Bee hives and Greek honey
If you have ever wondered where the honey comes from for your yogurt with nuts and honey, then you might be interested to learn it comes from these bee hives:
A close up shot (mind you – the windows were closed) showed an even more striking color display.
Driving down that hill, the arrangement of these colorful bee hives looked very much like a toy train at first glance.
In Germany, the bee hives are usually just a drabby brown and meant to blend into the environment. Here in Greece, they are meant to stick out. Of what colors are bee hives in your country?
Tags: bee hives in Greece, Greek honey
July 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hi, Maria,
I enjoyed your picture of the beehives and have read up on bee hive painting. American bee hives are usually painted to extend the life of the wood (which is white pine or cypress) The standard American bee hive color is white, which is thought to keep the hive cooler, (maybe Greek bees are better adapted to the heat) but some people paint them green or brown or other colors that blend in with the landscape to make them less noticeble to passersby. The two university sources I checked suggest painting at least the hive entrances different colors because bees can get confused and wander into the wrong hive if they all look alike. (sort of like trying to find your way home in a Maryland suburb after too much beer). Perhaps this is the explanation for the colorful hives on Crete . (sources: http://www.buckeyebee.com and http://maarec.cas.psu.edu )
July 8th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Susan,
I appreciated your last sentence about bees navigating their way home to the hive which could be like in a Maryland suburb after too much beer…
I had once trouble finding the right exit on the Maryland beltway and I was sober!!
Going back to the bees though – I checked out both websites and found them rather interesting to read how people can just buy their own colony and set up hives.
I’d rather only go hunting for interesting shots of bee hives.