Hi all,
I want to write about a subject that is very close to my heart - bees! I started bee keeping last year, and have two colonies right now. These two already managed to supply my family and my friends with more than enough honey, and keeping the bees is a tremendously satisfying activity. They smell so good, and are very tidy animals, and are just very, very interesting overall. The insects' way of dealing with the world is just so very different from how we as mammals approach it - it seems almost alien.
Anyways, what is probably most impressive is the workload these little animals deal with. For one kilo of honey, they visit 4 million flowers, and fly a distance equivalent of more than 4 times around the earth. Think about that for a second.
And then, if you start to think about how they "furniture" their housing themselves by the wax they sweat out, how they can control temperature inside the hive to the tenth of a degree, how they collectively make decisions in a group of 50'000 (the queen has nothing to say in that sense, she is only the breeding unit)… the amazement never stops.
Anyhows, next time you complain about how tough your life is - have a spoon of honey and think of the bees. And start to keep some! (You can also do it in the city - no excuses!)
That is all :) Best wishes,
Moritz from Germany
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