My brave buddy G-man recently helped me out with a beehive inspection – his very first experience beekeeping!
He wasn’t worried one bit, and could already distinguish between the bees “happy buzzing” as opposed to the way an angry wasp sounds. Look how close he is to the bees!
I’m a big fan of teaching kids to appreciate honey bees and love getting to provide an opportunity for them to experience wonder & fascination at this amazing and beautiful species. There’s an innate sense of accomplishment and pride that develops in the child from knowing they can approach and handle bees, something they’ve seen grown adults run away from.
Many adults have strongly embedded fears of bees, often because they associate them with more aggressive insects and have only the vaguest notion that wasps are a different species entirely. Kids are totally capable of making the distinction between a docile honeybee worker busy gathering nectar, a harmless bumble bee browsing for pollen, and a buzzing angry yellow jacket that wants you out of its territory. Instilling this knowledge at an early age goes a long way towards reversing the social fears that surround buzzing insects.
I’m super proud of my cousin for his interest and willingness to learn. I’m glad to know he is already an advocate & ambassador for the exciting world of beekeeping!