More than a sting

When I started studying bees I was amazed at their roles in the hive. I had never looked much past the fact that bees sting. But, there's this little universe buzzing around that I never noticed. Here are just a few highlights that I think are pretty amazing.

1. There is only one queen in each hive. When she first becomes queen she takes a flight. All the male bees follow, hoping to have a "night with the queen". I was thinking that the guys had a pretty great job until I found out that the ones lucky enough to have sex with the queen pretty much get their insides ripped out in the process...bummer. When she is done with her flight she re-enters the hive. She will probably never see the light of day again but instead will lay eggs 24 hours a day for up to 5 years. Get this legendary number: the queen can lay as much as 1500 eggs per day, wow! She has a job and she does it well. The queen is bigger than the other bees, but she is easily lost to the beginners eye. Locating the queen and knowing how she is doing is pretty important to the beekeeper. For this reason, when I got my queens I got them marked so that I could easily find them.

2. The "drone" or the male bees are used for one thing-mating. Once the "flight" is over the hive will kick the drones out because they do little more than eat and take up space. The drones don't even have stingers for protecting the hive. In other words, the hive is run by women! Some drone needs to start a "rights for guys" campaign!! If the hive discovers that their queen is weak, they will birth a new queen and some more drones, starting the process all over again.

3. The "worker" or the female bee literally works herself to death. She will forage up to 5 miles out every day of her life until she dies. I kind of think these women bees deserve this after the way they treat those males!! The workers forage for food, protect the hive, clean up, and babysit the eggs and larvae. The workers have a really good pulse on what is needed in the hive and if they feel the queen is weak, they will produce another one to fight off the old one. I think that in the kingdom of the bees the females have the ruling rank!

The next time you think that your role in life is lousy, or you feel overworked or under appreciated you really need to consider that little bee landing on your lavender in the front yard and smile at the great opportunities you have been given by God!!