| June 19, 2008 Bees and Squash |
| One of the things I really enjoy doing in the summer is to get my cup of coffee, go outside in the morning while it’s still cool, and walk around to check on the various states of things. This always includes checking on the bee hives.. well at least the three that are here. I have a few more scattered around the county that I check weekly. I noticed last week that the bees were getting a little pissy, which I attributed to the spring nectar flow slowing down. Bees definitely have a “mood”. As a beekeeper you learn to read their moods pretty early on. Most of the time they are laid back and don’t mind you being around the hives. But sometimes they just want be be left the hell alone – and have no problem letting you know if you venture too close. They guard bees don’t hesitate to buzz right up to your face and bump you in their “this is your last warning” type of way. This is a good indicator that the hive is healthy and strong so I’m content to back off a little and they generally go back to minding their own business. Keep in mind that this is only when they’re moody. Most other times when a nectar flow is going, they couldn’t care less about what you’re doing around the hive.
I expected the same behavior when I went out this morning to check on them. But instead of meeting me head on, they seemed to be back in their happy go-lucky mode again. I watched them for a while, mesmerized at the perfect order and sense of duty that come together in a colony. Then I got to wondering.. what is blooming? I found at least part of the answer in my garden. Squash. If bees put on professional wrestling events they would take place in squash flowers. I’ve never seen bees fighting over a flower, but there they were. They were tossing each other onto the ground, trying to beat the others out to wedge their little heads deeper into the flower. It was no holds barred. Of course there has to be other flowers blooming today to put the bees in a better mood; my little vegetable garden wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket of a nectar flow. None the less I did get a big kick out of watching the “Extreme Pollination Smack Down” that was playing out this morning under the new days sun. -Brian |