PolliNation Podcast
Episodes
300 - PolliNation RELOADED | PolliNation
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As the 300th episode approached Dr. Melathopoulos started to get nervous. He had been doing the show since 2018. When his podcasting hero Melvyn Brag...
299 - Inside Idaho's Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee Cocoon Testing Center | PolliNation
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Dr. Melathopoulos speaks with Dr. Armando Falcon-Brindis, assistant professor and extension specialist in entomology at the Univer...
298 - Wibee: A Simple App to Measure Pollination Activity in Your Orchard | PolliNation
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Hannah Gaines-Day (University of Wisconsin–Madison) about WiBee (W-I-B-E-E), an app created after conversations...
297 - Pollen Wasps: A Parallel Path to Pollination | PolliNation
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Pollination, host Dr. Andony Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Elizabeth Murray ( Mt. James Entomological Collection, Washington St...
296 - From Isolation to Innovation: Diversified Beekeeping in Northern BC | PolliNation
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Christine McDonald discusses her family-run beekeeping operation based in Terrace, British Columbia. Living in a remote area, Christine emphasizes ...
295 - Commercial Beekeeping Futures | PolliNation
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk with Ryan Lieuallen of Sweet Bee Honey Company in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Ryan shares insights into the significant challenges...
294 - Ghost Bees (and Why They're a Problem) | PolliNation
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Zach Portman discusses a new paper addressing the problem of ghost records in bee data. These records often lac...
293 - Pollinator Pathway Bend | PolliNation
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pollinator Pathway is a national organization dedicated to the establishment of native plant communities for pollinators that are managed without pest...
292 - The Overlooked Hoverfly | PolliNation
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hover flies are everywhere—but most of us don't even notice them. This week on PolliNation, OSU graduate student Nina Miller unpacks the fascinating...
291 - Vancouver Pollinator Festival | PolliNation
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's festival season! If you're near Portland or Vancouver, WA, you won't want to miss the Vancouver Pollinator Festival happening this Saturday, June...
290 - Wildfires vs. Timber Harvesting: Impact on Bee Communities | PolliNation
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week we delve into the fascinating world of bee communities in disturbed forests with Dr. Graham Frank, a recent PhD graduate from Oregon Stat...
289 - They Make A LOT of Honey in Alberta | PolliNation
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Commercial Beekeeping Zone on PolliNation, we hear from Curtis Miedema, a second generation beekeeper from Barhead, Alberta,...
287 - The Bees of National Wildlife Refuges | PolliNation
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We hear from Lincoln Best and August Jackson from Oregon State University this week about an initiative to inventory the bees of National Wildlife ...
288 - The Future of Washington State Pollination | PolliNation
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The attention to California almonds, means the pollination of Washington State tree fruits is often overlooked. But the massive pollination effort in ...
286 - Precision Pollination with BeeHero | PolliNation
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on PolliNation Itai Kanot and Shelbi Perkins from BeeHero discuss how their in-hive and in-field sensors are improving pollination efficienc...
285 - Honey Bee and Native Bee Competition | PolliNation
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Diana Cox-Foster joins us to discuss her and her team's research at the USDA on honeybee and native bee competition. From lab tests to field stud...
284 - Queen Bee Honey Co Takes Beekeeping Back to School | PolliNation
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Queen Bee Honey Company in Alpine, Oregon built up from a Datsun pickup truck to a commercial beekeeping business. In this episode we hear about how K...
283 - BEEvent: the Mighty Conference on Pollinators for Gardeners | PolliNation
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The BEEvent, hosted annually by the Linn County Master Gardeners, provides gardeners and small farmers with essential knowledge and practical tools to...
282 - Checklist of the Bees of Washington State | PolliNation
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While there has been a lot of attention to the plight of wild bees, we are increasingly discovering that there is a lot more that we don't know. A sta...
281 - Rock Gardens with Dancing Oaks Nursery | PolliNation
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on PolliNation, Fred Weisensee from Dancing Oaks Nursery in Monmouth, OR shares tips on creating a pollinator rock garden using native and e...
280 - Buzzing with Innovation | PolliNation
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Karen Pedersen is a fifth generation commercial beekeeper and apiary owner in Cut Knife, Saskatchewan, Canada. Pedersen Apiaries make hundreds of p...
279 - Southern Oregon Buzzway | PolliNation
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we learn about an effort to map pollinator habitat, as well as their stories, in Southern Oregon. The Southern Oregon Buzzway is a col...
278 - Fabrication For Beekeepers | PolliNation
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on our Commercial Beekeeping segment, Nick VanCalcar from VanCalcar Apiaries in Amity, Oregon joins us to discuss the importance of doing yo...
