Don't eat the Queen Bee, Levi!

Love this dopey dog of mine!  He is so much fun and full of energy.  Wish I had half his energy and nimbleness!  He leaps over the fence like a gazelle, as he runs through the different pastures.  Here he is in the apiary on one of our trips out to check the beehives last January.  We usually get an escort to the bee yard, then it's off to frolic through the prairie grass and trees.  Levi's a good dog in the apiary, but in the yard.....

He's always trying to eat the bees!!  Yes, he succeeds at catching and eating them.  It's amazing to watch his head move around as his eyes focus on, and follow, the bee just before he leaps in the air to catch it with his mouth!  I know what you're thinking, and no, most of the time he doesn't get stung.  Only on one occasion did it appear he was stung.  Not sure what it is, but those little buzzing ladies really irritate him.  For the most part, it's not a big deal.  That is, unless he eats the queen!  Queen bees can get pretty pricey if you need to buy one.  It is also possible to lose the entire hive without the queen.  The chances of this actually happening as pretty rare.  You see, the queen bee only leaves the hive once or twice for her mating flight, at which time she is matted for life.  After just a few weeks of emerging from her honeycomb cell as an adult, she leaves the hive to take flight to a drone congregating area where she will mate with up to 15 or 20 drones (male bees).  The mating takes place in mid-air.  Hope you enjoyed this tidbit of bee information.  Have a wonderful day and God Bless!