Drinking at the Beebox: Feral Bees Settling in for Winter
PublishedDecember 11, 2023
I, Bernie Harberts, did not use generative AI to write or illustrate this article. Spell check and grammar check, yes. AI, no.
My new passion is beelining, where you catch wild bees in a small box called a bee box, feed them sugar water, and follow them to their nests. Here, a yellow jacket joins three bees for a sip of sugar water in front of the bee box I built in my shed. I'm hoping the bees don't lead me to a wasp nest (or "wasper" nest, as Cooter, the guy who used to live on our property, called them).Drinking at the beebox.
It’s mid-fall, and the wild bees I caught and installed in a hive that I built in my shop are settling in for the winter. I visited them on a recent sunny day and saw them buzzing in and out the front of the hive. Some had pollen balls on their hind legs, and others had swollen bellies where they’d been sipping nectar. They’re busy like they know there aren’t many warm days left before the first frost kills the flowers they love. I’ll miss seeing them this winter.
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