It’s also generally out of view to some degree and less likely to be disturbed by staff and visitors. The bees are not aggressive but if you mess with them they are defenders of their territory. The honey is so sweet but the stinger is so sharp.

Tuesday Chad did the first inspection of the hive. This requires a wee bit of prep. You don’t go in with street clothes, at least not the first time. Here’s Chad all suited up for the inspection. Notice the smoker at his feet. The smoke calms the bees somehow. Maybe that explains why so many humans are addicted to cigarettes.

First Chad removed the sugar water that has been a supplemental food source to the bees as they get established.

Smoking the hive.

Removing the outer cover.

Removing the inner cover. Without the inner cover the bees would try to fill all the space between the box and the outer cover with honeycomb. It also provides some ventilation for the hive.

Chad gingerly removing a frame filled with honey comb, bee larvae, honey, and BEES.

I can almost taste the honey. Ooooo, a taste of honey!

Here Chad is carefully inspecting a frame. He’s looking to see if the Queen is laying eggs (YES), checking for any signs of disease, and in general making sure all is well in the hive.

Still looking it over closely here.

Where’s the honey? I want the honey! Honey. Honey.

Just as Chad needs to be careful removing the frames, he must be just as careful returning them. It’s easy to crush a bee if you rush and that goes against the idea of building the colony.

Here’s a shot of a frame filled with hard working bees. Can you spot the Queen? Be nice.

I still want a taste of honey. (video 3)

As he ended the inspection Chad got a little suspicious of some activity in his pant’s leg. It was a false alarm fortunately.

Now I know some of you might think all this dance music is strictly for my enjoyment. Oh but you are so wrong. Bees dance as well. It is essential for their very survival in fact. They do ”the waggle dance”. Don’t believe me?

Honey bees have been suffering from several problems in recent years. Colonies can up and disappear almost overnight. Sometimes an entire hive dies. It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder. I won’t go into detail but you can find info at many sites including Purdue University’s The Bee Hive and the USDA. Being one that always tries to find some humor or happy in any situation I was glad to find Help the Honeybees, a website created by Haagen-Dazs (ice cream!). I love their videos of “bees” dancing. It’s a fun way of sending a serious message.

If you are interested in going to Bee School like Chad did checkout the Indiana State Beekeepers Association. Lastly, let me dedicate this song to all the bees in our hive and all the worker bees in our division dedicated to making a good home for our colony.