Show Notes
Buckle up, honey lovers — this episode is a wild ride through the wonderfully chaotic world of beekeeping with Connecticut backyard beekeeper Lauren Doninger! Before diving into the conversation, host Eric drops ten mind-blowing facts about honey bees (spoiler: they might understand the concept of zero and play soccer). Then Lauren takes us through her approach to swarm catching, the vertical split technique, condensing hives, her biggest beekeeping mistakes and a ton more! She also gives us a peek into her utterly charming self-service honey stand, where neighbors stop by, grab a jar, and leave cash or Venmo on the honor system. Because that's just the kind of beekeeper Lauren is. Lauren doesn't shy away from the messy parts of beekeeping either. She shares cringe-worthy (and relatable) rookie mistakes, and — the crown jewel of disaster stories — leaving her slider door open with 20+ frames of honey on the porch, only to come home to a full-scale robbing frenzy with thousands of honey bees in her house. Through it all, Lauren's message is clear: make mistakes, learn from them, treat your mites, and lean on your beekeeping community — because beekeepers, she says, are simply the best people. Video Version of This Episode ________________ 10% Discount on Color Collection hive kits. https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: SHOWMETHECOLOR _________________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order. Follow Us: https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/follow/ https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/ [email protected] Lauren: https://yellowhousehoney.com/
More from Bee Love Beekeeping... presented by Mann Lake
Honey harvesting without the sticky mess? Yes, please! 🐝 On this episode of Bee Love Beekeeping, Eric Bennett chats with Simon Mildred of Hivekeepers, an Australian innovator making honey extraction easier with clever reusable cassettes and a compact honey harvester. Less cleanup, less fuss, and more time enjoying the bees and their sweet stuff! _____________ It's Time For Winter Bee Prep! $10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10 _____________ First, Eric gets into the honey bee’s sneaky stinger, which can keep pumping venom even after detaching. Then Simon shares how his invention could make beekeeping less intimidating for beginners, help every beekeeper sample different honey flavors throughout the season, and give those busy honey bees a little less wax-building work. Sweet science and sticky innovation—what’s not to buzz about? VIDEO VERSION Now Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube _____________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your next order.
What do you get when you combine a French beekeeper, illegal rooftop beehives in Manhattan, a legendary bee venom pioneer, and a healthy dose of curiosity? One seriously sweet episode of Bee Love Beekeeping! Host & beekeeper Eric Bennett, chats with Jean-François La Rivière, a beekeeper and apitherapy expert living in southwestern France, who shares the wild story of sneaking honey bees onto a New York City rooftop—black garbage bags and elevator rides included. _____________ It's Time For Winter Bee Prep! $10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10 _____________ From Manhattan’s urban apiaries to the rolling pastures of France, Jean-François has spent years exploring the fascinating world of bees and their remarkable products. Then it’s time to get sticky with apitherapy—the traditional use of bee products like honey, propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, beeswax, and even bee venom for health and medicinal care. Whether you’re a seasoned beekeeper or just curious about what your honey bees are making besides honey, this conversation is packed with history, unusual adventures, and enough bee-related rabbit holes to keep you buzzing! VIDEO VERSION Now Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube _____________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your next order.
What happens when a surfer, a swarm of honey bees, and a wildfire-prone corner of Southern California collide? You get one heck of a beekeeping story! Eric Bennett sits down with Eli Lichter-Mark, a small commercial beekeeper managing hundreds of hives around Topanga and Malibu. Eli shares how he went from catching swarms and repeatedly killing off his colonies to building a real bee business—complete with forklifts, flatbeds, almond pollination, a honey kitchen, and plenty of opportunities to get stung. _____________ It's Time For Winter Bee Prep! $10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10 _____________ Oh, and there’s Buckwheat, the bee-yard dog who apparently considers anything that buzzes—including motorcycles—a personal emergency. But this episode gets seriously interesting when the conversation turns to keeping honey bees in a place where the weather can swing wildly and wildfires can turn an apiary into a pile of staples. It’s a story about risk, resilience, sticky equipment, epic failures, and why anyone would voluntarily spend their days surrounded by thousands of flying insects. In other words… classic beekeeping. VIDEO VERSION Now Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube _____________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your next order.
It’s episode 100!! And we’re celebrating with a whole lot of beekeeping, a whole lot of bees, and a guest who knows that being a beekeeper is basically a full-time workout—with honey supers instead of dumbbells! Ryan Griffeth returns to the show to talk winter bee prep, managing hives across Connecticut’s wildly different microclimates, and what it really takes to keep colonies healthy when the temperatures drop. _____________ It's Time For Winter Bee Prep! $10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10 _____________ Ryan also gets into the business side of beekeeping, including hive management, working with clients, and turning a passion for bees into a sustainable business. Add some laughs, a little humility, and the occasional “oh crap, I forgot to check my mites” moment, and episode 100 is a fun—and seriously useful—celebration of beekeeping, and the people crazy enough to do it. It's all about the love! VIDEO VERSION Now Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube _____________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your next order.
How To: Best way to find lost hive tools (she has 30 and they're all missing)! What do you do when you love beekeeping, make your living with bees, and your body has decided it would really rather you not get stung? You apparently keep going! This week we head to Scotland to meet full-time beekeeper Gael Wilkinson, who manages hives across the Kingdom of Fife while navigating unpredictable weather, Scottish seasons, and the occasional bee that apparently has a personal grudge. _____________ It's Time For Winter Bee Prep! $10 off your next order! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ • Discount Code: MLBEELOVE10 _____________ Gail pulls back the curtain on the business side of beekeeping—selling honey directly to loyal customers, managing and sponsoring hives, rescuing swarms, and turning leftover beeswax into candles, balms, soap, and other goodies. We also get a wild bee sting story (that includes projectile vomiting and pee), some questionable decisions involving hive tools, and a reminder that working with honey bees is never quite as calm and peaceful as the pictures make it look. It’s Scotland, it’s bees, it’s business—and yes, there’s an EpiPen involved. VIDEO VERSION Now Available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube _____________ Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/ Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your next order.