The kids and I took a field trip to our neighbors house for a lesson in bee keeping! Remember those jars of
sweet golden deliciousness, well this is where I got them from!
Bees are so fascinating to watch.
Here's my little man smoking the bees. I have to say, Colin followed directions very well and showed no sign of fear...at least while he was in his suit!
I was very impressed with Cameron facing his fear of bees head on. In fact, Dave told Cameron the reason he took up bee-keeping was to overcome his fear of bees...and pollinate his garden! That's Cameron holding a frame full of bees.
The little hive that Dave and Colin are near is what our project was. We inspected each frame of both larger hives for a brood that could be separated in hopes of producing a new queen for the new hive.
Here's my little peanut. She didn't want anything to do with the bees, so she stayed busy with the chickens, fish pond, and swing set. She did ask questions from a distance.
Now it's my turn to visit with the bees! As you can see the bees were very active at this point. We were looking for the queen in both hives, because we wanted to make sure we didn't transfer her to the new hive Dave was building. It was amazing to see the bees up close and how they work. At first I thought they all looked the same, then I saw a big fat bee which was a drone. Now I can tell the difference between a worker (all females) and a drone (all males). There aren't too many drones, so they are easy to see once you know what you're looking at.
Can you see the queen? She was hard to find, but once you find her, there's no mistaking her. She's long and skinny with a brown abdomen. If you're having trouble seeing her, she's right in the center of the photo.
Bees are so fascinating to watch.
Here's my little man smoking the bees. I have to say, Colin followed directions very well and showed no sign of fear...at least while he was in his suit!
I was very impressed with Cameron facing his fear of bees head on. In fact, Dave told Cameron the reason he took up bee-keeping was to overcome his fear of bees...and pollinate his garden! That's Cameron holding a frame full of bees. 
The little hive that Dave and Colin are near is what our project was. We inspected each frame of both larger hives for a brood that could be separated in hopes of producing a new queen for the new hive. 
Here's my little peanut. She didn't want anything to do with the bees, so she stayed busy with the chickens, fish pond, and swing set. She did ask questions from a distance.
Now it's my turn to visit with the bees! As you can see the bees were very active at this point. We were looking for the queen in both hives, because we wanted to make sure we didn't transfer her to the new hive Dave was building. It was amazing to see the bees up close and how they work. At first I thought they all looked the same, then I saw a big fat bee which was a drone. Now I can tell the difference between a worker (all females) and a drone (all males). There aren't too many drones, so they are easy to see once you know what you're looking at. 
Can you see the queen? She was hard to find, but once you find her, there's no mistaking her. She's long and skinny with a brown abdomen. If you're having trouble seeing her, she's right in the center of the photo.
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