1. A honey bee is any member of the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax. Wikipedia

Lifespan: Western honey bee: 122 – 152 days

Did you know: Honey bees secrete wax from their abdominal glands. bayer.us

UPDATE: 1//13/19

To respondent Sandy, who asked, “ how did you get so close to the bee?” (Who was actually on my knee- yes in my terrier pajama bottoms!)

In reply to Sandy.

Hi Sandy. Thanx for tuning into my blog. Soon will be the ability to subscribe. Are you a Sandy that I already know/ or have we never met?

Regarding the bee and me, the bee approached me. I have a vast and long-standing relationship with all insects. I’m always AMAZED, that they have all of these tiny organs in their bodies, and awed by their external anatomy. I’ve been getting close to insects my entire life. But since I grew up looking to spend time with any and all I see, thete really seems to be a mutual affinity. I once had a tiny spring-green flying insect land on my knee, and I swear, that we literally “danced,” by his prompting of it. We took turns. I’m not quite sure what’ our “conversation” was about, but I could tell only that it was friendly! Lol!

Since I was a little girl, with a bedroom window on the sunny side of our home, bees and wasps used to “hang-out” in my bedroom. I had lily-pattern wall paper, lots of yellows and oranges. I never knew how they got in, but once there was 1 or more inside, I’d open the screen, so that they could then come and go throughout the day.
Being young and naive, I didn’t know that bees were something that could hurt me. I was born an animal lover, and bees & wasps were nothing different for me to love.

I had received a wonderful gift from my parents, of a model doll house, to build, and decorate. Once it was finished, I invited my bee friends, to live in it. They almost did! I would gently scoop the bees and wasps from fluttering about my flowered wallpaper, with no place for them to “land.” I never closed one in my hand.… Always a non-threatening open hand. Id then deliver them to the doll-house. They seemed to truly like the space! Likely they were thankful for a break, and me finding them a landing spot! But I just thought then, “cool, they like their new house!”

After we moved to our new house, I had a shady location outside of my bedroom, with large trees. So, for those years, moths, inchworms and lastly caterpillars were the next tenants! What I thought was FABULOUS, was when the caterpillars built cocoons! I took that to mean, I built quite a nice home for them.… truly exciting for me, that these guys were that comfortable there.

However, mom and dad, were NOT happy, seeing cocoons all over my elegant little dollhouse. The cocoons were web-styled, vs chrysalis style, and I believe my folks first thought I’d invited spiders in the home. I knew mom to be afraid of spiders by that age, and so inviting spiders into my home, didn’t occur until I was an adult! Lol!

I had 1 particular small female spider, quite adorable she was, that lived for two years in my shower. She had 400 or so baby spiders, in her 2nd year living with me! I announced that momma could stay, but her 400 children had to make other accommodations! The window in my shower stayed slightly cracked open, for momma to come and go as she pleased. And to my relief, the day after birth, my shower wall was no longer crawling with tiny offspring … they’d all made it out the window. Whew!

Anyway, the web-style cocoon-filled dollhouse, was generously placed out in the yard,until all of the moths emerged, after much crying and pleading, to not let it hit the trash pick-up at the curb. You see, my folks were not made privileged, the knowledge that I was “renting it ou” to the local insect population! This was their unfortunate “rude-awakening!”

Well, that was only the beginning, of my amazing life, in complete relationship to all animals. It was a “no-brainer” by the time I got to college, to become a Wolflife Biologist, at the University of Maryland’s fabulous science school! The 25+ years I’ve now been out of college, has just gotten better with time and life-experience.

I feel truly honored, when wildlife chooses to spend time with me, or take up permanent residence, in one of my many OUTDOOR critter houses!  There will always be “free-lodging”, at my home!!