Bee Thankful

     Before we arrived in our campground in FL, I prayed we would get kind neighbors. I was concerned that retired couples would not be overjoyed with a family moving in next to them. Well, the first person we met was Jim in the camper next to us (on our awning side). First he said that Porter, our Rhodesian Ridgeback, reminded him of his dog back home (oh good - a dog lover). Then he told us he was a bee keeper from MI (neat job). Next he explained that his kids were grown but that he and his wife had homeschooled them when they were younger.
                    YEA, I'm so glad to have a homeschool friendly neighbor.

      Jim told us he would take us out to see the bees after they returned from pollinating the almond crop in CA. He had 1 x-small suit, 2 hooded jackets, and 1 just veiled hat. Jeff agreed to leave his arms bare. Macy was a little nervous so we suited long before approaching the hives.
    



     Jim showed us a queen he had ordered from HI. She came in this little box that has a food plug. He puts her into a hive and by the time the plug of food is eaten then the new queen "smells" like the rest of the hive.

     The smoker causes the bees to eat honey... then they are full and happy and not too cranky. Jim used his hive tool to move the frames. The bees "glue" everything with something called propolis. When he lifted the frames we looked for the queen. Macy was brave enough to hold up a frame.



On the left is a picture of a brood frame. This is where the baby bees will come out. 

The picture below on the left shows the pollen the bees have collected. The different yellow colors represent different pollen sources. The picture on the right is a drone. He doesn't have a stinger. His only job is to wait to mate with a virgin queen. He hangs out with other drones in a "congregation."

We found the queen. She was busy laying eggs.

              Ahhh, Honey, the fruit of their labors. Yum!

Thank you beekeeper Jim for the great field trip to see the bees!

 

After the great field trip we were at the library and we saw this movie and decided to check it out.

 

It is called Vanishing of the Bees. A very educational and sobering look at the importance of bees to our food production.