A Not So Dead Bee

While at the bee yard the day before I picked up 3 dead bees. I did a visual check to see if they were moving and they weren't. So I put them in my queen cage to take home.

I have a small microscope at home and I wanted to get a look at some fresh dead bees. It really helps to understand their anatomy better I find when I can examine it minutely. I paint water colours of bees too and the more I know about their structure visually, the better and more realistic my paintings are.

The only problem was that when I got home and took out the queen cage, one bee was very much alive.

I think the bee must have been stunned from being shaken off the hive cover when I was working with the hive. The body had laid there for quite a few minutes which was why I thought it was dead.

So I fed her some honey, watching while her tongue stuck out to lick it up. I observed her for the rest of the day and then the next day I returned to the bee yard to do some work, so I took her along and released her.

That bee got to travel farther than she ever thought she would I bet. It's kind of funny because the book I've written about bees has a part where the bees travel a long distance... so maybe my book is coming to life in part. That'd be cool!

I know, it was a lot to do for just one bee. But it turned out that I was able to observe her for several hours at close quarters, and without mosquitoes biting me every few seconds which was a real pleasure.

While walking up the trail I saw this brown thing laying in the grasses. I was sure it was a young deer. I crept up with my camera and snapped a picture before it would run away or move. I thought if it was a really young fawn it wouldn't run away at all.

I got closer, closer. And then was able to see it.... a giant dead brown burdock leaf.