A girl’s gotta earn a living somehow. This little bee, probably a sweat bee in the genus Lasioglossum, has taken to dancing around the filaments of a Phacelia flower. The bee is so tiny that she can’t reach the pollen on the anthers without crawling up the narrow stalk. Once there, she has to balance […] Read more
I write this with one eye swollen shut. My neck is as wide as my ears, and I look a lot like a football player, right down to the eye black. And no, I’m not allergic to bee stings: this is normal. I had no labored breathing, weakness in the knees, or rapid heart. And […] Read more
I missed the summer solstice this year; I wasn’t paying attention and it slipped right on by. The summer solstice is important because it signals the end of bee season, just as the winter solstice signals the beginning. “The end of bee season?” you say. “But it’s just getting started!” Here’s the thing: In temperate […] Read more
I just love the colors in this photo by Lorelei Caracausa. Her husband says Lorelei is interested in beekeeping techniques from the 1800s through the early 1900s, and has much of the equipment to demonstrate early beekeeping at living history events in her home state of Texas. Sounds interesting; maybe we could get her to […] Read more
The “How do I kill them?” e-mail is pouring in faster than ever, depressing me no end. Most of the writers want to know how to kill the sweet little ground bees that are drilling holes in their pristine suburban lawns. Or sometimes they focus on harmless carpenter bees, assuming their lives would be better […] Read more
Milton-Freewater, Oregon has a great little town park with a playground, swimming pool, and a steep trail leading up a hill that overlooks miles of countryside. I was staying near there last week at a bed-and-breakfast where I knew the proprietors from last year. After a long day of trying to photograph alkali bees in […] Read more
This story from a brand new beekeeper is filled with the excitement of acquiring that very first colony. Her passion—and the odd place she found her bees—makes for a fun read. Thanks, Lisa, for sharing your story. I am very new to this even though I have family members up in Ohio that are beekeepers; […] Read more