Bee the Best

passion for bees, compassion for beekeepers
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Bees are beautiful

Almost no other insects compare to its beauty. At least in Zach's eyes. You know why? Because he is a beeholder :)

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Bees are important

Bees pollinate almost $1 billion worth of crops per year in Michigan alone.

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Bees are sweet

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Bees produce honey, which is the earliest sweet humans used. Yet it actually protects your teeth!

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Bees are social

Honey bees have a society almost as complex as our own! They cooperate, have a voting process (for swarming), everyone is born equal (in terms of becoming a queen or worker), and send their soldiers to war...

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Bees are versatile

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Besides producing honey, it also produces beeswax, royal jelly, propolis and bee pollen...both royal jelly and propolis have antioxident, antitumor and antivirus properties.

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  • Mother’s day special: iris & bees

    Posted on May 13th, 2012 Zachary Huang No comments

    I dedicate these photos to my mother who is always hardworking, as the bees on these irises.
    Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

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    Photos taken on May 7th, 2012. I spent about two hours shooting peonies, hawthorn and indigo bushes, then called a friend at the Botany Institute (under the CAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences). It turns out that they also have a botanic garden. They have a large garden full of various irises. I tried to find bees there since I have seen bees foraging on them last time in the Beijing Botanic Garden and also once at Lake Lansing Park. There were indeed many bees!

    1. This purple one, I think we have it here also. but its color is difficult to reproduce on a digital camera. I might need to bring a white board again for manually setting the white balance.

    2. A bee in flight, the bee was a bit too fast and got blurred…but it enhanced the sense of motion.

    3. Going all the way to reach the nectar. this is a lighter, shorter species/variety.

    4. Hovering.

    5。 the thorax was full of pollen

    6。The bee on the yellow iris was most cooperative.

    7。It appears they have nectar outside right on the petal?

    8。 She must be licking nectar.

    9。 Then tried to get inside.

    10。 There appeared to be a crack.

    11。 Hovering again.