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How do you reach out to local beekeepers to help save millions of bees after their transport truck jackknifes?
In this episode of Bee Love Beekeeping, host Eric Bennett welcomes Tristen Tartaglia, a Southern Oregon beekeeper and owner of Southern Oregon Swarms, to share her remarkable story of saving millions of bees after a major truck accident.
Tristen is deeply embedded in the local beekeeping community, performing 60–120 cutouts per year — including chemical-free removals of yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets.
The episode also features a fascinating science segment on the waggle dance, revealing that bees actually communicate more precisely when a larger audience is watching — they literally dance better when they know someone is paying attention.
The heart of the episode centers on Tristen's extraordinary effort at saving bees after a semi-truck jackknifed in Oregon in March 2026, dumping over 400 hives down a steep 30-degree ravine.
Rather than stand by, beekeeper Tristan jumped into action, filmed the scene, and began physically moving broken hives and scattered frames to give the bees a fighting chance against the cold.
After posting a raw video that reached 1.8 million Facebook views overnight, over 50 volunteers showed up to help with the rescue — daisy-chaining equipment up the hillside in a powerful display of beekeeping community spirit. Thanks to their tireless work, millions of individual bees were saved.
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