“The honeycombs are constructed in a six-sided shape, called a hexagon. This geometric shape has had long mystical significance associated with it. It is a symbol of the heart and the sweetness of life found within our own hearts.” - Ted Andrews, Animal Speak

Since my name is Barbie, I have long signed my name just “B”. And ever since getting a smart phone, I use the bee icon as my signature. I used to own a yellow VW Beetle and had a vanity plate that read “B’s Bee”. I used to be very afraid of bees as I had a couple of experiences when I was young when a bee was after me and would not leave me alone. But since reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, I have come to understand bees better and have come to admire and respect them. Last year we must have had a swarm nearby because the bees took over the hummingbird feeder and it was fascinating to watch them work together, piling up on top of each other on one side, causing the nectar to be more easily accessible.

Below are some of my favorite poetic bee facts from the book:

Honeybees are social insects and live in colonies. Each colony is a family unit, comprising a single, egg-laying female or queen and her many sterile daughters called workers. The workers cooperate in the food-gathering, nest-building and rearing the offspring. Males are reared only at the times of year when their presence is required.
–Bees of the World

A worker bee is just over a centimeter long and weighs only about sixty milligrams; nevertheless, she can fly with a load heavier than herself.
- The Honey Bee

The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness.
- Man and Insects

A queenless colony is a pitiful and melancholy community; there may be a mournful wail or lament from within…Without intervention, the colony will die. But introduce a new queen and the most extravagant change takes place.
-The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men

Let’s imagine for a moment that we are tiny enough to follow a bee into a hive. Usually the first thing we would have to get used to is the darkness….
- Exploring the World of Social Insects

If the Queen were smarter, she would probably be hopelessly neurotic. As is, she is shy and skittish, possibly because she never leaves the hive, but spends her days in darkness, a kind of eternal night, perpetually in labor…Her true role is lest that of a queen than mother of the hive, a title often accorded to her. And yet, this is something of a mockery because of her lack of maternal instincts or the ability to care for her young.
-The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men

Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require its social companionship and support. Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.
-The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men

A bee’s life is but short. During spring and summer – the most strenuous periods of foraging – a worker bee, as a rule, does not live more than four or five weeks…Threatened by all kinds of dangers during their foraging flights, many workers die before they have reached even that age.
-The Dancing Bees

It takes honeybee workers ten million foraging trips to gather enough nectar to make a pound of honey
- Bees of the World

How did bees ever become equated with sex? They do not live a riotous sex life themselves. A hive suggests cloister more than bordello.
-The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men

• •The Queen may lay 600-800 or even 1500 eggs each day during
• • Honeybees fly at 15 miles per hour.
• • Honeybee’s wings stroke at 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
• • Honeybees are the only bees that die after they sting.
• • Honeybees have five eyes, 3 small ones on top of the head and 2 big ones in front.
• • Honeybees never sleep.
• • A single Honeybeee will only produce approximately 1/12 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
• • A single Honeybee will visit 50-100 flowers on a single trip out of the hive.
• • A populous beehive colony may contain 40,000 – 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.
• • Bees maintain a temperature of 92-93 degrees Fahrenheit in their central brood nest regardless of whether the outside temperature is 110 or -40 degrees.