Foraging Bee

It has been a mild December for us here is South Florida.  Our hives have been reduced down to one brood chamber, but the bees are active and foraging.  So far our average day time temperatures have been 77-80° F (25-27° C).  With our temperate climate there is always some type of flower in bloom year round.  Right now Florida Pusley (Richardia scabra), also commonly called Mexican Clover, is blooming everywhere. Many people consider it a weed, but its small white-purplish flowers are a good source of pollen and nectar for bees.

This worker bee was foraging in my backyard.

You can see the white fuzzy pollen all over her head and she already has some yellow pollen in her pollen basket.

Taking flight.

Here you can actually see that her wings are damaged, but she had no problem flying from flower to flower.

Off she goes again! Loaded with pollen.

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Beekeeping Runs in the Family

This is a picture of my husband’s grandfather, John, in his apiary in Serres, Greece sometime during the 1950’s.  My husband knew his grandfather had bees at some point in his life, but he had never seen a picture until very recently when his brother found this.  Who knew beekeeping ran in the family!