The honey bee is a marvel. A worker bee (always a female) can in its short lifetime be a nurse to newborn bees, a feeder for the queen, a builder of beeswax honeycomb, a forager for nectar or for pollen, a producer of honey, a defender of the hive and a heroic pollinator of humans’ crops.
Bee colonies are easily destroyed by pesticides. In some states like Maryland, almost all feral bee colonies are gone and bees survive only where beekeepers shelter them from chemicals and parasites.
When you see a bee, or a beekeeper, thank them for their service.
