Occasionally you may see photos of me working with my bees without safety gear. Most beekeepers wear a veil and jacket to keep from getting stung. But I believe the best thing to keep you safe is knowing what to expect. 

1. Know your bees. Are they aggressive (and may charge you) or calm? Africanized bees are known to charge from more than 20 feet away some beekeepers need to be dressed in their gear before they arrive to the bee yard.
2. Think about the weather or season. If it has been rainy for the past week they may be temperamental.
3. Will you be working with a small hive or a larger hive. 10,000 bees may seem like a lot, but 80,000 bees flying around your head may mean you need to wear a full suit (veil, jacket, long pants, and gloves).
4. Are you doing a short check (looking at the top most frames) or are you checking all the frames? If you are just lifting the roof you may not need to smoke your bees as much as a full hive check.
5. Is it a super hot day? I know when I am sweaty or sticky I can get a little cranky. It is important for me to be gentle and calm. If I am not calm with my bees they will notice and guard their hive if they think I may hurt them. (I also need to remember to stay hydrated so I can stay healthy on those hot days. I always keep some water in my car if I need it.)
6. Sometimes you will get stung. You might hurt a bee when you set down a frame or push them a little to far. It happens. As a beekeeper you must expect that you will get stung. Some beekeepers are allergic to bee stings and must carry an Epi-Pen (a shot that goes into your leg) to prevent them from having a dangerous allergic reaction. Other beekeepers bring topical antihistamines to calm any swelling. Other may need to take medication to stop a mild allergic reaction. It is important to know how you react to a bee sting to keep yourself safe.

The more you know about what to expect the better prepared you can bee to work with bees. I know that some days I am fine without gloves and a Jacket but there may be other days that I need them. I am not more brave than my beekeeper friends wearing full suits, but I do think that this year I have been blessed with a calmer colony of bees. I am always prepared and have water, gloves, a jacket, veil and allergy medication on hand just in case.

Yesterday I was walking back to my car after working with the bees and one got stuck in my hair. I tried my best to help her out while staying calm, but I got stung anyway. I am sure if I got lost in a head of hair I would be scared, frustrated, and ready to sting whatever was trapping me. I am not mad, but a little sad for that little stuck bee. As soon as I was stung, a friend helped me pull the stinger out. Because it was pulled out so fast, It wasn't as painful as my last sting.

The other day, My classmates and I were invited to see how honey is harvested. Another mentor, Bob, had some neat tools to help get the honey out of the hive. Here is a look at the process of harvesting honey. You can click on the small photos to make them larger.

Now for the really fun part. After taking the caps off you put the frames into an extractor. The extractor will spin the honey out of the frame. If you took a wet towel and spun it around as fast as you could some of the water would fling out of the towel. The extractor works the same way. While you spin out the honey you can see it fling up against the walls of the machine. It oozes down and then comes out the bottom. Then you have honey. We strained it as it dripped into the bucket and then we had a taste test. Lots of sticky goodness.

Here are some things Honey Bees like to eat or drink:

• Nectar- a high sugar liquid that plants produce. If you touch the center of a flower and get wet or sticky you probably found the nectar.
  
• Pollen- This is what makes me sneeze in the summertime. Pollen is usually a yellow color, but sometimes it can be almost green or grey. Pollen is the powdery substance in the center surrounded by petals.
• Water- On hot days beekeepers may set out water for their bees especially if they are not near a water source like a stream or pond.
• Honey- Honey is dehydrated nectar. After bees have collected enough nectar to fill a cell, they dry it out. They can flap their wings to fan the nectar and get rid of any moisture. This helps them preserve their food for the winter or whenever they need it.
• Sugar water-  If the bees have consumed all their honey and flowers have not started blooming  beekeepers give their bees sugar water. It is not the best food and doesn't have everything a bee needs to be healthy, but it will keep them alive until they can get nectar.

This beekeeper just added his bees to the hive. Since they have no honey they will start with sugar water in the jars. The beekeeper will have to come back and check on his jars to make sure his bees have enough to eat.