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| Spring Colors in Brunswick, Georgia March 2011 |
"Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you--the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground--so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it."
Honeybees mesmerize me.
After the initial shock of their buzzing and flying fast and furiously overhead, around, and what seems like through me, I realize they don't see me. They are after the hunt of pollen or the return to the hive. The girls work themselves to death for the sake of the colony, and I am not a part of their world.
The production of honey is all the bees think about. The queen bee lays eggs to keep the workforce plentiful as the life span of the average worker bee ranges from a few weeks to a couple months. Drones usually die once they mate or when they are expelled by the girls when winter arrives.
They coordinate their efforts inside and outside the hive to protect the queen and to raise their young.
Scouts use sophisticated communication systems to inform the colony where to search for more pollen to produce honey. Bees can travel over miles of territory in a day to reach their destinations.
I admire the hard work of bees and their dedication to each other and the colony. When the colony is attacked, they all try to protect the hive and defend their precious larvae and honey reserves.
Honey bees around the world are struggling to survive due to natural predators and chemicals in the environment. The University of Minnesota Extension Office reported in February 2011 that in the Sichuan Province in China, villagers have to hand pollinate apple and pear trees since bees and other pollinaters have disappeared in the region. (1)
How horrible if the world had to hand pollinate crops and backyard gardens if honey bees were eradicated!
Everyone I know has a bee story. Most are scary, and, yes, I have been stung myself. But since 2007, I have learned to appreciate the joys of beekeeping.
I am not a beekeeper. I am a "wannabee."
However, two friends in my life tend bees. One lives in the states, and the other in Turkmenistan. They both are doing their part to keep bees alive.
God placed all creatures on Earth for a reason.
Honey bees pollinate plants, and in spring, the world awakens to the multi-colors of a rainbow in part to the handiwork of bees.
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Lord, thank you for the honey bee and all your creatures, even the ones I haven't figured out a practical use for yet. :)
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Source
(1) Hand Pollination of Apple Trees?
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