It Happened...

Yesterday we opened up the hive to check on the bees (as we would usually do), this is our first winter so we want to make sure they don't start going hungry and you're meant to keep an eye on the health of your hive. I was taking photos as I always do. I do this to keep a record of their progress but I think it will be a great learning tool for next year too.

We had finished checking the honey super and we went down into the brood box, this is where the queen lives. I didn't expect to see a lot of brood (baby bees) as they slow down through winter but was thrilled when I saw quite the opposite! Again I like to photograph them, while it's good to check them out there, you can see a lot more if you manage to get some great photos.

Here's a couple of photos of the brood, you can clearly see the larvae at different stages in their lives, some are super tiny curled up in the bottom of their cells while others are just about ready to be capped over and they're all looking really healthy!

On one of the frames we pulled out there was two little bees hatching at that very moment. As I moved in to try and take a photo of it, one little bee decided to start burying itself in my hair. My son @bclar161 who was suited up unlike myself carefully got her out of my hair but as soon as she was free she was doing it again, only this time worse. Again my son got her out of my hair, this time I was getting out of there. I didn't realise but she was following me and ended up stinging me on the ear. It just so happened earlier that day I was telling @jarvie how in 7 months of having a hive I have never been stung. Seems I must have jinxed myself.

I never did get to see the bees hatching as my son finished up without me. By the time I got back out there he had finished as we were close to finishing. I did however take a photo of the bee that got me. She died really quickly afterwards. I don't know what it was she was trying to do but I hope that doesn't happen too often. Maybe I'm going to have to invest in a suit for myself. RIP little bee...

What to know more about bees? Check out my last post here - Where Life Begins.
https://steemit.com/killerpix/@jayclar30/killerpix-photography-contest-bees-where-life-begins