Bee-liefs & Facts
You be the judge
Belief: Erice - in Sicily - is the site of one of
the oldest shrines in the world, going back to the Mother
Goddess herself. Her symbol was the Queen Bee.
Astarte, Aphrodite & Venus were all worshipped there,
and
Daedalus was a pilgrim to the shrine.
Daedalus made a golden honeycomb.
The cult of Aphrodite is thought to be a
BEE Cult.
The Ancients believed that a swarm of bees heralds the
arrival of a stranger.
Roman soldiers took honey with them for healing purposes.
King Henry the eighth believed honey was miraculous.
What famous fictional character kept bees in
his retirement ??
Answer
Fact: Honey is immortal if kept correctly, is 80% sugar
and has high acidity
Has great healing properties and will heal open
wounds and burn.
N.B. A burn must be cooled down before honey is placed
on it otherwise the honey will sizzle.
Although smoke quietens bees nobody knows why exactly.
Always be calm and methodical in your movements
near bees, they don't like surprises.
Never raid a hive to the extent of wrecking it, use the
principle of - the top for us and the bottom for the bees.
Honey will take on some of the qualities of the plant,
from the pollen from that plant.
ie. from the Lavender plant - antiseptic qualities.
Use honey in place of sugar when making ice-cream,
better for you and tastes out of this world.
Bees do not create the honey, they are improving upon
the nectar of the plant.
The honey we eat is nectar that the bees
regurgitate repeatedly.
Honey Bees do a dance
to show other bees where
pollen can be found, the dance also shows directions
and distance.
Bees visit up to 20 flowers per trip collecting pollen.
A Joke:
If you always take time to stop and smell the roses ...
sooner or later, you'll inhale a bee.
A Swarm of Bees in May 
A swarm of bees in May, is worth a load of hay.
A swarm of bees in June, is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm of bees in July, is not worth a fly
~~~~~~~~
In the "Dictionary of Superstitions"
(pages 27-28) David Pickering lists superstitions
surrounding bees.
They can be the bearers of good sent by the Gods.
Some think that they are souls of the departed sent
for good will.
Bees in your garden show that great prosperity is
on its way.
If they are seen on your roof it is time to pack up and
move because this means your house will burn down.
If they are seen flying around a dead tree or hedge it
means death is near.
In this case, the rhyme is talking about the production of
honey.
Depending on the month they produce honey depends
on how much it is worth.
The honey is sweet but the bee has a sting.
Bee's "Whacks" 
A bee's front end is sweet and kind but never trust
a bee's behind,
A bee can sting if he can sit, so always stay in
front of it.
Leo Aikman
your eye??
Beauty ~ Is in the eye of the ....
Bee-Holder
Bee-liefs & Facts
Created by L Seymour in February 2001