This past week has been incredibly busy. We just started our major sampling for beekeepers – collecting about 100 samples in alcohol for Nosema and Varroa and recording information for each of the 100 sampled colonies like frames of bees, queen status, colony weight, temperament, bee color, and any diseases. The goal is to help them choose colonies to breed the next generation of queens. Queen breeding season doesn’t start until the end of February, so we are helping them get a jump start on grading colonies.
Last Wednesday, a reporter, Robin Wise, from program called The Promised Land came out to the first beekeeper we sampled. The Promised Land is profiling Marla Spivak and they wanted to come out to Northern CA since the Bee Team was started because of Marla. Robin talked to Bob and Kamron Koehnen to get their perspective on Marla and the bee world and she talked to Rob and I about Marla’s influence. She also got really into recording the sounds of the bees, often stopping Rob and I from working so she could stick her microphone into the colony.
I do not know when the radio program will be broadcasted or on which public radio stations, but it will be eventually posted on their website. I am super curious to see how the words and sounds will be spliced together.
