 3: So, now that we know there's a problem, how do 514 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 3: we address it? And a good place to start is 515 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 3: with paying attention, where we actually consciously look for the 516 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 3: pollinators that are all around us, and we think about 517 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:20,080 Speaker 3: what can I do to make a difference. And I 518 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 3: think a lot of people get really frustrated because they think, 519 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 3: oh my god, all these problems are so huge, and 520 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:27,880 Speaker 3: I don't know how to solve them. And it's like, look, 521 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 3: I'm going to give you a get out of jail 522 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,480 Speaker 3: free card. You do not have to solve climate change 523 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,680 Speaker 3: the loss of pollinators. You didn't single handedly cause them, 524 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 3: so therefore you don't have to solve them. But the 525 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 3: idea is each of us does our part. It's what 526 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 3: I like to call the triumph of the commons, because 527 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 3: when we each do our part, then collectively we make 528 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,160 Speaker 3: a real difference. And so it starts with paying attention 529 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 3: and caring about what you know. Pollinator Week is sponsored 530 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 3: by pollinator dot org and so you can go to 531 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 3: their website and they have all kinds of different resources 532 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 3: for people who are interested in pollinators, just you know, 533 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 3: a little bit or maybe a lot, and they're very 534 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 3: committed to this idea of providing information for people whose 535 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,960 Speaker 3: livelihoods depend on the land. So if you're a farmer 536 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 3: or you're a rancher, this is not, oh, you guys 537 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,320 Speaker 3: are the bad guys. Far from it. It's how do 538 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 3: we integrate pollinator planning into healthy agriculture, sustainable ranching, farming, 539 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,600 Speaker 3: that kind of thing. And they also have just planting 540 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:44,400 Speaker 3: for pollinators coming up with what are the native plants 541 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,840 Speaker 3: that are from this region. And if you don't know, 542 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 3: this website has maps and ecozones that can tell you 543 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 3: about that. But you can plant for pollinators. You can 544 00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 3: reduce or even eliminate your use of past the sides 545 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 3: and herbicides. But I would say another thing that a 546 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 3: lot of people don't think about is supporting your local beekeepers. 547 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 3: I mean, most of us live in places where there's 548 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,799 Speaker 3: a farmer's market, and most of us have people who 549 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,640 Speaker 3: show up with a farmer's market who are selling honey. Man, 550 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 3: if you have never had local honey, you're in for 551 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 3: a real treat. And it depends on the time of 552 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 3: year that you buy it. The honey that I would 553 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,720 Speaker 3: collect in the spring would be this really light, thin, 554 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,280 Speaker 3: I realize this sounds redundant, but very sweet honey because 555 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 3: it was all of the fruit trees that were blooming. 556 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 3: But then in the late summer when I would collect 557 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,760 Speaker 3: and the bees were on the rabbit brush, the chinisa, 558 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:53,360 Speaker 3: the sage brush that is like a dark amber beer, 559 00:34:54,160 --> 00:35:00,200 Speaker 3: is really almost spicy, is delicious and added bonus if 560 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 3: you suffer from allergies from any of the things that 561 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 3: are blooming in your area. If you get local honey 562 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:13,400 Speaker 3: that was harvested roughly at the time that whatever makes 563 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 3: you sneeze was blooming, it acts as kind of a 564 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 3: natural antihistamine and helps you not sneeze. And we so 565 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,880 Speaker 3: much I like to tell people to do their best 566 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 3: to buy local, support local farmers, local ranchers, people who 567 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 3: are doing good, honest, sustainable work on the land itself. 568 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:38,920 Speaker 3: Those are the kinds of people who deserve our support. 569 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:42,239 Speaker 1: Plant a few cone flowers in your flower bed, buy 570 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: local honey from the farmer's market, and just pay a 571 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: little more attention to the world around us. That little 572 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 1: bit of effort from each of us could really make 573 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,239 Speaker 1: a difference. And just to heads up some of the 574 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:56,040 Speaker 1: most beneficial and popular land management practices like prescribe burning 575 00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 1: helps promote native plants that help pollinators as well. To 576 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 1: wrap this up, like I mentioned earlier, I want to 577 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,359 Speaker 1: go back to the bee hives with Miss Linda as 578 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 1: we watched honey bees come and go from the hive 579 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:18,960 Speaker 1: carrying in new pollen to make honey. That's crazy to 580 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,000 Speaker 1: me that that little bit'd bee will range out. 581 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:22,880 Speaker 2: Three miles two to three miles. 582 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 3: That's wild. 583 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:30,239 Speaker 2: Hangding on what they're after. So they're out working something. Yeah, 584 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 2: and we may be able to see them bringing. 585 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: Pollen in. 586 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:39,560 Speaker 2: Thought that one Randon had some, so something is blaming 587 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:41,279 Speaker 2: and that's one of the things that you look at 588 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:43,720 Speaker 2: in the springtime to make sure they're bringing in honey, 589 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:45,440 Speaker 2: I mean or pollen. 590 00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:47,359 Speaker 3: That one right there, they just went in there, had 591 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:48,479 Speaker 3: yellow all over him. 592 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 2: Like a bright yellow, and just fascinating little little creatures. 593 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:55,840 Speaker 3: That's cool. 594 00:36:56,719 --> 00:37:08,440 Speaker 1: Fascinating little creatures indeed indispensable ones as well. I want 595 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 1: to thank all of you for listening to Backwoods University 596 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,319 Speaker 1: as well as Bear Grease in this country life. And 597 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:15,160 Speaker 1: I want to give a big shout out to onex 598 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: Hunt for making this podcast possible. If you like this episode, 599 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:21,319 Speaker 1: share it with the buddy or even a family member 600 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 1: that you don't like that much. They probably could benefit 601 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,919 Speaker 1: from a good podcast episode anyway, and stick around because 602 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,520 Speaker 1: if this podcast was a beehive, the honey is only 603 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:31,719 Speaker 1: gonna get sweeter. We'll see y'all next time.