We plant flowers to attract bees, have naturally growing things that attract bees, and in return the honey bees pollinate our flowering plants. Without pollinated plants, we’d have no wheat, no corn, and generally no food. That’s a problem.

We’ve all read about the various theories on hives collapsing, and the concomitant lose of a huge portion of our bee population. Fortunately, certainly in Boulder, we are paying attention, finally. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go.

As an aside, while wasps can sting repeatedly, and are quite aggressive and have PAINFUL stings, honey bees basically leave their insides attached to their stinger to be left behind, to the dismay of the bee, when used to sting. One sting per bee life. They are not aggressive. If they fly into you, step aside. They like to stay on their path. We call that “making a bee line.” If you don’t move aside, it is common to have the honey bee bounce off you repeatedly trying to go about its appointed rounds.

The honey bee, a social insect within the Apis genus, is a notable presence in the ecosystems of mainland Afro-Eurasia. Facilitating the cosmopolitan distribution, humans played a pivotal role in introducing various honey bee subspecies to South America (early 16th century), North America (early 17th century), and Australia (early 19th century).

Renowned for their perennial colonial nests crafted from wax, honey bees exhibit expansive colonies with a significant surplus of honey. This abundance makes their hives coveted targets for various creatures, including honey badgers, bears, and human hunter-gatherers. While there are 43 recognized subspecies, only 8 surviving species of honey bees exist, constituting a fraction of the approximately 20,000 known bee species.

Among honey bees, the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) holds prominence, having been domesticated for both honey production and crop pollination. The eastern honey bee (Apis cerana), found in South, Southeast, and East Asia, stands as the only other domesticated bee within the Apis genus. Notably, honey production extends beyond the Apis genus, with stingless bees like those in the Melipona genus, and the Indian stingless bee Tetragonula iridipennis also contributing to this role.

Beyond honey, modern humans leverage beeswax derived from honey bees for various purposes, such as crafting candles, soap, lip balms, and cosmetics. Beeswax further finds utility as a lubricant and in mold-making through the lost wax process, showcasing the intricate interplay between humans and these industrious insects.

Macro Lenses

I shot these pics with a 100 mm Sony macro lens on a Sony Alpha DSLR body. While this setup is heavy, and not for hiking for me, it is amazing for super-closeups. I have not been able to do anything like this using the “macro setting” on various cameras. While I can focus quite close and take reasonable closeups with cameras and even with my phone, nothing so far has looked like these macro shots. I did minimal editing in Photoshop, since the “negatives” were so good to starts. Over-working a picture can make it get worse by degrees instead of edited and improved.

Love

Lenny

Leonard Frieling
  • Senior Counsel Emeritus to the Boulder Law firm Dolan + Zimmerman LLP : (720)-610-0951
  • Former Judge
  • Photographer of the Year, AboutBoulder 2023
  • First Chair and Originator of the Colorado Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Committee, a National first.
  • Previous Chair, Boulder Criminal Defense Bar (8 years)
  • Twice chair Executive Counsel, Colorado Bar Association Criminal Law Section
  • NORML Distinguished Counsel Circle
  • Life Member, NORML Legal Committee
  • Life Member, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar
  • Board Member Emeritus, Colorado NORML
  • Chair, Colorado NORML, 7 years including during the successful effort to legalize recreational pot in Colorado
  • Media work, including episodes of Fox’s Power of Attorney, well in excess of many hundreds media interviews, appearances, articles, and podcasts, including co-hosting Time For Hemp for two years.
  • Board member, Author, and Editor for Criminal Law Articles for the Colorado Lawyer, primary publication of the Colorado Bar Assoc. 7 Years, in addition to having 2 Colorado Lawyer cover photos, and numerous articles for the Colorado Lawyer monthly publication.
  • LEAP Speaker, multi-published author, University lectures Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Denver University Law School, Univ. of New Mexico, Las Vegas NM, and many other schools at all levels.
  • http://www.Lfrieling.com
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