Bees

Bees.  I think we ALL know what a bee looks like and I’m sure we’ve ALL had some kind of interaction with them, mainly trying not to make them angry.  Did you know that there are nearly 20,000 known species of bees?  Bees are known for their role in pollination and producing honey and there is actually a movement right now to inform people about the importance of bees in the environment.  Cleo Jane Blum has a story for us about bumblebees.  There are over 250 species of bumblebees mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere.  They form colonies and are very social creatures with a single queen.  Apparently sometimes they even socialize with humans.

When Cleo Jane Blum was little and lived in Colorado there was a bumblebee that lived in the broken rubber handle cover of a bicycle that was out on the patio. It just chilled in there for a couple of months.  She would go out and talk to it, naming it Beesly.  She never got stung or felt threatened.  Bumblebees can sting, repeatedly, but are known to ignore humans.

For more information on bees visit the Museum this Saturday for Family Fun Day and talk to the Bee Man, or check out @sonnybeez on Twitter.