My observations on the behavior and habits of honey bees

I admit that I haven't read much on beekeeping. I'm reading a bit about diseases that can threaten honey bees. It's amazing to me that tracheal mites are a big problam. We're talking about tiny creatures that clog the breathing tubes of adult bees. So bees have asthma?

I'm reading enough so that I can be on the lookout. Should my hives get a sniffle -- is that a life threatening illness or the common cold?

Otherwise I'm hoping my bees will teach me about themselves.

First off, I've noticed my bees could care less about me. They have no idea who I am. They have no interest in knowing who I am. When I approach the hives there is some activity, bees moving in and out of the hive entrance. The bees are doing their thing.

It is only when I lift the cover and the inner cover and move the frames that the bees begin to notice that something is amiss.

And I've noticed that each hive has its own personality.

Hive 1 & 2 are rather peaceful and even when I disturb them they tend to fly about, buzz, then go back to their lives.

But hive 3. These guys are feisty. When I disturb the hive they buzz loudly and a lot of them swarm around me. They tend to take a little longer to settle down.

It'll be interesting to see if the more docile hives produce more or less honey in relation to the more aggressive hive.

I've also noticed that bees are fragile. I've begun to wonder if the Universe wanted me to keep bees to get me to become gentle. There's not a lot of room for a bull in the china shop when it comes to tending to bees. So I'm having to be more selfaware.

I talk to my bees when I work the hive. I use pet names like "darling" and "sweetheart." Ok, so I don't use those terms of endearment with the agreesive hive. With them I say, "Guys. Settle down already." Yeesh.

All 3 hives have begun to produce comb. I'm feeding them with a mix of organic sugar/water.

So far, so good.