This happened 'In the Apiary', but it didn't happen today, or even yesterday.
This event occurred some years ago at a time when I had three or four flourishing hives, plus the large colony of bees living behind the weather boarding by our front door porch.
Our daughter, her husband and their two children (11 and 8 or thereabouts) had come to visit us for the day. Needless to say, the 'mid afternoon snack' was honey sandwiches.
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Home-made Honey." commented the Victualing Officer as she offered each of the grandchildren a plate of honey sandwiches.
Ella, the eldest looked at me curiously. "How did you get the honey out the wall?" she asked. "The bees were still there when we arrived.
I shook my head. "We have bees in hives too. Finish you sandwiches and I'll show you."
Ella quickly wolfed down her snack and then followed me out to the part of our garden where there were several hives, all facing south. Three or four of the hives were fully occupied and a constant stream of bees could be seen heading or returning from a southerly direction. There was a tall Yew hedge and lots of trees to the north so nobody flew in that direction (except the occasional daft one).
As soon as Ella saw the myriads of flying bees she gave a gasp and hung back behind me.
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I don't want them to sting me." she said in a worried voice. I've been stung a few times and it swells up and itches for ages.
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I don't think they will worry you today." I explained. "But if one comes over to look at you, just let it fly around to inspect you. Don't wave your hands or arms about. That is threatening them and they don't like that. Always make calm, slow movements when you are near bees. If one starts buzzing rapidly in front of your face, darting backwards and forwards quickly, just turn round and immediately walk away. She's warning you to keep away from her hive. If you ignore her warnings and stay there, she will sting you. Then others will smell the sting and come and help her drive you away with more stings!"
Ella followed me closer to the hives. Her initial trepidation was giving way to her natural curiosity. Within a few minutes both of us were standing between flight lines of busy bees leaving or arriving at the hives. I explained a little about what the bees were doing and Ella began to ask more questions.
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I thought they would try to sting us as soon as we were near to them." Ella commented in surprise. "I was ready to run away!"
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These bees are quite docile normally." I said. "We have several oil-seed rape fields in full flower close by at present so the bees are very, very busy there. We most certainly wouldn't be able to stand here like this when the oil-seed flowers have just died off." I told her. "When any nectar flow suddenly stops, the bees always get extremely defensive of the honey stocks they have already collected in their larder. They will remain like that until they find another nectar flow of something else to take their attention." I explained. "They will then be docile again." I added.
I showed Ella a 'trick' that old Albert Lewis (the local beekeeper who had taught and guided me) had once demonstrated. I stood directly in front of a hive, facing it for about fifteen to twenty seconds. All the bees leaving the hive simply flew round me and hurried off back to the bright yellow fields nearby. But when I moved away to one side, I had caused quite a 'traffic jam'. A cloud of incoming bees was waiting behind me and they all now quickly landed on the alighting board together when I had moved away from their flight path.
Ella was fascinated. She tried it too and giggled when she stepped aside to see another large crowd of bees immediately swoop down to land on the alighting board.
I moved to kneel at the side of a hive and suggested to Ella that she knelt at the other side. I slowly and carefully placed my hand on the alighting board. Within a few seconds, bees were landing on my hand and arm, grooming and tidying themselves in order to be presentable before stepping off into the hive to deliver their shopping to the house bees. I showed Ella the bright yellow pollen that some of the bees were carrying and explained that some bees collected pollen and carried it on their hairy back legs while others brought in nectar from flowers in a special 'honey stomach'. The nectar would then be slowly turned into honey by the house bees once it was stored in the hive.
Ella was enthralled and carefully extended her hand on to the alighting board to mimic mine. "She giggled happily and chatted to the bees when they began landing on her hand.
We stayed there for several minutes with just Ella's hand on the alighting board, covered with bees. Eventually I said "We'd better go back indoors. I think Nanny has some dessert for you." Reluctantly, Ella slowly withdrew her hand a little way and waited for the bees to depart before we walked back to the house.
A little later Ella was noticeably absent. Her mother went out to look for her. A few minutes later she returned. "Come and see what you have done to your granddaughter." she said to me in a despairing voice. We all followed down the garden to see a grinning Ella sitting next to a hive again, with bees crawling all over her hand and arm as she rested it on the alighting board. I had to go and get my camera.
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I'm going to keep bees when I'm older." announced Ella happily.
Of course, the next time Ella visited us she soon asked if it was okay for her to go and see the bees again.
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Just make sure they are happy for you to be there." I reminded her "First, just stand near to a hive for a few minutes. If somebody comes buzzing around you, darting quickly backwards and forwards near your face, remember, don't wave your hands or arms. Just turn your head around immediately and walk away. The bee is simply telling you that they don't want you around their hive just at the moment."
Twenty minutes later we found Ella sitting next to a beehive and happily chatting quietly again to the clusters of bees that were landing on her hand and arm before disappearing off into the hive.
Thank you for reading this far.
Kind regards,
Malcolm B.
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