Beatrice’s Final Post

It is time now for me to write my final memoir and say goodbye. I have had a long and fulfilling life as a honey bee. I was hatched last fall and spent my first couple of weeks as a housekeeping bee, cleaning our honeycomb. I spent the winter clustering with my sisters, half-sisters and our mother the queen to stay warm. In the early spring, I worked as a nurse bee, tending to the eggs and larvae in our hive.

When the weather became nice and warm last spring, I was promoted to be a foraging worker bee. I truly enjoyed my job as a foraging bee; I love looking for flowers, and collecting pollen and nectar. In the past few weeks, I have not found many nectar or pollen sources, but I have been enjoying the last bits of Autumn Stonecrop, Russian Sage and Cat Mint. I appreciate the Mums decorating several patios in the area.

Of all my life-long accomplishments, I’m especially proud to say I helped increase Stephanie’s raspberry harvest by providing pollination services. I remember fondly the time I flew 3 miles to collect nectar from a particularly delicious honey locust tree. I’m pleased to say my hive produced over 20 pounds of honey. It was my honor to be the guest contributor for Sundrops & Starflowers!

Since I was hatched last autumn, my life has been exceptionally long. My sisters and half-sisters who emerged as bees this spring had very short lives; most of them lived only 6 weeks. In my family, I only had a small number of brothers, and they also had very short lives. Most of my brothers have perished already. My mother the queen is strong and healthy and I entrust my younger sisters and half-sisters to care for her.

The nights are getting much colder and I don’t expect to live much longer. I hope that my legacy continues and that you, my faithful readers, have enjoyed learning about my life as a honey bee. I hope that you are inspired to help honey bees, and all wildlife, with good stewardship of the earth. Farewell, and please think of me, Beatrice the Honey Bee, whenever you enjoy a spoonful of honey in your tea!

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