Honey Bees-from our Henry Vilas Zoo trip

Farmer Kitty

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At the Henry Vilas Zoo they have this "hive" setup. There is a tube the bees can go through to go outside. I don't know much about honey bees but, thought this was interesting and maybe some of you that have more knowledge can educate the rest of us using them.

honeybeeinfo.jpg

beehive.jpg


Bottom section
beesbottom.jpg


2nd up
bees2.jpg


3rd up
bees3.jpg


Very top
bees4.jpg


They said the queen bee was marked with a yellow dot on her head but, we couldn't find her. There is a mirror so you can see the backside but, she could have been over there and not be seen as it wasn't easy looking at them that way.
 

Farmer Kitty

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Yeah, that many bees in one small area makes me a little nervous too. I was glad for the plastic between us.
 

Thewife

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That's cool!

There is a big tree in the lower field with a honey bee nest in it, the whole tree humms!
 

Farmer Kitty

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Thewife said:
That's cool!

There is a big tree in the lower field with a honey bee nest in it, the whole tree humms!
How cool! As long as they are out away from the buildings and not where I have to be all the time, I think bees are fascinating with all the work they do. I become real leary when they are where I have to work on a regular basis.
 

reinbeau

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That's an observation hive, looks like the bottom two frames are for brood, the next one up is a new one for them to draw out and fill with honey, the top one has some nice, capped honey in it, there must be a good flow on somewhere. That very bottom frame shows some nice capped brood. Usually observation hives have a cover over them, because the bees really don't like the light shining on them all the time, I hope this zoo makes provisions for that.

As for finding the queen, that's always challenging, especially when you've got an unmarked queen. You can find her, however, with determination. Look for a cluster of bees all looking in the same direction, towards a center - you may find her there. Or not! She really doesn't like the light, so she'll scurry to the dark side of a frame or onto another one if she can.
 

Farmer Kitty

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Thank you reinbeau!

It's in a corner of the room and there is a window nearby but, I think the light only shines in during a short time of the day.

There is a butterfly garden nearby that is just full of flowers in bloom and there is a park surrounding the zoo so there are many flowers there too.

The queen was suppose to be marked, yellow, but, we still couldn't find her. Maybe we shouldn't have looked for the yellow.
 

Happy Chooks

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My queen is marked yellow as well, and I still have a hard time spotting her.
 

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