Bee Scene

On Monday morning I got to venture over to my friend Beulah's house for some bee fun. I was accompanied by my other friend Susan & my hubby Scott. We all suited up & headed out to Beulah's hives, which are boxes & boxes stacked atop one another, full of bees. It was such a cool experience.

To view my complete set of Bee photos, click HERE.

I spray Scott with liquid smoke. It helps calm the bees. And it's just a fact that there's nothing more annoying than a testy bee.
By the way, Scott said that Susan & I looked like characters from Star Wars. Did he get a chance to look at himself in the mirror??

Pretty little hives. All in a row.

Beulah checks to make sure the bees are doing what they're supposed to.

Ten of these frames fill each box. The bees work hard to create honeycomb cells on these frames by secreting a wax.

We also searched for the queen bee in some of the hives. In this photo you can see the larvae waiting to hatch.

I win! I win! I found the queen. Well, I was holding the frame & someone else found it.

Can you spot the drone? Drones are male honeybees & they can't sting. In the hive they do no work. They don't even feed themselves. The worker bees, which are all female, feed them. Drones have no purpose in the hive, except to mate with virgin queens.  And after they mate, they die.  And if they don't mate, they usually die after 4 months. And if they survive those 4 months to Autumn without mating, they'll get thrown out by the worker bees anyway & die. Hmm. Interesting...

One of the highlights of my bee adventure: getting to see a brand new bee "born"!! It's right in the middle, peeking its head out. We waited patiently while it chomped away & eventually emerged from its cell! Just 3 weeks prior, she was a newly laid egg.

Beulah's husband Russell built all the bee boxes.

Me & Susan.

After playing our part as bee patrol, we hitched a ride on the tailgate of Beulah's truck, & headed back to the house for some toast & what else? Honey.

I think me likes the bees.

♥