BEE2BEE HONEY COLLECTIVE

Bee curious

Be a beekeeper for the day at Bee2Bee Honey Collective’s educational apiary! Safety comes first during this encounter. Because bees see dark colors, everyone wears a protective beekeeping suit so the bees don’t think you’re a hungry bear looking for a sweet treat. Slow burning burlap creates a pleasant-smelling smoke that disrupts communication inside the colony and calms the bees as an experienced beekeeper opens the hive to reveal the buzzy innerworkings. You will observe the all-female worker bees, who tend to the pollen, nectar, and honey stored inside the small hexagons that create the honeycomb. Try to find the queen bee, busy laying up to 2,000 eggs per day in the hive’s nest, where baby bees are being raised. Master spotting male bees, known as drones, and learn about their particular role in colony life, plus fun facts, like honey being the only food that never spoils. And bee poop is yellow.

Besides going home with your own jar of this delicious honey, you’ll also leave with ideas about how to support these incredible insects, who pollinate one in every three bites of food. You can grow pollinator plants and trees and never use pesticides. Or craft a bee watering station. You might even be inspired to start your own hive. With over 100 hives around Houston, Bee2Bee Honey Collective has the knowledge and resources to help newbie beekeepers support their colonies in producing honey that is unique to a two-mile radius of their hive. What do you think your neighborhood honey would taste like?

TIP: Drive by the bee-friendly dancing topiary bears in the front yard of 7309 Greenbriar in Old Braeswood.