Who would have thought bees were so doggone fascinating?!?! One of the most amazing insects and we did not realize how much of an impact they have on our environment. All of us… down to our 4 year old… had an incredible day at the Fredrickson Apiary Bee Class today. (He’s been a bee keeper for over 25 years!) 14 adults came down from as far north as Gainesville to learn how to be BEEKEEPERS… (Normally they don’t allow children, however, when I insisted that my three WILL behave, he agreed. And lo, and behold! They did. They learned a lot and asked really good questions. However, it was very hot and humid. It is July , afterall.. They were so hot and tired that the last hour they spent in the car with the air on…)
If there were no more bees, 1/3 of our food would disappear and 2/3 would diminish! I was so shocked to hear this. I had NO IDEA!!!
( As a quick side note, Troy and I met Bill and Marion Fredrickson at the Green Earth Expo in May. We were so impressed at their genuine warmth, generosity and passion that we immediately knew we were going to see them again. Once you meet them, you will wholeheartedly agree with me.)
If you watched the BEE MOVIE, it really helped my understanding and helped the children understand as well. The others who came really wanted to learn more and also have bee hives themselves. It would help with their community, their crops, their plants, their flowers, and we also learned that bees and their honey help with our health/allergies. Woo-hoo! So many things from something so very tiny!
First of all, the bees Bill Fredrickson had were Italian Bees. He explained to us the differences between Italian bees and the infamous, African Bees. Apparently, African Bees are very aggressive. Bill described them to be like yellow jackets with an attitude. They will first bump into you- giving you a warning. They are extremely aggressive when protecting their hive. Even with a bee suit, they will cover the mask and attempt to shoot their venom out at you without stinging you. Whew.. that’s being really mad. He went into further detail about African bees effect on our current community of bees, cross-breeding, etc. Rather fascinating and scary facts to learn about. You can look online and Google African Bees for more information.
Here are some of the few interesting facts I was able to jot down:
Bees try to get the best pollen they can. There is only one queen bee per hive and queen bees will destroy the other queen bees who are trying to hatch in the same hive. Remember, only one queen can be in existence for each hive. Natural selection. A queen bee can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day which is 2 times her body weight. (My uterus hurts to think about all those eggs!!!) A specified nurse bee attends to the queen all the time . There is this bee food called bee bread which is made of pollen and honey mixed together that the nurse bee will feed the queen bee for nourishment.
There is a queen bee, worker bees, and drone beens as well. Each has a specific job and they do it well. The queen will take her maiden flight about 100 feet in the air and will mate with 8-15 drones at a time. The queen bee knows not to mate with drones in her own hive… hmmm… how does she know that? Queens live about 7 years, but their robust years are 2-3 years.
Did you know that just about everything regarding bees- honey, pollen, honeycombs, wax, etc. all have various health benefits. Did you also know that when you ingest/eat “raw, local honey” you are slowly increasing your body’s natural immunity in regards to the allergies you may have in that particular region? So, if you eat honey grown from bees in your city/area, after a while, you will not be as allergic as you were before. Bill also told us that bee pollen is a high power food too! Eat 1/2 teaspoon of bee pollen a day and slowly, your allergies will be less and less. Eat a tablespoon in the afternoon when you are tired, BAM! You will feel better with more energy instantly. (Isn’t that better than any caffeine or pharmaceutical you can find?) All natural! Wow!
We also learned what pests are harmful to bees and the hives. What the names are… I forget at the moment, but they are really tiny and very, very harmful to a bee hive. In only a week, they can cause a great deal of damage!
So, after all of this, we actually were able to put on some bee suits! Troy and several other immediately put on the bee hats/suits and jumped right in. It was amazing to see and how calm the bees were. Not one person was stung! (Although, a few of us had EpiPens ready and waiting… )
Alright.. here’s the final verdict. We were so impressed with Bill Fredrickson and his bees that the Boyette Family is also going to be bee keepers! Yes, indeedy! We certainly are. Two weeks from now, we are going back to the Apairy and Bill has been so kind as to start our hive for us. He took the time after everyone left to show Justin and Jessica each a bee hive. Both looked so cute with their suits on! Bill is truly a wonderful blessing to our family- our community!
I’ll definitely keep you up to date on our progress and our bees. We plan to have so much honey that we’ll most likely start to sell it here on Parents Everywhere! Come join us on our interesting and fun journey as we start the Boyette Apiary! Woo-hoo!
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