The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I've always had love/hate thing with bees/wasps. They're so cool and primitive on the one hand, and bee honey is awesome. But I stepped in a nest on our farm in VT when I was a kid, yellow jackets went up the legs of my jeans and under my shirt, and I got dozens of stings. On the run to the shower, screaming, I threw the pitch fork I was wielding out of panicked terror, which fortunately didn't kill anyone though I never really asked. Years later, when my brother was living in our converted barn, wasps built a cone against one of the windows so we had this insane view inside their palace, and could sit there safely watching their business.

So my brother in law has four hives in England now (and my 10 year old son has become quite into becoming an urban bee keeper here in Brooklyn because of him). We just got this from him showing their first swarms, so I thought I'd share.

As much as I love honey, flying, stinging insects are one of two things that make me go all wooly, irrational and... "No." I was surprised by a wasp when I was little and it was kind of a traumatic event (though nothing like what you described, Roy).

So, uh, yay for urban bee-keeping because that's environmentally important. But, no way would I ever even consider it. Even carpenter bee and bumble bees give me the heebie-jeebies.

That's pretty neat. And it's funny you mentioned the fasination with bees. It's bee season here in So Cali and just a few days ago I was doing some electrical work that required me to position myself between two little trees with tons of little white blossoms on it. The bees where heavily slurping up the nectar. I was busy and needed to get my work done, but they were also clearly quite busy. So we just looked at each other for a minute and we all went about our bizzzness.

But as I worked doing things I've done so long that I could do it in my sleep, I watched them work at eye level. The flowers they were working on were very fragrant and seemed to have me in a grinning happy sunshine state of mind. I watched how they cooperated with each other and weren't fighting over the best spot. Then I watched one little bee fly off his bunch and went over to a nice big bunch of flowers and as he was helicoptering down to begin his work, another bee popped out from the bushel and I SAW him say he's got this one and the other bee literally stopped mid descent and said, OH, my mistake fine sir,.....in a British accent, then turn and flew to the next bushel.

Until a few days ago, I had no idea that bees were Eurobeein'

true story.

Yeah, there were none here until those silly Europeans brought them.

Something it's important for everyone to understand is if you see bees swarming, don't call an exterminator! Call a bee keeper so that the new queen can settle properly and do their thing.

for some reason there was this bumblebee sitting on my lawnmower seat on sunday, and it was kinda dark in the shed and i didn't see it and so i sat on it. kinda hurt both of us i think.
so now i got this bee sting on my butt. i'm sure you wanted to know that.
-bill

So people understand when we call you Ferdinand from now on...

bees are awesome

they buzz

biz

A Chinese couple have tied the knot covered in a layer of BEES.

Li Wenhua and Yan Hongxia, who work for the Nanhu forestry commission in Ning’an city, Northern China, have been keeping the creatures for more than 25 years. So when Li popped the question they decided the only way to make their big day buzz was to invite their bumblebee buddies. The pair attracted the swarm to them by using queen bees as bait.

Li said: “"I have been working with bees for two decades and it was the obvious choice for us for our big day.” His new wife added: "It was an amazing feeling to have a carpet of living bees moving over my body. I could feel them as they moved around — it was amazing.

"I have always loved bees but this was a totally new experience."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... -bees.html