277 - New PNW Bee Keys | PolliNation
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are over a thousand species of bees in the Pacific Northwest. However, The resources available for someone to tell the bees apart is lacking for...
276 - Large Colony Losses Looming
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Early reports are that there may be a large loss of commercial honey bee colonies across the U.S. this winter. In this episode we are joined by co-...
275 - Do Filter Strips Help Bees and Butterflies?
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Filter strips surround agricultural fields and reduce soil loss and pesticide effluent reaching streams and rivers. They can also host flowering plant...
274 - Commercial Beekeeping
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we kick off our new segment on commercial beekeeping with our new co-host, Harry Vanderpool of Vanderpool Farms in Salem, OR. Harry shares h...
273 - European Mason Bees in America
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Getz, a master's student here at Oregon State University, joins us this week on PolliNation to discuss his new paper on the recent introductio...
272 - The Milwaukee Pollinator Pathway
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to create a certified pollinator pathway? This week on PolliNation, Colleen Rockwell, the Environmental Committee Chair for Milwauki...
271 - The MIGHTY Tamalpais Bee Lab
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The last record of the Leafcutter Bee (Trachusa gummifera) in Marin County was in 1977. That is, until the One Tam Community Science Program had a doc...
270 - Mason Bees and the Cold
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to Mason bees after a number of consecutive cold days? Let's say a female lays an egg. What happens to it? Does it die? This week on Poll...
269 - Bees in the Arboretum
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we explore Minnesota's Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center through the University of Minnesota's Landscape Arboretum. Ping Honzay, an educat...
268 - Birds and Flowers
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone knows that hummingbirds visit flowers. But have you ever wondered how many other kinds of birds visit flowers and how important are they to t...
266 - Farm to school (and pollinators)
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear about Oregon's Farm to School program and how it helps make the connection between Oregon agriculture and pollinators in the classro...
265 - Oregon Honey and Mead Festival
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about the upcoming (Sept 21, 2024) Oregon Honey and Mead Festival with organizer Sharon Schmidt (Cascade Girl Organization) and Marl...
264 - Could changes in pesticide hazard to bees be detected across a state?
31 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bees are exposed to pesticide hazards in a variety of ways. Estimating how hazards to bees are changing over time, across an area as large as a state,...
263 - National Pollen Phenology Wheel
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Beekeepers often have a sense of periods of intense nectar flows, but it is a lot more difficult to assess pollen flows. In this episode we talk with ...
262 - Buddleja and the bees
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Butterfly bush is a hardy shrub that pollinators love. But under certain situations it can become invasive, which has led to laws to limit the sale to...
261 - Making observations on ground nesting bees
13 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While roughly 70% of bee species are ground nesting, we know very little about the nesting biology of anything more than a handful of species. In this...
260 - Hornet invasion in the UK (and how they are fighting back)
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Yellow-Legged Hornet has landed in the US southeast. The hornet is originally from Asia, but is has spread widely into Europe. This week we hear f...
259 - Washington State Update (so much news)
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode we catch up with Katie Buckley the Pollinator Health Coordinator for Washington State Department of Agriculture. She tells us about two...
258 - Tillamook Apiary and Garden Learning Center (aka there is more to Tillamook than cheese)
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear about a remarkable initiative in Tillamook, Oregon. Known for its world famous dairy, its home to an industrious beekeeping club tha...
257 - Lotmaria... the bee gut organism you have never heard of
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Adult honey bees have a variety of organisms that live in their guts. Some are benign but some, like Nosema ceranae, can be pathogentic. In this episo...
256 - Backyard Habitat Certification
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we hear from Susie Peterson who is the co-manager of the very popular Backyard Habitat Certification Program in Oregon. The program is...
255 - Stay out! The perils of commercial bumble colonies to wild queens.
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bumble bee queens have been known to try and take over already established nests. Sometimes they manage to take over the nest and increase their own r...
254 - Restoring Pollinator Habitat with Greenbelt Land Trust
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Land Trusts punch above their weight in creating pollinator habitat. In this episode we talk with Greenbelt Land Trust of some of their innovative met...
253 - Bee Friendly Farming in the PNW
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bee Friendly Farming is an initiative to certify agricultural production for taking steps to help bees. This week we hear about the expansion of the p...
252 - Maximizing pollination potential in cherries
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bees are just one part of maximizing cherry yield. Before the bees arrive, cherries have to be pruned properly and given the right nutrition. Also, be...
