Season 9 Episode 7: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – The American Honey Queen: Bees, Education and Advocacy
Delanie Craighead, the 2026 American Honey Queen, joins Ron Miksha on About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity for a conversation about honey bees, entomology, education, honey and American beekeeping.
Delanie's route to the American Honey Queen crown is an unusual one. She studied animal biology, parasitology and forensic entomology, served with the Peace Corps in Guyana, participated in the California Master Beekeeping Program, and is now pursuing graduate studies in public health and epidemiology.
As American Honey Queen, Delanie travels across the United States representing the American Beekeeping Federation and talking with everyone from elementary-school students to governors and mayors. She explains why honey bees matter to agriculture, introduces people to regional American honeys, and helps connect the public with the people who keep bees.
Delanie and Ron discuss what forensic entomologists can learn from insects, her childhood raising alpacas and sheep through 4-H and FFA, life in Guyana, becoming a beekeeper, and what she has learned from beekeepers across America.
They also explore the remarkable diversity of honey (from California sage and avocado honey to Florida orange blossom) and the environmental challenges facing bees and beekeepers.
Curiosity, insects, bees, public service and the demanding job behind the crown of the American Honey Queen.
LINKS:
https://abfnet.org/american-honey-queen-program/
This podcast was
Recorded August 2026 in Calgary.
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About Ron Miksha: https://about-bees.org/about-ron/
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