Notes from Papaw: Bee Good!

Are you afraid of bees? It’s ok if you are. Papaw is not really afraid of bees, but there are some that he doesn’t really like. Paper wasps, the slow, yellow and black kind, are really mean sometimes! They should probably be avoided. There are certain bees that I really like to watch. Honey bees are very pretty and help our plants grow food. They also make honey, which Papaw likes to put in his coffee.

On the flowers on Papaw’s fence are a special kind of bee. It is called the Valley Carpenter Bee. They are really big, so they look scary, but they are usually very gentle. They are really fizzy and make a cute buzzing sound. They fly from flower to flower gathering pollen and drinking nectar. One really cool thing is that the male and female are different colors. The female is all black and although she can sting, she never does unless she is attacked. The male looks like a fuzzy golden teddy bear with green eyes. Although he can’t sting, he likes to fly in your face and try to scare you. It makes Papaw laugh. I guess he just doesn’t want you to know he’s as scared as you are. Since he has no stinger he has to act tough. Papaw just smiles and tell him, “Go back to the flowers you silly bee”.

The mom burrows into wood and lay her eggs in the tunnel. She leaves a package of food called “bee bread” for the baby. Then she seals the whole and lays another egg. She might do that 7 or 8 times! Later, they hatch one at a time, the outside ones first. She will feed them for a few days and them they fly away to find their own flowers. The dad just seems to fly around the flower bushes to try to keep other birds and insects from drinking his nectar. They honey bees just laugh and go get it anyway.

Carpenter Bees can be very helpful to farmers. In Hawaii, Carpenter Bees help pollenate the passion fruit vines. Papaw love passion fruit in his drinks. It’s a good thing that there are bees to help them grow. Next time you get the chance, stop and watch the busy bees. You will find out how much they do. Just don't touch them without your parent's permission!

I have added a couple short videos of the moms drinking nectar and gathering pollen. You can see the yellow pollen on her fuzzy back. I couldn't get one of the dad but I will keep looking!