Happy Hive Dance
The girls are all out on the front porch, dancing a happy dance.
This is the sight that all beekeepers want to see in August. At this time of year the weather is often too hot and dry for the flowers, but we have had a very mild and wet season this year. The plants are still blooming and all the bees are happy.
When a hive is full of bees the youngest ones are on nurse duty, making food from pollen and caring for larvae. The older bees are foraging to bring in more nectar and pollen. A few bees are making honey and storing pollen. And then there are the teenagers . . .
Teenage bees are in between stages in life and don't really have a job to do. The hive hums with activity around them, but makes few demands on their time. Soon they will be recruited to start foraging, but for a short time they are just hanging out and dancing.
The behavior of teenage bees is often called washboarding because it looks like they are cleaning clothes with an old fashioned washboard. I like to think of it as dancing, though. It doesn't really serve a purpose, youngsters like to do it, and it feels good.
Cheers,
Professor Bromide
PS -- I wish I could share with you the smell of a hive in its prime like this one. It is the most wonderful combination of floral honey, warm beeswax, resinous propolis, and a clean animal aroma that is a little bit like a puppy's fur. No wonder they are happy.
This one sight is surely going to send chills down a honey lover <3 clearly Photo of the day
With a little background smell of lemon pledge, to remind you that there IS a queen in there....
:)I've never heard that before. The queen pheromone smells like lemon?
Lemon grass is a close smell. I use that as bait, on a cotton ball; placed in an open plastic sandwich bag, to make my swarm lures work better. Her smell keeps them happy.
They are fascinating beasties, and a great add to a back yard!
:)Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by professorbromide from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
Great photo, love the background