A few weeks ago, we noticed a single blossom on one tree.
A sure sign that spring was on the way.
Yesterday, the tree was in full bloom and tiny buzzing wings could be heard from its branches.
Beautiful little bees are already hard at work making honey and spreading pollen. Helping our fruit to grow long before any hint of it shows on the trees.
I grew up around bees. My mom’s family were all beekeepers and I remember long, hot summer days watching the tiny insects fly all around my grandma’s house, looking for nectar. Never being able to walk barefoot anywhere, even in the house, because little stingers were everywhere. Always hearing the sound of buzzing. The smell of the hot, noisy extractor room, where honey was taken from the honeycomb and put into a huge truck, ready for bottling.
I remember spending summer evenings driving down dirt roads and ditch banks, counting the bee boxes in each field.
And I remember Mom teaching me that it was completely safe to be around bees as long as I respected them. She even would find drones (who don’t have stingers) and let me hold them like little pets.
I watched as she gently moved queens into their new homes, as she lifted frames out of boxes and pointed out the larva growing inside, and as she taught me how to calmly move around so I didn’t scare these creatures that all of my friends seemed to be terrified of.
I spent hours looking for pollen stick to tiny legs, learning about how bees dance, cleaning honey jars with my Grandma, and simply watching bees land on and walk around on flowers.
It was fascinating. One tiny bee made so little progress on her own. An entire lifetime of bee work from sun up to sun down would only produce about 1/12 of a teaspoon. But, each day, each little bee got up and flew out of her safe hive. Somehow, she knew that her work was important.
And, with her sisters by her side, little by little, they accomplished amazing things.
Mom worked for the bees and the bees worked for her. It was a respectful relationship. One of mutual trust, understanding, and benefit.
Something the scientists call a symbiotic relationship.
We just called it everyday life.
Now, so many don’t even notice the little bees working so hard for us. At best, they ignore the beauty of a bee landing on a flower. At worst, they swat her away or hurt her.
Nature has become a nuisance instead of a partner in life.
And it breaks my heart that these tiny little creatures are so misunderstood.
So, as I stood under our gorgeous spring blossoms watching the bees work, I called my kiddos over.
Look at that bee, I told them. Isn’t she beautiful? Let me tell you how she is helping us….and how we can help her.
Here are a few more facts about bees:
- The buzzing sound you hear from bees is the sound of their wings beating
- Male bees, or drones, do not have a stinger
- The queen bee can lay over 2,500 eggs each day. There is only one queen for each colony, or family, of bees. When she dies or gets weak, the nurse bees will raise a new queen by feeding a baby bee royal jelly.
- All of the bees in a colony will follow a queen bee anywhere she goes
- The bees you see on flowers are worker bees. They are all girls.
- Bees pollinate flowers and help our food to grown. The pollen sticks to tiny hairs on their legs and some of it falls off as they land on the next flower.
- Smoke makes bees sleepy
- Nurse bees (also girls) take care of larvae (baby bees) by brining food to the brooder comb, where baby bees hatch and grow
- Each bee colony makes at least twice as much honey as it needs to survive so it doesn’t hurt them if humans take a little
- Bees dance to communicate. When a worker bee finds a good spot for flowers, she will return the hive and dance the directions to get there for her sisters
- Bees drink nectar from the flowers they land on. It is a sweet juice. They also love sugary drinks like juice or soda.
- Honey can be used as a band aid on open wounds. It is anti-bacterial and helps the healing process
- Honey lasts for a long time. It has even been found in the pyramids, still good. It sometimes crystalizes, but just needs to be warmed up to go back to its normal consistency.
- When a bee stings you, she usually dies as the stinger rips out of her body to stay in yours. The exception to this is queen bees, who can sting multiple times because her stinger is smooth.
- Many countries, religions, and even some states honor the hard working honey bee by including them in heraldry and coin printing
- Beekeepers use smoke to make the bees sleepy before taking honey from a hive. This protects them from stingers and helps the bees stay calm and safe. Beekeepers are careful to no take all of the honey from a hive, only the extra.
- Honey has different coloring and flavor based on the types of flowers the bees visited while making it
- Bees have a special honey stomach, which turns the nectar into honey as they fly. When they return, the honey is put into honeycomb for storage
- Bees use their bodies and wings to control the temperature of their hives by vibrating in the winter for warmth and fanning in the summer to cool down
- Bees have an excellent sense of direction, using the sun as a compass
- Honey bees can feel vibrations and feel threatened by things like lawnmowers
- Bees can see color and are calmer around lighter colors
- Bees make honeycomb with a gland on their tummies.
- Beeswax is used in medicine, foods, cosmetics, and candles
- Sadly, bees are dying and we don’t understand why. Here are some projects that you can do at home to help the bees.