Last night was the end of bee school, after five night classes we all graduated into "beeginners" And with one season under my belt I felt like I had even more questions than if I was just beginning. (of course some of the information might have prevented a few stings) Let me share with you a few of these things; smell is a very important factor when it comes to beekeeping. Think for a minute, if a bee can smell the nectar and fly miles to find it you can imagine how sensitive her sense of smell is so if you have even the lightest scent of say, BANANA or ALMOND and especially PERSPIRATION it will piss her right off she does not like the distraction, also each hive has a specific chemistry of odors going on which helps the bees to know that everyone is family and that there is no intruders (robbing honey) in their home. With that in mind it is best to wash with unscented soap, (I use glycerin because it is biodegradable) before you inspect your hives. The bees however will begin to recognize your scent and respond back lovingly if that is the aura that you release. Whistle to your bees or even sing to them, my bees really like it when i sing Joni Mitchell songs.
I'm really going to miss them this winter!
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