{"podcast":{"title":"Beekeeping Today Podcast","slug":"beekeeping-today-podcast-512758","podcast_index_feed_id":512758,"rss_url":"https://beekeepingtodaypodcast.libsyn.com/rss2","website_url":"https://www.beekeepingtodaypodcast.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/0/4/0/6/0406615616d1cfb2d959afa2a1bf1c87/BTPNewLogowithOutline-3000-20251231-dqbuga5w1y.png","author":"Jeff Ott","episode_count":436,"summary":"The weekly podcast bringing beekeepers the latest news, research, and insights on honey bees. Hosted by Jeff Ott and Dr. Becky Masterman, each episode features conversations with beekeepers, scientists, authors, and industry leaders. Whether you're just starting your first hive or managing hundreds, you'll find practical tips, fresh perspectives, and engaging stories to inspire your beekeeping journey.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-08T22:20:27.932171+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/beekeeping-today-podcast-512758"},"episode":{"title":"Terra Vera Update: Hive Health, Biosecurity, and Varroa Control (379)","slug":"terra-vera-update-hive-health-biosecurity-and-varroa-control-379","published_at":"2026-04-06T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/beekeeping-today-podcast-512758/terra-vera-update-hive-health-biosecurity-and-varroa-control-379","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/beekeeping-today-podcast-512758","url":"https://beekeepingtodaypodcast.com/379-terra-vera-hive-health-update","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/beekeepingtodaypodcast/379-Terra-Vera-Update.mp3?dest-id=2537132","summary":"In this episode of Beekeeping Today Podcast , Jeff Ott and Becky Masterman welcome back Dr. Jeff Pettis and Carlos Perea of Terra Vera for an update on their evolving approach to honey bee health—one that goes beyond traditional varroa control. The discussion begins with a listener question on varroa management in top bar hives, highlighting the complexity of applying existing treatments across different hive configurations. From there, the conversation shifts to Terra Vera's oxidant-based technology, which mimics natural immune responses found in mammals and honey bees. Carlos explains how their chemistry, originally developed for plant health, showed effectiveness against mites and pathogens while remaining safe for bees at specific concentrations. Dr. Pettis shares results from cage studies and colony-level trials, demonstrating that the product can be applied directly to brood and adult bees without observed mortality under proper conditions. The conversation expands into two developing applications: Hive Health , aimed at improving colony resilience and reducing pathogen loads, and Hive Wash , designed to disinfect equipment and dead-outs by eliminating bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This introduces a broader concept of biosecurity—an area often overlooked in beekeeping but increasingly critical for managing disease transmission within and between apiaries. The episode also explores the role of viruses in colony collapse, the interaction between varroa and pathogen load, and early observations suggesting potential benefits in queen rearing. While distribution methods and application efficiency are still being refined, Terra Vera's work points toward a more integrated approach to colony health. This episode highlights the importance of moving beyond single-solution…","meta_description":"In this episode of Beekeeping Today Podcast , Jeff Ott and Becky Masterman welcome back Dr. Jeff Pettis and Carlos Perea of Terra Vera for an update on th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3361,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/beekeeping-today-podcast-512758/episodes/terra-vera-update-hive-health-biosecurity-and-varroa-control-379/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/beekeeping-today-podcast-512758/terra-vera-update-hive-health-biosecurity-and-varroa-control-379.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}