251 - Surveying for American foulbrood in honey
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American foulbrood (AFB) is one of the most damaging diseases of honey bees. Up until now, beekeepers have lacked an early warning system to know whet...
250 - Garden bees of Portland
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered which fuzzy yellow bee you just saw visiting a flower? In this episode, guest host Jen Hayes interviews Nicole Bell about two n...
249 - How to buy a native plant
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As nursery catalogs start to show up in our mailboxes and we think about the plants we want to grow next season, it's easy to get overwhelmed. In this...
248 - The art of pollination
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear a facinating conversation between an established mutimedia artist (Jasna Guy) and young artist and melittologist (Marek Stanton) on ...
247 - Too hot for pollen?
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There have been extreme temperatures during the pollination of early season crops. In this episode we explore how these temperatures not only influenc...
246 - Prairie Strips
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Prairie ecosystems are essential to many pollinator species across North America. Generating prairie after its been lost can be challenging. This week...
245 - Bee Friendly Gardening with Elliott Gordon
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We continue on our bee friendly gardening kick with a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico to hear how one naturalist transformed his front yard into biodi...
244 - Bee Friendly Gardening with Lynn Kunstman
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we continue our September on Bee Friendly Gardening with a southern Oregon Master Gardener who has a passion for native plants.
243 - Bee Friendly Gardening
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the season for pollinator gardening winds down, it is a great time to start planning your garden for next year. In this episode we we learn about...
242 - Bee Friendly Wine (King Estate)
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Oregon Bee Friendly Wine Tour is coming to an end for 2023. We hear about what makes King Estate a great place for bees, get some gardening tips a...
241 - Rip out your lawn (and replace it with subalpine meadow)
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear from Dr. Phil Allen who has the audacious idea of reducing water use and increasing benefits to pollinator by replacing lawns with s...
240 - Bumble bee nest relocation and rearing
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bumble bees nest in the darndest places - like bird houses and water meters. In this episode we learn about how to relocate bumble bee colonies. We al...
239 - Oregon Master Beekeeper Field Day
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Beekeeping takes a lot of training and mentorship. In many states, the place to learn the finer points of this trade is in state Master Beekeeper prog...
238 - National Pollinator Week 2023
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's National Pollinator Week next week. We hear about what makes effective public engagement on pollinators and of a new event in Vancouver, Washingt...
237 - Bee Friendly Wine (Sokol Blosser)
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A number of Oregon vineyards are working together to enhance the habitat for bees (which includes over 700 species in Oregon). In this episode we visi...
236 - Vanderpool - (Very) wet start to PNW beekeeping
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear about what this cold and wet spring has meant for Pacific Northwest beekeepers (and the crops they pollinate).
235 - Kulhanek - Washington's new Pollinator Health Research and Extension Program!
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are some amazing things happening for pollinators in Washington State these days. This week we hear about the brand new Pollinator Health Resear...
234 - Goldstein - Colony strength and blueberry pollination
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear why the strength of the colonies, not just the stocking rate, matters for blueberry pollination and how growers can evaluate strengt...
233 - Hill - The Latest Buzz
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we hear about one of the best kept secrets, a newsletter from USDA that gives a regular update on what is going on in the pollinator world. ...
232 - Shannon - Do adjuvants influence bee health?
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pesticide applicators frequently add adjuvants to help their pesticide applications be more effective or safer to use. Adjuvants, however, are not ass...
231 - Dean - Georgia bee license plate
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Oregon is going to be getting a new bee plate. We hear about our inspiration from beekeepers in Georgia.
230 - Eeraerts - Stocking honey bee colonies for the landscape
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Extension guides often offer blanket recommendations for honey bee colony stocking rates on a field scale. This week we learn about new blueberry rese...
229 - Lu - Marker assisted selection 101 (for breeding honey bees)
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Breeding honey bees is notoriously difficult. New molecular techniques may help.
228 - Rinkevich - Are varroa resistant to amitraz?
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Beekeepers across North America depend on an acaricide containing amitraz to manage varroa mites, the most challenging pest problem bees face. In this...
227 - Lindsay- Matching plants to bees
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is often assumed that a single blend of flowers could serve all bees equally. In this episode we hear about some new research that considers how it...
226 - Spendal - Those amazing mason bees
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much of what we know about the life history of mason bees is based on very few observations. This week we hear from a new study that shows how many of...
225 - Chabert - Would blueberry yield benefit from planting different cultivars together?
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Blueberries are a big crop in the Pacific Northwest, but the question of how blueberry yield might benefit from outcrossing among cultivars (like appl...
