Another Busy Bee

September 25, 2002, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. (The 20th video I have up is another "Bee video".) Sometimes you have to do headstands to get to the nectar.

Click on this link to see my video of another hardworking bee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqAkuJwdWU

BTW I'm deathly allergic to bees. As a child I was given a scratch test using 1/1000 of a drop of bee venom/essence. Nearly killed me and put me in the hospital for a couple of weeks. So, there is an element of danger whenever I photograph and video bees. Yet, I am fascinated by them. And, of course, have never been stung. They do their job, I do mine. We don't bother each other and get along quite well.

BTW I'm and deathly allergic to bees. As a child I was given a scratch test using 1/1000 of a drop of bee venom/essence. Nearly killed me and put me in the hospital for a couple of weeks. So, there is an element of danger whenever I photograph and video bees. Yet, I am fascinated by them. And, of course, have never been stung. They do their job, I do mine. We don't bother each other and get along quite well.

A BIT MORE ABOUT BEES:

There are three classes in honeybee society:

Queen: Top, head honcho. She is a female worker bee who is fed Royal Jelly which turns her into a reproducing machine. She can have either fertilized or non-fertilized eggs. Fertilized eggs have 32 chromosomes (diploid one set of 16 chromosomes from each parent) and are always female. These are the worker bees and the ones flying about doing things.

Drones: Male bees are Drones and come from unfertilized eggs (parthenogensis: when a creature is born from an unfertilized egg from only the female parent). They have only 16 chromosomes from their mother the Queen bee (haploid).

The Bee Dance: Bees dance to communicate. Other bees memorize the dance which is actually composed of the turns and flight patterns to convey the directions to a specific location. In is feared once the price of GPS systems fall and they can finally afford to buy Garmin or TomTom GPS systems they will no longer have to dance and this ability to communicate through dance will be lost. Much like many humans who have lost the ability to read a map because of their GPS systems. Such are the things we give up for progress. Right now a bee has to make a lot of honey to afford a GPS system.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• busy
• bee
• garden
• in
• the
• woods
• framingham
• ma
• standing
• on
• its
• head
• beesting
• sting

[nousernameideasleft]

I love just going out to the garden and listening very closely to the buzzing of honey bees' wings while they hover about. They are very short-sighted, so they won't really recognize you as a living being if you don't move faster than normal walking speed.

[yvettegr]

Thanks for your comment. Same with hummingbirds. Just as we don't notice the snail moving, hummingbirds don't notice up. You can walk right up to them, and even put your finger out to move them over. Won't pay any attention.

I find bee buzzing very calming.

Like your spore video. I'm thinking of doing spore. I heard an interview on Science Friday with the Spore guys.

[jakrueg2pbg]

You do have some bee videos, the Bee's truely are our friends,thankyou!Jeff

[yvettegr]

Bees are awesome. I could watch them all day. The las few years, though, their populations have been declining dramatically.

[derrbarn14]

i'm just scared of bees/hornets or any yellow thing that stings. my dads deathly allergic to bees and i never been stung so i might be as well. o.o

[ChinaStar95]

That's amazing! Nature is beautiful. Clearly, God made such wonderful creatures. Wonderful video!

[Bobchai]

Yvette: Remarkable! I've made videos for years, some of birds, but never managed to capture what you have here. Professional nature photographers often work from a distance, using long lenses or fixed-mount cameras operated remotely. This is an achievement which is far more difficult than it looks. And with your allergy, as risky as walking into a den of lions.

[lorearmus]

Neat video! I love bees. Most are docile unless threatened. I'll occasionally "rescue" one from inside the house, being built, by capturing it in my bare hands and releasing it outside.

[AmyRoseXOXOXO]

Wow!That was awesome to see. Thanks for risking your life to bring us that amazing footage!!Say, it would be great to see you do a vlog one of these days. :) XOXO

[pkbenham]

Yvette, This is a cool video...I see the acrobatics involved in getting the nectar, but have to admit the buzzing sound makes me cringe...I'm not much of a bee fan (of any type)...although I respect essential role they play in our environment. Careful when filming...you know how I worry!