Introducing Beekeeping to the Next Generation

One day this summer while Mark was at the Barhams' Bee Yard, their granddaughter Elizabeth expressed an interest in learning more about the bees. Sarah served as the documentary photographer from a distance, and Elizabeth suited up in my gear to get a closer look at the hives.  She is adorable!

 Mark loves to talk about bees, and was thrilled with her interest.  She had a great time and found the process intriguing.  Even if she never becomes a beekeeper, she hopefully left with a better understanding of the role bees play in pollination and a new appreciation for honey.

Unfortunately for Sarah, one of the hives swarmed while they were there and came flying straight towards her . . . and she didn't have any gear on.  Even though she knows bees aren't aggressive while swarming she was unnerved. For those who know Sarah you understand that "unnerved" means completely freaked out and screaming. When I asked her if she followed them into the woods to see where they went she looked at me like I was insane.

I guess she won't be apprenticing any time soon.

Bee Mine

Sarah surprised us with a cute "Bee Mine" cupcake cake from the Piggly Wiggly bakery for Valentine's Day.

This afternoon Mark and I walked out to Bee Hill to see if the bees were eating any of the candy we put out.  In Hive 4, we had one candy patty with a plate still stuck to it that didn't seem to be touched. The other patty we'd put in (minus the plate) was eaten through in a 1 1/2 inch section right down the middle.  Apparently we'd put it right above the cluster and they could easily access it.  Several bees were around it, eating in various spots.

All of the hives had bees flying in and out.  Hive 3 had the fewest number, but interestingly there were a couple of substantially larger bees being scolded up at the top.  Mark and I were both surprised, wondering if they were drones or some sort of invasive species -- they were BIG. As before, Hives 1, 5, &; 6 had the most.