Episode Details

In today's episode we talk with Amelia Cadwell who grew up with a grandfather who kept bees, which lead to time spent working for a commercial beekeeper and today, keeps bees herself. She also works with Suterra, a global pest management company headquartered in Bend, Oregon. Suterra specializes in providing a pesticide-free approach protecting crops including citrus, nut, vine and vegetable using a technique called 'mating disruption'.

Amelia works primarily with Almond and citrus growers in California.

Mating disruption is a management technique that disrupts the mating patterns of pests, effectively reducing their population without the need for harmful chemicals. By releasing synthetic pheromones or using other innovative methods, this approach confuses male pests, making it challenging for them to find females for reproduction.

The result? There is less exposure of honey bees and other pollinators to synthetic pesticides, including neonicotinoids. Many states are requiring a broad IPM plan to reduce the use of hard chemicals. Mating disruption can help reduce grower use to one, or zero spray of the hard insecticides, thereby reducing environmental harm to their use.

There are many people and companies working to find alternatives to hard chemical pesticide sprays. The naturally occurring compounds used in mating disruption help growers maintain a 'certified organic' labeling, and protect all pollinators in the process.

Listen in as Amelia talks about what she does and how mating disruption protects our honey bees!

We hope you enjoy the episode. Leave comments and questions in the Comments Section of the episode's website.

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• Suterra: https://www.suterra.com
• Mating Disruption: https://www.suterra.com/mating-disruption
• Honey Bee Health Coalition, Varroa Management Resources: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/resources/varroa-management/
• Good Food Awards Honey Competition: https://goodfoodfdn.org/awards/entry-form/
• Beekeeping Today Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beekeepingtodaypodcast
• Honey Bee Obscura: https://www.honeybeeobscura.com

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Betterbee is the presensting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee's mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global offers a variety of standard and custom patties. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!

Thanks to Strong Microbials