December 31 began cold and wet as usual, but I decided to check on my bees. I would hate for them to go into a new year without sufficient food, so I lifted the back of each quilt box a half-inch and peeked into the feeders one by one. Each stop took about five seconds, […] Read more
Tuesday afternoon was clear and bright, so I went outside to enjoy the balmy sixty-degree sunshine. Bees were flying every which way, so I walked past my garden hives just to see how many bees were outside doing stuff. Lots, it turns out, and they were hauling in a rainbow of pollen. Once back in […] Read more
Don’t be confused. Today’s post has nothing to do with science or facts; it has only to do with an inkling I get about wintertime honey bees. After years of first-hand observation, it seems to me that the stings of winter bees are worse than the stings of summer bees. Yesterday provided a perfect example. […] Read more
I am fascinated by the amount of ouch that comes along with a bee sting. After getting stung by honey bees so often, I was amazed at how differently stings from other bees can feel. For example, the sting of an alkali bee is sharp like a pin prick, but the pain recedes immediately and […] 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
Bee stings are not so bad: a sharp jab, poker-hot pain, the urge to swear, throbbing pressure, gradual dissipation. Before you know it, it’s all gone but the itch. Why, then, is the anticipation so much worse? Two weeks ago I met with a beekeeper who had been working all winter to design and build […] Read more
After I posted “How to get stung 22 times in one place,” many beekeepers and gardeners wrote in with suggestions for dressing bee stings. I decided to put all these remedies in one place, so people can find them. This is a work in progress, so be sure to leave your favorite remedy in the […] Read more