Bugged

My apologies for the lack of photos in this post.  I'll try to add some later.

We did a check of the hives last week.  I hadn't been involved in much beework recently, so it was a nice change of pace.  The hive known as "Satisfaction" had been without a queen for a month, which was cause for concern.  In order to encourage to the worker bees to create a new queen, comb from another hive containing eggs and larvae were placed in Satisfaction along with some nursemaid bees.  I had the task of firmly, yet carefully, knocking the nursemaids into the hive.  This involves raising the wooden frame, which is covered with bees, several inches above the hive and then bringing it down decisively on the edge of a frame still in the hive.  The impact sends most of the bees on the frame you're holding down into the hive and once you've done it, you step back quickly.  I did this twice with good results.  As I sometimes find myself to be an indecisive person, working with the bees is a good exercise in behavior modification.  You need to be clear in your actions and not hesitate when working with bees: they do not like indecisiveness.

Today I went to a screening of "Queen of the Sun", a documentary on bees that I've been trying to see for months: http://www.queenofthesun.com/about/  It was shown at Shadowcliff, a beautiful old mansion overlooking the Hudson River in Nyack, NY that is the current headquarters for the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a non-profit that's been promoting non-violence since 1914.  It also happens to be the office of film director Jonathan Demme ("The Silence of the Lambs", "Philadelphia", "Rachel Getting Married").

"Queen of the Sun" looks at the dangers honeybees are facing around the world, much of which is due to commercialization.  For example, in central California there are thousands upon thousands of acres of almond trees that require pollination every year in order to produce nuts.  Because there are just almond trees in these orchards that only bloom in February, bees cannot make a home there year-round.  This lack of local bees means that thousands of bees are trucked in from all over the country in order to tend to the almond blossoms.  These traveling bees struggle with temperature/environmental changes,  eat corn syrup while in transit since they can't forage for food, and are at increased risk of contracting diseases and parasites: all of which makes the hives quite vulnerable.  But the bees who are not exploited in this way are also in jeopardy: exposure to pesticides disrupts their ability to find their way back to their respective hives and may be a cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious occurrence where entire bee colonies suddenly disappear.  Since bees are necessary for vegetables and fruits to grow, there is much at stake if they are not protected.  If you eat honey, buy local!  If you want to help bees, plant flowers!

Bees were not the only insects on my mind this past week.  The theme of the day camp was "What Bugs You?" so Josh and I did some sessions with the children that focused on insects such as ants, butterflies, ladybugs, and flea beetles, in addition to the bees.  Some of the campers are wary of the bees in the garden, but most are intrigued by the numerous 6-legged creatures that call the garden their home...much as I was at the same age.  Bugs rule!