The Bees Take Off/Las abejas se toman un descanso is one of my favorite stories. Don’t ask me where I got the idea. I do love drawing attention to animals natural characteristics in a humorous way. If you have ever watched bees, and most of us have, they are always busy. I had the great pleasure of spending an afternoon with Dr. Laura Decanini, a bee expert at the Bee Research Laboratory at theUSDA Agricultural facility in Beltsville, MD. (Unfortunately Dr. Decanini is no longer there.) http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-75-05-00 She smoked some of the hives and showed me the frantic activity of the bees inside the hives. I was amazed to learn that every bee routinely touches the queen to get her scent. That is how they are able to regain access to the hive. Any bee attempting to enter without the scent of the queen is considered an intruder. Bees are getting a lot of press these days because of their dwindling numbers. Take your kids outside today and spend a few minutes looking at some flowers or clover in the yard or at the park and watch these amazing little creatures. A good time to also reinforce the idea of look but don’t touch.

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