I've been struggling with writing a blog about what I do at work because it is such an unusual field. In order to explain I'd have to give a long vocabulary lesson, start at the beginning of the process, etc. But I managed to find a few pictures online that are very similar to what I do when catching queens so you can get an idea:
That frame is about the size of the smaller hives that we call "pee wees". You open the hive, pull out the middle frame, check for eggs to make sure there is a queen and she is laying properly, then look for the queen. If there are eggs but no queen she is either on another frame (in which case you pull out the other two frames and look for her) or the eggs were laid by a "laying worker". Like I said...lots of vocab. But you can see for yourself how it is handled. Once you find the queen you grab her by her wings and put her in a cage. In the pic above the man has caught the queen and is putting her in a small wooden cage that she will later be shipped in. 
The most challenging part is finding the queen. The bees are actually quite calm, you rarely get stung, but all of the bees are moving around in the hive and you have to find the queen amongst them. Can you find the queen in the picture below? 
And... yes, you do it all bare-handed. Some people don't even wear veils but I'm not quite that brave. Actually I've thought about it but I had a very negative reaction to a sting on my upper arm and I'm not eager to repeat it on my face! So there you go...that's a small part of what I do at work. Any questions?
3 years ago
5 comments:
Wow Ash! It looks like you're having a great time. Have you ever read the book, "The Secret Life of Bees"? I'm reading it right now, and you might be interested in it - it has a lot of "bee talk." :) The movie is coming out in a few weeks too. It made me think of you. Anyway, I hope you're loving Hawaii!
Hi! I'm impressed by your bravery! I don't think I would be brave enough to touch a bee with my bare hands. It looks like you're having a lot of fun there already!
I had a dream the other night that I got stung by a bee. Hmmm....wonder where that came from???
I had a dream that I got stung by a bee too...wait that was REALITY! It really doesn't hurt that badly though, at least not for long.
All I can say is "gross." I don't see how you and Amy can touch them with your bare hands! I know there are worse things you can touch than bees but..*shiver*. But I think I would do any type of crazy job if I got to live in Hawaii. I am jealous! I agree with you on the I.D. blog. If I didn't have anything tying me down the decision to move to Hawaii would have been a very easy one to make. I'm glad you guys are enjoying life!!
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