Today I fed the bees and opened up the hives to check on their progress.
I still feel like I have no idea want I’m doing bee-wise, in spite of taking a class and reading every in-print book on the subject.
Still, I am completely fascinated by them.
These bees are passing nectar from one to the other. The bees who go out foraging for nectar store in the their stomach and pass it off to the bees who take care of the babies and make the honey. I’d only seen this in books before today. Also, see that white blob in the lower, left-hand corner? I’m almost positive that’s a bee larva.
See those bright yellow dots on the bees back legs? That’s pollen, stuffed in the bees pollen sacs for the return journey to the hive.
Bees travel up to six miles in search of nectar and go back and forth all day long, returning to the hive only long enough to drop off their loot. Did you know it takes nectar from 10 million flowers to create one liter of honey?
If you are interested at all in bees I highly recommend Tales from the Hive, a Nova documentary, available on DVD. My friend’s Jen and Doug gave it to me and it is phenomenal. Some how, the filmmakers actually mounted cameras on the bees. The footage is amazing.
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Amazing pictures and information. Thanks!
this makes me think of the eddie izzard bit about how bees communicate with other bees in the hive about where they’ve found pollen by doing a little dance. i’m not doing it justice…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LbfDrREOew
Girl, you are so BEEzy!
these pictures are fascinating, I can’t even imagine how the hive must look in person!
Ok- that’s kinda awesome!
I don’t blame you for being completely fascinated by them – I think they are amazing creatures.
Isn’t Mother Nature stupendous?
Wow, that’s amazing! 10 million flowers… that makes me feel incredibly unaccomplished.
i have been keeping bees for a couple of years now and i still feel like i do not know much. my mentor who has 200 hives tells me she is surprised by her bees everyday. they are amazing creatures.
awesome shots
the hand off looks a lot like ring around the rosey!