We enjoyed looking at Mrs G’s beekeeping equipment including the hive tool, smoker, bee brush and very special gloves. She brought in two frames from her hive – we were able to look closely and feel the honeycomb shape cells made of wax. The other frame was so sticky with honey but we were able to see where the bees had capped off the cells. Mrs G told us that the worker bees are the girls and they are the ones that fly from the hive to gather nectar and then pack it into their pollen basket which is on their back legs before flying back to the hive and passing the nectar to a fellow bee. The drones are the boy bees, however, unlike the worker bees, all they do is eat honey and sleep!
We made our own bee bath to put in our playground. Sometimes, the bees get exhausted as their wings are small and the pollen can become too heavy for them, and they need a drink and place rest. We filled a small dish with glass stones and topped it up with water. We have had learned so much about bees and how we need them, so it is our job to help protect them in the environment.