Page 61 of Honey Be Mine
“Yeah, that didn’t clear anything up for me, Rosebud.”
She laughed. “Right, sorry. Queen-rearing is all about breeding the best bees for the strongest colonies. The short version is you’re getting your best bees to create strong, hardy queens so those queens can go on to create strong, hardy hives. Or whatever traits you’re looking for in your bees.”
“I think I get it.” He was pretty sure he didn’t, but she was on a roll, and he didn’t want to interrupt her.
“The life cycle of any living creature fascinates me. But bees? They just have it down. There’s no messing around—no time wasted. They get in, get it done, and keep after it. Queen-rearing is the perfect example of that. Every step of a bee’s life is purposeful and important. I got pretty good at it in California.” She broke off, everything about her tensing.
California. The guy.Now wasn’t the time to ask questions. “And you’re wanting to do queen-rearing here? With the Junior Beekeepers?”
She nodded, looking up at him.
“Sounds like a pretty ambitious undertaking.” He waited, knowing she loved a good challenge.
“No.” She frowned, shaking her head. “Not at all. From what I’ve seen, these kids are eager and determined. It’s my job to find ways to keep them that way.”
“Something tells me you will.” He nudged her.
She nudged him back. “And as far as queen-rearing goes, I tend to lean toward the Doolittle method. Why reinvent the wheel, you know?”
No, he had no idea. But he nodded and said, “I was going to say the same thing.”
Rosebud laughed, long and loud.
By the time they reached the ballroom, she’d told him more than he ever wanted to know about queen-rearing. Apparently, larvae were only suitable for grafting the first few days after hatching. After that, it was too late. It was also important to separate the sealed queen cells before the first queen hatched or the new queen would kill the rest. Only one queen was needed for a whole hive—she wasn’t going to tolerate any threat to her rule.
“Sounds kinda cutthroat.” Everett followed her down the aisle to the row of seats they were holding for the group.
“What does?” Nicole asked, her hat blinking.
“Queen bees.” Everett sat and eyed Nicole’s head. “Where did you get that hat?” It was an eyesore. The blinking only made it worse.
“I made it.” And she was obviously proud of it. “I even put a queen on it.” She pointed at one of the felt bees wired to the blinking hive. Sure enough, it was wearing a tiny tiara. “Queen bees are the ultimate girl boss. They get sh—” She paused, smiling at Nova and Astrid. “They get stuff done.”
Astrid mouthedthank you.
“But they don’t wear crowns, Everett.” Nova sighed, crestfallen. “And bees dance, too. But they don’t wear dance shoes or tutus.”
Everett managed not to laugh. “That is a shame.”
Astrid and Rosemary kept up a steady back-and-forth of bee facts, with Nicole and Nova jumping in every so often. Everett had nothing, but he was content to sit back, listen, and enjoy the fun.
In time, people started trickling in. Every time one of the large doors opened, a nail-grating screech echoed throughout the room. He made a face—so did Nova. From then on, every time the door opened, they made a silly face at each other. The more people that came in, the more squeaking—until it was impossible to keep up. Nova wound up dissolving into a fit of giggles.
The hall was almost full when Tansy, Dane, Charlie, and the teens showed up.
“We’re a chair short.” Tansy counted off.
“Nope.” Rosemary stood. “I’m going to go check the booth.”
“I’ll go.” Everett stood, grabbing her hand. “This is your thing, Rosebud.”
She seemed to be considering his offer. “I’m okay missing this part.” She squeezed his hand. “But you can keep me company, if you want?”
Getting out of the room was easier said than done. The aisles were crowded with backpacks and oversize purses or groups of people standing, talking, or blocking the path. By the time they reached the back of the room, the lights dimmed and there was a tapping on the microphone. The room went silent.
“Good morning! I’m so excited to see so many friendly faces—and so many new ones. I’m the president of the Travis County Beekeepers Chapter, Sherry Vasquez, and I want to officially welcome you to this year’s Annual Texas Beekeeper’s Convention.” She paused for the smattering of applause to die down. “Now, we’re already running behind, and as we have exams lined up and a lunch, I’m going to cut my speech short and hand it off to our renowned speaker, Dr. James Voigt.”
The applause was thunderous, but Rosemary kept edging toward the doors.
