Take A Peek Inside A Bee Hive

OIL & HONEY EDITION  While working with the bee hives at the science center I meet many school kids, parents, grandparents and teachers.  Often times I hear comments such as, “OH, look a beekeeper!”, or “look there’s bees, they make honey” or “NO, don’t go over there, they’ll sting you!”.  The latter phrase is often shouted rather loudly and is also erroneous, truth be known.  Don’t misunderstand, bees do and will sting, but that is not their intent when they see humans!  It’s all about guarding the bee hive.

Bees instinctively recognize danger.  Danger for a bee could be impending bad weather, bears or other critters that could topple the hive, a pesty kid banging on the side of the hive, robber bees, or the possibility of a nearby fire.  Did you know that bees have “guard” bees stationed throughout the bee hive, always on the look out for an intruder?  In the photo below see the bees positioned at the top of the frame, faces pointed out?  Those are guard bees!  If threatened , yes, they will sting, it’s their only defense mechanism, and an effective one.  Common sense can prevent bee stings!  I always tell our guests, “don’t swat, don’t scream and don’t flail about like a crazy person”.  It works!

Protecting the hive is the last job a bee performs before she ventures out to forage for nectar and pollen.  Around days 18-21 in the life of a worker bee, they can be seen poised and alert at the entrance to the hive and often times when the beekeeper opens the hive to inspect it they will come to inspect the keeper as well.  When guarding the entrance they only allow family members to enter the hive, carrying loads of pollen or nectar, and warding off any would be intruder.  This is not a view visitors of the science center are able to see, but as the beekeeper, when I open a bee hive, I frequently observe the guards watching me as I watch them.  Friendly, unless provoked they play a valuable part in hive maintenance!

If you’d like to see a quick video of the “guard bees” at work click →Bees Guarding the Hive and you too can see what most do not get to see!  Questions?  Want to become a beekeeper?  Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact me via email @: linda@theorangebee.com

Remember – bees pollinate about every third bite of food we eat so be kind to our buzzy friends!