The BEE-GUARDS Podcast

(20) Towards varroaresistence with Ralph Büchler

Today our guest is Ralph Büchler, well known for his long-standing work in varroa-resistant bee breeding. For many years, he was the head of the Beekeeping Institute in Kirchhain, Germany—an institute strongly focused on applied science within beekeeping. Although Ralph is now retired, he has not stepped away from his passion: continuing the search for varroa-resistant bees. Another key area of his work and interest has been the use of brood breaks during the season, using queen caging as a management tool. While on a trip to Denmark – yes, inspire the Danish beekeepers to work on varroa resistance, I was lucky to make this podcast just before take-off at Copenhagen Airport, where we recorded a great conversation about breeding, resistance, and his role as a member of the BEE-GUARDS advisory board. 

(19) Victoria Soroker -The test apiary

Victoria Soroker is our well-known BEE-GUARDS member from Israel. Over the years, her research has focused on the challenges of Varroa, helping to develop more sustainable solutions for beekeepers. In this episode, we talk about her lifelong work and what it takes to run a BEE-GUARDS test apiary — a great conversation recorded at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens.

(18) A deap talk with Steve Riley on the honey bee solution to varroa

Steve Riley is a dedicated beekeeper committed to developing varroa-tolerant bees. He blends hands-on experience with smart, data-driven breeding methods, all aimed at strengthening colony health through selective genetics. We met by chance on the train to Zurich Airport, took a bit of time to explore the city, and quickly found ourselves deep in conversation—so why not turn it into a podcast?
Be sure to check out his excellent book The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa—a must-read!

(17) Beekeeping in Chile

Chile’s landscape stretches from the world’s driest desert in the north to icy fiords and glaciers in the south. Towering Andes mountains run along its eastern edge, shaping dramatic valleys and active volcanoes. The central region offers fertile plains and a Mediterranean climate ideal for vineyards, while the Pacific Ocean carves rugged cliffs, long beaches, and vibrant coastal towns. Among these diverse environments, Chile’s 10,000 beekeepers and one and a half million bee colonies must navigate increasingly severe climate challenges. Patricia Aldea wrote her thesis on climate change and its influence on Varroa, shedding light on the pressures facing Chilean beekeeping today.

(16) WikiBeedia and the Uni Graz WP1 experimental apiary

Whoopie 9 and 1. Update on the planning and interaction with the beekeeping stakeholders to produce an interactive  WikiBEEdia and how it is to be a test apiary running the innovative varroa management.

(15) Whoopie 4: The secrets of the holobionts

Whoopie 4. Holobiont. Get insight into the secrets of the holobionts by Melanie Parejo from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Whoopie 4 will provide a handbook for standard methods in bee hologenomic research, integrate differ “-omic” methods in field and laboratory exp0eriments and determine the specific genetic and microbial combinations that foster honeybee resilience under the innovative management concept.

(14) ZwarteBij.org a BEE-GUARDS partner

Cozy conversation with Dylan Elen, about the innovative varroa treatment but also the importance to conserve the subspecies of Apis mellifera. The conversation comes close to activities within the BEE-GUARDS and what is the aim of the Dark Bee association. ZwarteBij.org is already running several breeding programs. Operating multiple mating stations. They offer courses on beekeeping, breeding, ...

(13) Beekeeping in Ukraine at the moment

BEE-GUARDS aim is to strengthen the resilience of beekeeping beyond our project partners. Flemming Vejsnæs, did meet Maria Fedoriak who is one of our MAF members (member of our multi actor forum) in Padova telling us about the beekeeping situation in Ukraine at the moment. It is a long, important and very strong story. You need to listen!

(12) The Wilde family business

The Wilde family business, a well-known big queen breeder operation with focus on artificial insemination. In the BEE-GUARDS project they the testing of innovative varroa management. The story of a family company and how to run the testing.

(11) The scientists behind BEE-GUARDS - Giles Budge

Giles Budge, Newcastle Upon Tyne. The Scientist behind BEE-GUARDS. We are very curious, so we try to have conversations with our partners on what background and what else they are doing of scientific work.

(10) Whoopie 3. Modeling and scales - that is what Whoopie 3 is about!

Whoopie 3. Monitoring & Modeling. Janez Presern from Agricultural Institute of Slovenija talking about that WP3 serves as an integration hub for the data we collect. What do we collect? We have established an Europe-wide network of colonies established with various sensors to monitor the colony’s development and associate it with environment. We augment these data with data of external providers, such as weather services to develop a decision support system to assist beekeepers.

