When I think of bees, I think of my dad. He had a true appreciation for them, and he even had a little "nursery-rhymy" ritual he would do when I was little - "The bumblebee from under the barn, with a stovepipe under his arm. Bzzzz!" And then he would tickle me under the arm of course. Dad loved honey too and was fascinated with the bee's ability and process in producing it.
SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Perhaps it’s not a secret
That honeybees are busy.
But when you hear some of these facts,
It’s bound to make you dizzy.
The entire mood of the colony
Depends upon the queen.
She gives off a special pheromone
To set the stage and scene.
And really, it’s no wonder
If sometimes she’s in a mood—
She can lay up to 3,000 eggs in a day.
That’s quite an impressive brood!
Worker bees care to her every need,
But no “Long live the queen” is spoken.
Most queen bees live about two years,
And then a new leader’s awoken.
Baby queens feast on royal jelly
To grow reproductive means.
A colony can have 60,000 bees.
That’s a lot of potential queens!
If the hive gets too crowded,
The queen takes some drones elsewhere
To start a brand new colony,
While a new queen takes over there.
As for honey, it’s quite amazing—
The nectar from flowers is stored
Within a second stomach,
Then passed around the horde.
The bees each chew a half-hour,
Which may sound kind of funny.
But once they’re all done chewing,
The nectar turns to honey!
The honey is stored in honeycomb cells,
Each one like a waxen cup.
The bees then flap their wings over it
To thicken the honey up.
The bees make honey for themselves,
So to take it seems kind of rude;
But in truth they make two to three times
What they need for survival food.
So when you’re enjoying some honey,
Consider the bees who make haste
To produce ample portions in beehives
So we all can enjoy the sweet taste.
© 2023, Teresa Miles Kephart
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