LET IT BEE

It turns out that there is really no such thing as a lazy bee. My perception was just skewered by ignorance. What I thought were flighty, gad-about beeboppers were actually doing an entirely different job than the girls I perceived to be doing all the heavy lifting. While all bees gather nectar, some seek out nectar only and others gather both nectar and pollen. The dual purpose gatherers use only enough nectar to make the pollen sticky. They knead the sticky pollen into tiny clumps with their front legs and place them into what are know as 'pollen baskets' located on their rear legs. When these baskets get full the bees navigate back to the hive and deposit the pollen into pollen combs. Bees use the pollen as a source of protein. Humans harvest the pollen for a vast array of nutritional supplements. The study of bee pollen is known as Palynology. The more I learn about these amazing little creatures, the more I realize how integral they are to the survival of our entire world.