Featured Guest: Dr. Tom Seeley – Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, renowned honey bee researcher, and author of six influential books including Honeybee Democracy and Piping Hot Bees and Boisterous Buzz Runners.

In this fascinating conclusion to our conversation with renowned honeybee biologist Dr. Tom Seeley, we journey deep into the intricate world of honey bee behavior, decision-making, and hive life. Every beekeeper needs to hear this!

From the poetic dance of foraging to the precise mechanics of swarming, Dr. Seeley reveals what decades of research have uncovered about one of nature’s most sophisticated societies.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The Tremble Dance Decoded – How a long-standing honey bee mystery was finally solved.
• Swarming Secrets – Experiments on a remote island that revealed how bees measure nest size, organize takeoff, and navigate to a new home.
• Democracy in the Hive – How collective decision-making among nest site scouts mirrors—and differs from—human systems.
• The Unsung Resin Collectors – Why a few dedicated bees make all the difference in hive health.
• Specialization & Genetics – How bee “career paths” may be influenced by lineage and environment.
• Drone Congregation Mysteries – The little-known aerial courtship rituals of queen bees and drone bees.

It's all about having fun while we learn about beekeeping and sharing the love of honey bees!

__________________

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/CHHkMffkUbA

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Featured Guest: Dr. Tom Seeley – Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, renowned honey bee researcher, and author of six influential books including Honeybee Democracy and Piping Hot Bees and Boisterous Buzz Runners.

🐝 Topics Covered:

• The difference between Langstroth hives and natural bee homes
• Collective intelligence in bees and parallels to the human brain
• Worker bee piping: how to know when a swarm is about to launch
• Bee lining/Bee hunting: how to track wild honey bee colonies using this ancient technique
• Natural hive insulation and its benefits for overwintering
• Early experiments with dissecting bee trees
• Varroa control and genetics-based resistance methods
• The behavioral genius of honey bees and what it teaches us as beekeepers

🐾 Bonus Story: Meet Maple, the energetic springer spaniel helping detect hive diseases at Michigan State University, sporting a custom-made dog-sized beekeeper suit!

EPILOG FROM DR. SEELEY: I wrote Honeybee Democracy, The Lives of Bees, and Piping Hot Bees & Boisterous Buzz-Runners to make it easy for beekeepers to learn about what has been discovered in recent decades about the amazing behaviors of worker honey bees. (No sense in leaving these findings hidden away in the scientific journals!) Moreover, I worked with a publisher that sells these beautiful books at reasonable prices.

__________________

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/wpjLC9ZpbZk

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Don’t Miss Part Two! This is only part one of our discussion with Dr. Seeley. Subscribe to Bee Love Beekeeping so you don’t miss next week’s episode where Tom shares even more behavioral insights and his wildest beekeeping story yet!

In this delightfully global episode, host Eric Bennett heads to Denmark (virtually!) to meet Lars Fischer and Sophus Knusen — two passionate hobby beekeepers with world-class honey and hearts full of beekeeping joy.

From getting stung below the eye to winning the award for best honey in the world, these friends share their love of bees, their Danish-style queen rearing techniques, and their winning formula for perfectly creamy spring honey.

We also dive into the incredible story of Apimondia, the world’s largest beekeeping congress — coming to Copenhagen this September — and get a behind-the-scenes look at what’s in store for thousands of international beekeepers.

And when it comes to wild & crazy beekeeping stories in Denmark, what could go wrong when you don't fully extinguish your smoker and leave it in a hotel elevator shaft!

It's all about having fun while we learn about beekeeping and sharing the love of honey bees!

__________________

Video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/DWDQ9XniWB4

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mann Lake! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/

Mann Lake discount code: MLBEELOVE10 for $10 off your first $100 order.

https://www.beelovebeekeeping.com/

Eric@BeeLoveBeekeeping.com

Lars & Zofus' YouTube: https://youtube.com/@larsogzofuz?si=HtrRReJApexl5ur8

Apimondia: https://apimondia2025.com/