If you think you are overworked and underpaid take a look at the little honey bee. She spends all the sunlit hours flying from flower to flower, covering miles in one day. And at the end of her short life the worker bee has only made about half a teaspoon of honey. That's the sum total of her entire life's work! Perhaps that fact alone will give you pause the next time you scoop honey into your tea or over your toast.
Our homestead would not exist without the precious bees. Apart from the fact that we love honey, without them our gardens, and therefor also our livestock, would not survive. This incredible little flying insect can teach us a lot about community. They are dedicated and single minded workers who will give their lives for their hive.
Did you know that a bee colony is 99% worker bee which means 99% female? That's right the bees that you watch flitting from flower to flower are all girls! Although during their short life of about 45 days they have other responsiblities. They also guard the entire colony and their queen (and tending her precious larvae) cleaning the hive and regulating its temperature. Winter or summer they must maintain a 32C core hive temperature, not allowing it to get to more than 35C.
Watching the bees work is fascinating. The best time to watch them is while you are working them. I don't at all like the sensation of being covered by bees, no matter how secure the bee suit may be. But I love studying them. They communicate through a beautiful dancing motion. There is nothing haphazard in their activities. When threatened queen comes first. Anyone who has been stung will want to avoid a repeat of the experience, but while swarming the South African "killer" bee is virtually harmless. Swarming refers to a hive that is moving. The swarming bees mission is to protect queen first, colony second while they find the perfect new home. And at the moment every couple days we can hear and see the black cloud of swarming bees. There's no forcing a colony to move in but we always hope...
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live" Albert Einstein