# The first day of a bee



## TimV (May 26, 2009)

So I thought I'd show you all where bees come from. This picture I just took is of a drone, or male bee. You can tell because he's pretty much all eyes. The wire on the top is what we put in a "frame" to help the bees make their combs straighter. The drone has just finished his 16 days of childhood. Underneath him you can see other drones in their while larval stage, and to the right some honey.


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## Semper Fidelis (May 26, 2009)

That is so cool. I would normally just swat those guys.

You take some really nice macro shots, Tim.


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## Herald (May 26, 2009)

Pretty neat.


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## LawrenceU (May 26, 2009)

That poor fellow is all alone. Normally I see workers assisting the drones. Isn't it funny how drones live? Assisted out of the cell, fed all they want, wait around for a queen to mate and . . . mate and die or get pushed out in the fall and die. What a life. What amazing set of random consequences and mutations to arrive at such complex system as a bee colony. 

OT: did you ever freak out a visitor to the bee yard by popping a drone into your mouth?


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## Beth Ellen Nagle (May 26, 2009)

Love it!  Very cool!


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## Blue Tick (May 26, 2009)

That's incredible. You're very talented Tim!


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## MrMerlin777 (May 26, 2009)

Great stuff.


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## ColdSilverMoon (May 26, 2009)

Great photo, Tim! Thanks for sharing!


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## Wannabee (May 26, 2009)

Cool picture Tim. I was visiting some friends the other day and got to see their hives and taste a little honey from the honeycomb. This is new to me, and fascinating. The pix are with my phone, so not great. 


View attachment 570View attachment 571


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## JBaldwin (May 26, 2009)

You're pics are amazing Tim. Thanks for sharing.


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## nicnap (May 26, 2009)

Thanks for sharing.


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## PresbyDane (May 26, 2009)

Thanks for sharing


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## turmeric (May 26, 2009)

Bzzzzzzzzz!


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## DMcFadden (May 26, 2009)

Another in a series of GREAT pictures, Tim! Thanks.


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## WaywardNowHome (May 26, 2009)

It's an amazing picture but it makes me really uncomfortable because I don't like bugs. It's eyes... they're... they're so big. It's like it's looking through my soul.


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## LadyFlynt (May 26, 2009)

That is cool!

I had wasps build a large nest outside my bedroom window when I was a teen. My stepdad was upset I didn't tell him about it from the start. I just thought it was neat to watch them. The window created a perfect view inside the nest layers.


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## he beholds (May 26, 2009)

You need to find a magazine that needs that picture. I am positive there is one out there! 
Can you sell honey across state lines?


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## toddpedlar (May 26, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> That poor fellow is all alone. Normally I see workers assisting the drones. Isn't it funny how drones live?



Yeah, they just drone on, and on, and on... like some professors I know


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## toddpedlar (May 26, 2009)

TimV said:


> So I thought I'd show you all where bees come from. This picture I just took is of a drone, or male bee. You can tell because he's pretty much all eyes. The wire on the top is what we put in a "frame" to help the bees make their combs straighter. The drone has just finished his 16 days of childhood. Underneath him you can see other drones in their while larval stage, and to the right some honey.



this little guy's name wouldn't be Eric, would it?


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## historyb (May 26, 2009)

That's a cool pic, looks like the bee is saying "Hey I just got borned, I'm not ready for my close up."


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## TimV (May 26, 2009)

Thanks, all. Yes, a drone is a freeloader. They can't even sting to defend the hive. They only have half the genetic material as a female worker; basically they are the product of an unfertilized egg.


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## LadyFlynt (May 26, 2009)

TimV said:


> Thanks, all. Yes, a drone is a freeloader. They can't even sting to defend the hive. They only have half the genetic material as a female worker; basically they are the product of an unfertilized egg.



 wow!


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## toddpedlar (May 26, 2009)

TimV said:


> Thanks, all. Yes, a drone is a freeloader. They can't even sting to defend the hive. They only have half the genetic material as a female worker; basically they are the product of an unfertilized egg.



Ah! Then "Eric" is an extremely apt name!


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## TimV (May 26, 2009)

Female bees have 32 chromosomes, but the males only have 16. The queen only mates at one time in her life (although with more than one drone) and she stores the sperm in one organ and the eggs in another. When she wants to produce a worker or queen, she lets a couple sperm fall down to fertilize the egg, and lays it in one of two kinds of cells. When she wants to lay a drone she just lets down the egg into another kind of cell.

The size of the cells tell the queen what kind of egg to lay.

The only difference between a queen and a worker is the diet during the larval stage. Regular pollen and nectar make a neuter bee that lives about a month. That with royal jelly makes an insect which can live 3 years and lay a thousand eggs per day.

Royal jelly costs hundred of dollars per kilo, and looks like Elmer's Glue and tastes like colostrum, if any of you have ever drunk milk from a goat that's just had kids.


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## Prufrock (May 26, 2009)

Tim, sorry if you have answered this before: what kind of camera do you use for these beautiful and _very detailed_ shots?


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## gene_mingo (May 26, 2009)

Thank you for sharing. God is so awesome.


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## TimV (May 27, 2009)

I use an old Canon digital Rebel with a macro lens. The trick is to keep the subject still, then the rest is just pushing the button!


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