Bee Gazing

Here's a follow up to the bee drama. I observed both the Red & White Queen hives today. I think blocking the entrance and removing the leaking feeder was very helpful to Queen Margaret and the rest of the worker gals in the Bee Barn. No robbing apparent today. So, tonight I went out there and slipped a new non-leaking feeder back into the hive entrance and re-blocked most of the entrance so it could be well guarded. Long live Queen Margaret! (Beaufort for those geeky enough to follow the references). Then I spent a good long time sitting in front of my hives observing the little bees flying in with buckets of pollen on their back legs. How encouraging! Also, when changing out a feeder today I could observe the bees with their little proboscis sticking out to suck up the bee tea I made for them. Here is a bee tea recipe: 1 part chamomile tea 1 part white granulated sugar 1 pinch of non-iodized salt 10% honey I mean, who would love that tea? (I find it is a bit sweet for my taste ... but I hear the chamomile helps them digest the sugar). Below is a picture sent to my from my friend, Caryl. I tell you, this is what I did for a long time today. It's so fun to sit right in front of the hives and watch the activity. You don't need a bee suit to do it. They're curious but not defensive.