Wooo Hooo, the Bees are back!!!

I'm going to start and end with a bee video that I took right outside my apartment today. We have several Popcorn Trees and when they bloom, they smell like the finest jasmine or tuberose, such a sweet sensational scent that is so irresistible, I wish that I were a bee...or at least had some perfume that smelled like it.

I stayed mostly indoors last week, because it rained a lot for the better part of the week. Today is the first chance I got to see what's new outside.











This dangerous looking insect looked like a wasp to me, but it didn't have those long dangly legs (so that I could tell)...but, I didn't stick around very long.



I found my first Gardenia, another flower that I'm absolutely in love with. Gizzy sriking a photogenic pose in front of the solitary blossom.



My potted Peace Lily seems to be very happy sitting outside having had a few good drinks of rain water.

The pink Gernium survived the winter. I had a red and white one on either side, but they didn't make it.

Look at the Crape Myrtle...it's covered with bees too.



We have many of those bushes growing on the property in white and pink. They have such lovely, honey scented blossoms. I had difficulity zooming in on the bees because they were all way too quick for me and my inadequate camera. I saw this one with its big, round golden-yellow pollen sacs. I will continue to try capturing a better picture later.

I'm so excited about seeing and hearing all these bees that I just had to show you. It wasn't since the Azaleas bloomed earlier this year, that I saw this much activity, only then I noticed a majority of bumble bees in the Azalea bushes. But this seems to be Honey Bee Haven. Fantastic! I'm so pleased. I can just imagine all that dancing going on back at the hive. I wish I were there to watch.




Here's my other video that I promised you. Even if I couldn't get a close up, surely you are able to see all the bees darting around and hopefully also hear the buzzing sound up in the tree.

And that's the buzz from my corner of the world.

Amazing Honey Bee Facts

"Unique among all God's creatures, only the honey bee improves the environment and preys not on any other species." ~ Royden Brown DID YOU KNOW? (you can see this blog better if you use your zoom feature on your computer on the lower right hand side? - I didn't!) * The honey bee has been around for about 30 million years**see NOTE: **NOTE: (Apis mellifera L.) preceded humans on earth by 10 to 20 million years. Honey bees are one of the oldest forms of animal life still in existence from the Neolithic Age. Primeval humans gathered and ate the honey and honeycombs of wild bees, the only available sweet, as far back as 7000 B.C. * It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man. * Honey bees have 6 legs, 4 wings and 5 eyes (see bee anatomy drawing) * Only worker bees sting, and only if they feel threatened and they die once they sting. All worker bees are sterile females. The male bees are called drones. They have no stinger and their only function is to mate with the queen. They die after mating. Queen bees have stingers, but do not go outside to defend the hive; only the queen lays eggs. * It is estimated that 1100 honey bee stings are required to be fatal. * Honey bees clock over 55,000 frequent flyer miles and drop in on about 2 million plants in order to produce one pound of honey - all that time and effort to make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey per bee, per bee lifetime. * Honey bees communicate with one another by "dancing" (see video below) * Bees fly an average of 13-15 mph. * Worker honey bees live for about 4 weeks in the spring or summer, but up to 6 weeks during the winter. * The queen bee lives for about 2-3 years and is the only bee that lays eggs. * Fermented honey, known as Mead, is the most ancient fermented beverage. The term "honey moon" originated with the Norse practise of consuming large quantities of Mead during the first month of a marriage. A THOUGHT TO PONDER: "If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live" ~ Albert Einstein Here is a partial list of tried-and-true bee attractors: ANNUALS Buttercups, Clematis, Cosomos, Dahlias, Enchinacea, English Ivy, Foxglove, Geranium, Hollyhocks, Hyacinth, Roses PERENNIALS Aster, Clover, Crocus, Marigolds, Poppies, Snowdrops, Sunflowers, Zinnias GARDEN PLANTS Blackberries, Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Gourds, Peppers, Pumpkins, Raspberries, Squash, Strawberries, Watermelons, Wild Garlic HERBS Bee Balm, Borage, Catnip, Coriander/Cilantro, Fennel, Lavender, Mints, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme BUSHES Blueberry, Butterfly Bush, Button Bush, Honeysuckle, Indigo, Privet TREES Alder, American Holly, Basswood, Black Gum, Black Locust, Buckeyes, Catalpa, Eastern Redbud, Fruit Trees (especially Crabapples, Golden Rain Tree, Hawthorns, Hazels, Linden, Magnolia, Maples, Mountain Ash, Sycamore, Tulip, Tupelo, Poplar, Willows Although Utah enjoys the title "The Beehive State," the top honey-producing states include California, Florida, and South Dakota. In 1998, the United States made over 89,000 metric tons of honey. China, the world's top honey-producer, created more than 140,000 metric tons of honey in 1997. For your amusement, I am adding an entertaining little movie clip called "Green Porno" where Isabella Rossellini portrays a honeybee and explains how they live. You can watch her impersonate other insects here: The Sundance Channel You can find more bee related information here: American Beekeeping Federation

I have high hopes for saving our honey bees!

Here are a couple of great sites to start learning more about our honey bees and how to help. These websites are very colorful, interactive and kid-friendly, so that the whole family can learn and enjoy together. There are also some fun projects everyone can do without having to become a beekeeper to help save our honey bees.

Haagen-Dazs Help the Honey Bees

and

The Great Sunflower Project

Finally, here's a little encouragement for our beloved honey bees:

Next time you're found, with your chin on the ground
There's a lot to be learned, so look around

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes
He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your gettin' low
'stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your back's to the wall
There's a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he'd punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin' that dam

'cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time you're feelin' bad
'stead of feelin sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam

A problem's just a toy balloon
They'll be bursted soon
They're just bound to go pop
Oops there goes another problem kerplop

(Thanks, Frankie!)