224 - Jennings and Willson - Washington Native Bee Society (WANBS)
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you are interested in native bees and a member of the public where do you go? Washington has a new approach, namely the formation of a native bee s...
223 - Youngsteadt - Urban bees: what drives diversity and how do we measure it?
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gardening and landscaping for urban wild bees is growing. While there is a lot of attention to the flowers to help bees, what else drives diversity? A...
222 - Danielsen - Pollinator habitat on water pipelines?
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As water pipelines are buried to conserve water, this leaves a lot of land that could be converted to pollinator habitat. In this episode we learn of ...
221 - Taylor - Bees and school farms
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Urban farms are becoming more common on school grounds. In this episode we hear how bees can be a critical part of student experience at school urban ...
220 - Washington Co Master Gardener - Pollinator Outreach (par excellence)
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022 was the year we were able to get back out to public events to talk to the public about pollinators. Some of us were a little rusty. In this episo...
219 - Labuschagne - Living through a Varroapocolypse
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Canadian prairie region is home to the bulk of that country's colonies. Last year it suffered crippling losses to varroa mites. In this episode we...
218 - Casey Holland - What the heck does IPM mean (in New Mexico)?
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a key dimension of pollinator protection. This week we head to Chispas Farm in Albuquerque, New Mexico on how they...
217 - O'Shea-Wheller - Are varroa resistant bees ready for primetime with the POL line?
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Varroa resistant bees have been on the horizon for over a decade. This week we learned how close these lines are to being used commercially through a ...
216 - Yang and Henle - Machines learning to classify insecticides as toxic to bees
31 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new study uses machine learning to classify whether a pesticide is toxic to bees or not.
215 - Mahood - Drone congregation areas
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Central to honey bee mating are drone congregation areas (DCAs). In this episode we learn how to locate DCAs using unmanned aerial devises (aka, drone...
214 - Paul - Mason Bees in (an unusually) Cool Wet Spring
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a cold and wet spring across the Pacific Northwest region. In this episode we learn about what impacts it may have had on cocoon production ...
213 - Whitford and Feken - The complex life of the honey bee
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Honey bees have complex societies, which makes their response to environmental stressors difficult to understand. Consequently, the ways in which pest...
212 - Clay Bolt - Grassland Pollinators
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grasslands are often overlooked in terms of pollinator habitat. But they are key to many of the bee and butterfly species in the U.S. In this episode ...
211 - Morfin - New Tech Transfer Program in BC
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
British Columbia beekeepers have made a major investment in preparing for the future in launching a tech transfer program. Hear about this program and...
210 - Coffan - What's going on with Western Monarchs
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Western monarch butterfly population appears to have recovered from a tremendously low number of butterflies returning to overwintering grounds a ...
209 - Burgett - Working together in the PNW
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There has been a long tradition of people working together to help bees across state and provincial boundaries in the Pacific Northwest region. In thi...
208 - Merissa Moeller - Endangered Species Act 101
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The federal Endangered Species Act is almost 50 years old and it has been a key mechanism for assisting the recovery of many insect pollinators and pl...
207 - Andony Melathopoulos - How did I get into bees?
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week the tables get turned on the host of PolliNation as guest host Miranda Jones asks how did Andony get into bees in the first place.
206 - Ellen Topitzhofer - The Holy Grail: Banking Queens Over the Winter
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The holy grail of beekeeping is taking mated queens from the summer and banking them so that they are available the following spring, at a time when q...
205 - George Kaufman - What the heck does IPM mean (in blueberries)?
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Creating habitat for beneficial insects is a key part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In this episode we hear how an Oregon blueberry farm has go...
204 - Josée Rousseau - Birds and the bees: How bird data can inform us on where insect pollinators live
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The data we have on the natural history of birds, as well as their ranges, is far richer than for insect pollinators. This week we learned about an in...
203 - Dana Church - How humans changed the world of bumble bees
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When people think about beekeeping, their minds turn to honey bees. But humans have influenced the course of natural history for other bees as well. T...
202 - Moyer - Getting Bees Out of the Walls
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes bees will swarm into structures. Getting them out of the structures is not as easy as some on YouTube make it seem. This week we hear about ...
201 - Nico Ardans - What the heck does IPM mean (in nurseries)?
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we start a new series looking into what integrated pest management (IPM), not as a conceptual framework, but on the ground, where pollinator...
200 - OSU Pollinator Health Lab - An Expose!
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
PolliNation has reached 200 episodes. It has also been 5 years since the OSU Pollinator Health Lab came into existence. To mark the occasion we go beh...