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Just like humans, bees need to drink water.

Just like humans, bees need to drink water.
© University of Manitoba

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Just like humans, bees need to drink water. These trees provide a wind-break that protects rows of hives. One skunk can eat thousands of bees in a single visit to a hive. A beekeeper's smoker is always close at hand in the bee yard. Tar-paper wrapping and snow provide insulation for hives during Canada's cold winters. Though not out foraging, bees remain active inside the hive. Come spring, beekeepers check on their hives and provide medication where necessary. A load of supers on their way from the bee yard to the honey house for extraction. Dried wood shavings provide the fuel for this beekeeper's smoker. A sight to delight both beekeepers and blueberry farmers. Knocking a swarm of bees from a branch into their new home in a hive. The largest bee in the world, in downtown Falher, Alberta. It looks like time to find a new home. Bees have collected this dandelion pollen to feed their young. This tall stack of supers in Alberta is a sure sign of great honey production. More bees pollinating lead to more blueberries for eating. The hairs on this bee are coated in dandelion pollen. This queen bee (centre) is tasked with laying eggs for her entire life. With a dot of red paint, this queen bee should be easy to find amongst her thousands of fellow hive mates. A worker bee collecting pollen. A display of Saskatchewan comb honey, ca 1950. A winning display of Saskatchewan honey, ca 1950. Saskatchewan Honey Co-op's "warm room", full of drums of honey, ca 1950. An automated honey tin filling line, Tisdale, Saskatchewan, ca 1950. Because full honey supers can weigh more than 27 kg, beekeepers invented devices to help lift them, Saskatchewan, ca 1960. Saskatchewan Beekeepers' Co-op directors pose for a picture, ca 1930. A Saskatchewan Honey Co-op display at the Regina Fair, ca 1950. The Ontario Agricultural College offered a Practical Beekeeping Course, ca 1920. Ontario Agricultural College beekeeping students in a bee yard, ca 1920. In many cases, beekeeping was—and is—a family business. As early as the 1700s, books were being written on how to care for bees. Cooperation between bees has long fascinated us. Bee society has been the topic of many books. These blocks of beeswax will be shipped to a beekeepers' supply house, and then melted down and made into foundation for hive frames. Skeps and beehives were a common sight in urban Canadian gardens of the 19th century. This short course on beekeeping, dating back to 1915, covered all the bases. A Lambton County Beekeepers' Association display at the Royal Winter Fair, Toronto, ca 1910. Uncapping combs prior to extraction, Clarksburg, Ontario, ca 1920. The Dyment family's honey house, Smithville, Ontario, ca 1920. This warming tank increases the flow of honey, to ease bottling. Never sneeze or laugh when wearing a bee beard! A queen bee will soon be born in this little cage. A worker bee with fully loaded pollen baskets. Like honey, pollen varies in colour, according to its flower source. Bears knock hives apart to get at the bees. A season's work can be destroyed by a single bear in one night. A beekeeper's worst nightmare. A bear-claw calling card. Bee beards aren't just for guys. A promise of apples to come. One way to measure daily honey production was to place hives on a farm scale. By the 1890s, the manufacture of beekeeping equipment was a well established Canadian industry. Scientists at the Central Experimental Farm conducted research to prove how important bees are to pollination, ca 1929. An urban apiary near Toronto, ca 1900. A humorous depiction of bee swarms and bee beards, ca 1900. The research headquarters of the federal government's apiary program, Central Experimental Farm, ca 1920. The successful overwintering of bees was a focus of research at the Central Experimental Farm, ca 1920. Packing Ontario honey for the export market, ca 1930. Bees at work: keep away! Ontario Agricultural College, ca 1920. Using a honey classifier, Ontario Agricultural College, ca 1937. Using an electric uncapping plane, ca 1930. A beekeeper's field day, rural southeastern Ontario, ca 1900. Dials keep track of inspection dates on this research hive at the Ontario Agricultural College, ca 1930. An observation hive outside the Apiary Building, Ontario Agricultural College, ca 1920. Honey storage tanks in an Ontario bee house, ca 1920. Filling Brown Bear honey tins, Jarvis, Ontario, ca 1920. An early 20th century central Ontario bee yard with a honey house in the background. A happy consumer, ca 1920. Overwintering bees outdoors in hives near Georgetown, Ontario, ca 1920. The frontispiece to Lorenzo Langstroth's ground-breaking research work on bees and bee space. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth. An Alberta beekeeper had this picture taken, ca 1930, to brag about how hard his bees worked. Dried leaves were used as insulation in this overwintering experiment at the Brandon Research Station, ca 1940. Like many of her Victorian sisters, this woman took up the genteel hobby of beekeeping. Despite the exaggerated size of the factory, the manufacture of beekeeping equipment was big business in 1920s Ontario. Guard bees at the entrance to a hive present a daunting presence.

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