Is it true that honey bees will store dry pollen substitute but not pollen patties? Is it possible to overfeed pollen in the fall? To answer the first question, picture a bee’s anatomy. The entire organism—front to back and top to bottom—is designed to collect pollen as dust. In the field, electrostatic charges accumulate on […] Read more
A queen bee indulges in many strange behaviors, not the least of which is choosing the sex of her offspring. Of course, this surreal proclivity is shared throughout the Hymenoptera, a fact that doesn’t make it any less mysterious. But even more perplexing than the deciding is the implementing. How does the queen fulfill her […] Read more
Did you ever look at the blades of a fan and notice how the leading edges gather crud from the air? It’s gross, and whenever I see it, I imagine breathing all that stuff. It turns out that honey bees also have a problem with dirty air. A new paper appeared earlier this month in […] Read more
After months of study, you finally take the plunge and buy your very first wooden hive. You sand the sweet-smelling boards until they feel like silk beneath your fingers. You browse the paint aisle of your local home improvement store and spend far too much money, buying colors that spark your imagination, colors with names […] Read more
A bee lifespan is difficult for people to comprehend. I know this because of the endless stream of mail I receive asking how to save a bee that appears to be dying. People who care about bees, or pollinators in general, are often empathetic with distraught bugs and sincerely want to help. However, if a […] Read more
I have an open-air colony in my backyard, something I never expected to see. Ever. But why a swarm of bees on the wet coast of Washington would elect to build a home in a tree is inconceivable. It’s also kind of hare-brained, I think. One month ago, at the end of May, I wrote […] Read more
Everywhere you look these days, people are making, buying, and using beeswax food wraps. If the concept is new to you, a beeswax food wrap is a piece of beeswax-infused cotton fabric that is meant to be used in place of plastic or aluminum food wrap. Since they are reusable, beeswax wraps are thought to […] Read more