Blue Bees!

People are always asking if the bees they see belong to the Lab apiary. Now we have a chance to answer that question because this week a group of students took on the task of labeling some of our bees.

Approximately 2,500 bees were removed from one of the hives and chilled in the freezer until they became immobile. The students then quickly gave each bee a small dot of blue paint on the thorax. The bees slowly warmed up and were returned to the apiary.

The paint should last for about two weeks - so keep an eye out for our bees as you pass gardens and flowers in Hyde Park. In order to gather some data on how far from the hive the bees forage it would be great to hear about locations where people see them - we'll take the exactness of GPS or just what building or address the bees are near.

Don't forget to say hello to the blue bees!!!

Thanks to the bee labelers - Francine, Clay, Jason, Whitney, Daniel, Justin, Tom, Cat, Mr. Jones, Alex and Chevonne.