Beemmunity with James Web & Nathan Reid (S4, E12)

What on earth is a microsponge? And what do beekeepers do with them?

In this episode, we talk with James Webb, CEO, and Nate Reid, Operations Manager at Beemmunity Labs on the exciting research and product development underway. They fill us in on a very creative way that our honey bees can now manage exposure to common agricultural pesticides.

They have created a microparticle that is composed of a detoxifying treatment encapsulated in a protein shell that can be fed to your bees in a sugar syrup solution. This treatment detoxifies pesticides that are consumed by your bees in pollen or nectar and are then passed through their systems, then removed during their next cleansing flight.

So far, it seems that any pesticide that they have fed to their bees has been neutralized at or very near 100%. Plus, you can use this during honey flows if you feed your bees a treated pollen patty. Instant protection, all of the time. If you are treating for mites, remove the strips before applying the the microsponge treatment.

Other positive features are that you only need to feed every three weeks or so, but, if you live in an area where pesticides are applied often, you can feed just before spraying or treated seed is planted and ensure protection for the whole season with treatments every three weeks. Plus, it has a long, uncomplicated shelf life so storage is inexpensive.

Finally, your bees can be safe from agricultural pesticides. It’s getting better out there.

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• Beemmunity - https://www.beemmunity.co
• Effects of OAV on Honey Bees
  • Effects of Oxalic Acid on Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) by Eva Rademacher, Marika Harz, Saskia Schneider Institute of Biology/Neurobiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 28-30, 14195 Berlin, Germany Insects 2017, 8(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8030084
  • Sublethal effects of oxalic acid on Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): changes in behaviour and longevity By Saskia Schneider, Dorothea Eisenhardt & Eva Rademacher Apidologie volume 43, pages218–225 (2012)
• Honey Bee Obscura Podcast - https://www.honeybeeobscura.com

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This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode! 

We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of today's episode. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com

We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.

HiveAlive is the #1 feed supplement for honeybees worldwide. HiveAlive has been proven to give more bees, more honey, improved overwinter survival and improved intestinal wellbeing. It contains a unique blend of seaweed extracts, thyme and lemongrass. Whilst it is unusual for bees to be fed seaweed, the practice of adding seaweed to other animal feed is long established. Seaweeds are fed to animals for multiple benefits such as productivity, general health, gut health, immune function and nutrition. As well as providing multiple benefits for the bees, HiveAlive is super easy to use and also prevents syrup from fermenting. Simply add just 2 tsp of our concentrated formula per gallon of syrup.   Due to demand from beekeepers, we have also created HiveAlive Fondant Patty. This gives all the benefits of HiveAlive in a ready to feed sugar fondant with added vitamins & amino acids. The patties are individually sealed meaning they won't dry out and are thin to allow easy placement close to the cluster. These patties are ideal for feeding colonies over winter and for emergency feeding of colonies.   Ask for HiveAlive and our new HiveAlive Fondant Patty at your local beekeeping store or find it online at https://usa.hivealivebees.com/. Listeners of the podcast can claim a special discount online using the code "BTP" at the checkout. 

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Podcast music: Young Presidents, "Be Strong"; Musicalman, "Epilogue". Original guitar background instrumental by Jeff Ott

Beekeeping Today Podcast is an audio production of Growing Planet Media, LLC