OUCH!!!!!

A bee committed suicide to protect her sisters and her queen last night. As I pulled her tail end complete with stinger out of my thigh, I said just another way I will learn from my mistakes. I was not wearing the proper pants, they were much too thin and she had no problem sticking me. I can't believe how much it hurt, but it was fast and over in about 20 minutes. Today it itches like crazy!

Warm weather finally!

The bees finally got a break from the cold today and were out flying around. Hopefully they were able to grab up some of the early pollen to give them a much needed boost for the brood rearing that is just around the corner.

Unexpected tool for checking bees in the winter

Putting the stethoscope up to the vent hole lets me know that those bees are still in there and alive.