(9) Apimondia - The World Beekeeping Organisation

Apimondia is one of our partners in BEE-GUARDS. The president of Apimondia Jeff Pettis takes us in the world of Apimondia. Apimondia is the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations. It represents the interests of apiculture worldwide (122 Member Associations from 73 countries). It facilitates links between beekeepers, scientists and all those involved in beekeeping and represents apiculture at international level to many bodies, for example GATT, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), consumer and agricultural interests. Apimondia is also active in boosting the quality of honey (fight against honey fraud) and natural beekeeping.

(8) ELGO ‘DIMITRA’ from Greece, one more of our partners

Today we present ELGO ‘DIMITRA’ from Greece, one more of our partners. Fani Hajina presents a very exciting institute. Ellinikos Georgikos Organismos DIMITRA is a research organization under the auspices of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in Greece, and it is devoted to agricultural research, education and product quality control. The Department of Apiculture (Institute of Animal Science) is undertaken research on topics like bee disease control with organic methods, bee breeding and conservation, and the effects of pesticides. In our team, apart from the Bee Experts (Fani & Leonidas), we also have members from other departments/ Institutes of ELGO ‘DIMITRA’ who have the expertise on pollination, animal genetics and animal reproduction & cryopreservation.
Ps. Hope you can see the bee on Fani's new jacket.

(7) Whoopie 08. The impact of beekeeping on wild pollinators

BEE-GUARDS "WP8 - Analysis of plant-pollinator-pathogen networks to assess the impact of beekeeping on wild pollinators" aims to evaluate how beekeeping affects wild pollinators across agricultural landscapes and to identify management strategies that can reduce potential competition. We will perform field and laboratory experiments, as well as analysis of historical data on honey bee density and wild pollinator abundance and diversity. Additionally, we will engage beekeepers and the public in a citizen science initiative to contribute to the research and improving knowledge and awareness of on the important ecological role of wild pollinators.

(6) Whoopie 06. Parasites & Pathogens. Giles Budge

Listen our podcast: https://beeguards.podbean.com/e/giles-1/
Listen to Giles Budge, Newcastle University from the Whoopie 06- Parasites & Pathogens explaining this important task of the BeeGuards. Our overarching objective is to better understand how climate influences the emergence of pest and pathogen threats, so that beekeeping resilience can be improved by predicting emergence and developing management tools to mitigate threats. We will work on different aspects of mite (Varroa and Tropilaelaps) and small hive beetle control, and predict bacterial (American and European foulbrood), viral (Sacbrood, chronic bee paralysis) and Nosemosis emergence across Europe as we undergo climate change.

(5) BEE-GUARDS' WikiBeedia

Whoopi 9. In this podcast we speak about an outcome of the BeeGuards project that is meant to stay. Robert Brodschneider from the University of Graz introduces us to WikiBeedia.eu. This is an online encyclopedia all about the honey bee, beekeeping and bee research. You can look up technical terms in many languages, as well as provide your own knowledge on beekeeping for others.

(4) Become a part of BEEGUARDS - beekeepers protocol 2024

Become a part of the BEE-GUARDS. Citizens Scientist – Beekeeping protocol
As a part of BEE-GUARDS we invite all beekeepers to become a part of our exciting project, doing your share on comparing a new innovative varroa treatment strategi and you “normal” varroa strategi. Listen to Marin Kovačić from Croatia, presenting the Beekeepers Protocol. Putting light on what your involvement could bee in the future. Bee a part of a more sustainably beekeeping in the future. Have a listen!
Sign up here https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/BeeGuardsCitizenScienceRegister
Download the Beekeepers Protocol here: https://beeguards.eu/downloads/

(3) What is a Multiactor Forum (MAF)?

Good question! Listen to Raffaele explaining how you can bee involved, even become asked about your opinion. How you can influence such a big project. Our MAF group is with around 250 stakeholders. Feel free to join, sign up on this mail: maf@beeguards.eu

(2) BEE-GUARDS "WP2 - Innovative Breeding" - the early italian mating stations!

BEE-GUARDS "WP2 - Innovative Breeding" is about to enter its pivotal phase for the current year, as the honey bee mating season is approaching in most European countries; in this episode, we will feature the interview with Raffaele Dall'Olio (BeeSources) who is running the study in Italy in collaboration with CREA. As Italy is the southernmost country involved in WP2, don't be surprised when Raffaele will tell you that both 'conventional' and 'innovative' mating stations are already open!  

(1) BEE-GUARDS in 15 min

On a bench close to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, we did meet the coordinator of the BEE-GUARDS: Cecilia Costa. Simply question: What is BEE-GUARDS about? Understand the project within 20 min.