Dunno if you have seen this but I thought it was awesomeish

[paosparti]

So yeah I just say a post from Neil Gaiman journal and clicked the referenced article which has some really awesome bee photos I thought everyone might like to check out

Comments

[loli_scarecrow]

Hah! when I was read Anansi boys
and he made the reference to talking to the bees
I nearly squealed xD
a true Englishmen he is~
I love him even more after seeing this :3 thanks for sharing ♥

[oakenking]

Is it just me, or does it look to anyone else like the "bee hive in bell jar" used strips of wax foundation? They make it sound like the bees did it, but I think somebody pasted in some chunks of pre-drawn wax for them to start on.

[incendiary_ave]

the bell jar hive is using strips of wax foundation. If you check this blog (scroll down to start at the beginning) the author explains how it is set up. And bees will lay wax down where foundation lies, that's why we use foundation in our frames in the hive.

What I can't figure out - why?

[oakenking]

I knew I had seen this somewhere before.

I hope somebody tells Neil - it would be a shame to have his experiment fail because of misunderstanding of how it was done!

[incendiary_ave]

If you look at the most recent entry in the blog you'll see he's changed course a bit.

[batteryarticle]

Oh and totally aside I LOVE the bright colors Neil used on his hives.

So do i

[thehumofbees]

oh how pretty! thank you for sharing!

[paosparti]

You are most very welcome :)

[squid_ink]

Gaiman tends to his bees once in a while, but he has a beekeeper 'on staff' (I don't think she's paid)

also, one of his hives looks dark blue.. is that a good idea? I was under the impression that bees can't see black, and dark blue is awfully close

[incendiary_ave]

Sharon, aka Birdchick, is his beekeeping partner. They have publicly said how it got started - she wanted to keep bees but could not where she lived. He wanted bees on his property but could not invest the time. Viola.

I hear in Mexico and South America dark blue hives are common, and the bees are said to be very happy with them. It will attract heat, and with the bees needing to keep the interior in the mid 90's F, makes sense.

[paosparti]

I had always heard that it was white that bees couldn't see, and that was the reason for white bee suits.