Over the past week, Ricki and I have been noticing the bees that have been coming to the pond to drink. They carefully land on the rock or moss where they can safely get to the water without falling in, their feet cannot hold on to vertical slippery surfaces. We didn’t think much of it and just watched as they do their dance! Yesterday morning, however, I went outside to toss old bread out to critters and walked by the pond, when I noticed a steady and low hum. Not the sound you hear from one bee, but a huge hum that came from A LOT of bees! As I turned my head to the pond, I saw bees swarming about and a small bee carpet along the moss! The photo shows only a fraction, hard to capture it all without getting right in it! This rapid growth in population had me a bit concerned, although the bees were definitely not aggressive.

I turned to my friend, experienced bee keeper Debra Roberts, who gave me excellent advice about these bees. She writes "For me, this is an utterly delightful photo! And there is nothing to worry about. These are honeybees and on these days that are over 50 and especially 60 degrees, the honeybees are emerging from their winter hives and starting to forage for pollen, nectar and water. These bees are drinking, for themselves and to take back to the hive to water down the stored honey to then feed the babies (babies in brood form, babies in newly emerged form). As the weather gets warmer, this is a population explosion time. These bees won’t bother you unless you sit on them or put your face close to them and breathe on them. Honeybees can fly over 2 miles to get water but probably live closer to you in a local bee keeper’s hive somewhere in your area. It is less likely they will live in a local tree because feral bees hardly exist anymore. This is not a swarm (which is also a very benign thing). If you are a gardener, this is a happy sight because your fruits and veggies, esp, may get a visit from these girls later (but not in these numbers at once). These bees do not live by water, they just visit."

Great advice! We will continue watching the bees with fascination (and respect…)!