At the Fair

This year I not only got to go to our county fair, but I got to work there, too! As a member of the local bee club, I worked a shift in the agriculture building answering peoples’ questions about bees.

The teacher in me loved telling visitors to the fair all I know about bees (which isn’t much but more than average)! Have a demonstration hive of live bees (fully contained) made adults WAY more nervous than kids. Some kids came back numerous times to see the bees, many adults wouldn’t even walk up to the table.

Number one question people asked… “Where’s the queen?” She refused to stay in the front of the frame for very long. Queens apparently like it to be quiet, dark and private while laying eggs. I didn’t want to have my babies in public either… LOL

Second most asked question… “Are African killer bees a problem for beekeepers here?” You could tell they weren’t actually concerned about honeybees but really wanted to ask, “Am I going to be attacked by a swarm of African killer bees???”

If you live in the PNW and are living in fear of the next bee you see being an African killer bee… Don’t! I don’t think they’ve adjusted to our cold wet and miserable climate yet. And if they’re smart, they won’t. ;o)

We had a very nice display of beekeeping items, free honeysticks and packages of bee-friendly plant seeds. If you make it to a fair this summer, look for a bee display and say hi!