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

[quietdream]

Way back in 1665, Samuel Pepys referenced a man named Mr. Evelyn who had a kind of observation hive with glass walls, so that the bees could be observed. In her made of awesome book, 'Robbing the Bees', Holley Bishop speculates that this was either a glass box or a bell jar; both were relatively common ways to observe bees back before bee space and the wonders of file-cabinet like hives came about.

I don't know if it'll work for Mr. Gaiman, though; in the original, you can see that the jar is placed over a hole in the top of the hive. I don't see how bees would get into Gaiman's jar. Even if it were raised up on little feet so they could get in, would they regard it as a part of their hive? Wouldn't they need a hole from the hive into the new structure?

Also, Holley Bishop's book is about the most awesome thing ever. Like a love poem to bees.

[quietdream]

Back before anyone knew about bee space and there were no file-cabinet style hives, glass walled boxes and bell jars were a relatively common way to observe the bees without having to destroy the nest. Samuel Pepys makes a reference to someone having a glass hive back in 1665, so the practice has been around a good long time! (Holley Bishop's book, 'Robbing the Bees' talks about the old kinds of observation in some fair depth, and is definitely worth reading. I'm halfway through it, and it's one of the best books I've read this year._

I don't see how Gaiman's jar will work, though. In the original jar, there's pretty clearly a hole in the top of the hive, on which the jar was placed. Is there one under Gaiman's that I'm not seeing? This monitor is impressively crappy, so maybe it's just not showing up for me.

[incendiary_ave]

It's probably over the hole in the inner cover. The telescoping cover looks to be removed and leaning against the side.

[quietdream]

Aha, I hadn't noticed that! Thanks, it makes much more sense now!

[paosparti]

Also there is a small hole in the top of the jar, you can see it in the original article that Gaiman has referenced.

[fighttheirs]

bees! are! the! shit!

SAVE THE BEES!!!!!!!!!

[ladyfuzzums]

He has always been my favorite author and I always thought he was awesome. He just got so much MORE cool, and I didn't even think that was possible.