Honeybee Mystery Read Free Page A

the lid against the side of the hive, hundreds of bees turned their attention to him. They crawled on his arms and legs and around the netting on his hat.
    â€œThe first time I did this, I was so scared I was shaking.”
    Jessie brushed some imaginary bees off her body. “Ooo, I don’t think I’d like that feeling at all!”
    â€œOh, I don’t know,” Violet said. “There’s something special about it, being so close to animals like that.”
    â€œI have to admit,” Dottie said, particularly to Jessie, “I didn’t like the idea at first, either. But I got used to it. As long as the bees aren’t mad at you, you get the feeling they’re kind of … well, affectionate.”
    â€œI wonder if they know who you are,” Henry said.
    Clay said, “I sometimes wonder that, too. If so, I’m sure they’re plenty used to Dottie and me by now.”
    He reached into the hive box, even more slowly this time, and took out what looked like a picture frame. But instead of a picture, it held a honeycomb that was alive with hundreds of bees.
    â€œThis is called a comb,” he said. “I keep ten of these in each hive, and each one contains about six thousand cells. Each cell has six sides.”
    â€œDo the bees live in those cells?” Benny asked.
    â€œYes and no,” Dottie replied. “They live in the hive, and they certainly go into the cells a lot. But mostly they use the cells to store honey and wax, and the queen lays eggs that hatch into more worker bees.”
    â€œWorker bees?” Jessie said. “What are they?”
    â€œEvery hive has the queen, the drones, and the workers,” Clay told her. “The queen lays the eggs and is the leader of the group. The drones do their part, too, but it’s the workers that do most of the actual work, as you can guess by their name.”
    â€œWhat kind of work?” Violet asked.
    â€œThey fly out and collect nectar,” Dottie told her. “They build the combs, make the honey and wax, feed the queen, and care for her eggs.”
    â€œSounds like a lot,” Benny said.
    Dottie nodded. “It sure is.”
    Henry, who was thinking about the mystery at hand, asked, “So how exactly does the honey-making process work?”
    Clay looked up and smiled. “See that other hat?” he asked, pointing toward the tree stump where it lay.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œPut it on and I’ll show you.”
    Henry’s eyes widened. “Really?”
    â€œSure. You’re the oldest. Think you can do it?”
    â€œI guess so.”
    Clay added, “A real detective would want to know everything he could firsthand.”
    Henry nodded. “That’s true. Okay.” He walked over and carefully put on the net hat. His brother and sisters giggled at him.
    â€œYou look like a spaceman!” Benny teased.
    â€œVery funny. What do I do now?”
    â€œCome on over here,” Clay said, “and I’ll show you what happens.”
    Henry was a little nervous, but he trusted Clay and moved slowly. Still, as that buzzing sound grew louder and louder, and the bees started landing on his bare arms …

    â€œThe first thing a bee does to make honey is fly out into that field of wildflowers. It lands on a flower and collects the flower’s nectar. Then the worker bee flies back here. Now hold this comb up so everyone can see it.”
    Clay carefully handed the comb to Henry, who made a point of moving very slowly. He took care to make sure there were no bees under his fingers when he took the frame. The bees seemed less interested in Clay now and more interested in Henry. It wasn’t long before they were crawling all over him.
    â€œYou doing okay?” Clay asked.
    Henry smiled, but was careful not to move his body. “Yeah, sure. Doing great.”
    â€œGood, good.”
    Jessie shivered. “I don’t know if I could keep so