Let's bee friends

I think I probably admire bees more than like them. They way they operate is frankly amazing but unlike dogs or cats you can't have any relationship with them and the best you get is that they ignore you.
However yesterday I met a bee that made me wonder.

For a little while now we have been taking an observation hive to the Forest Centre and some of the bigger events we go to.

Its a brood frame in a glass case and on the morning of the event I take a frame from one of the hives to put in the case. I have put a temperature sensor in it and have a water spray and small fan to keep them cool. There are ventilation holes on each side of the case and the lid is locked.

The first time I used it at the Forest Centre John, who has the stall next to me, pointed out a couple of bees were escaping so a second lock was added to make it absolutely bee tight.

As usual yesterday it proved irresistible to people passing by and all day I could hear people saying 'Ooooh look at the bees!. Parents then usher their kids towards the hive and their reactions range from trying to get into the hive to a 'You are joking aren't you?' stand off.
Yesterday, as an added bonus when I put the hive on display, a bee was attracted to it and spent all day flying around the stall and trying to get into the hive.

At one point I thought it had gone and sprayed some water into the hive only to find the bee was just by the ventilation hole and got soaked. It still didn't leave.
She acted as a perfect ambassador for bees  by allowing me to coax her onto a finger and then be shown to the audience. 'See, bees don't sting' I announced through gritted teeth but was thinking 'Please, please, please don't.....'

Mid afternoon a young boy and his sister were  looking at the hive and the boy was very keen and inquistive but his sister kept her distance and glowered at the bees from underneath lowered eyebrows. However, with the help of my new assistant she gradually thawed and became very interested in the bees.

At the end of the afternoon I decided to put my new friend in a lavender bush near the market and as I walked towards it I heard a young voice squeak ' Its the Honey Man and the bees!'
It was the young girl from earlier in the afternoon with her brother and they galloped over to have another look. The bee was still on the hive and again she agreed to perch on my finger. The young girl looked me straight in the eye and said with all the conviction a five year old can muster 'I think the bee loves you'.

We said our final goodbyes [to the bee] and walked away only for the kids to errupt into a giggling fit when the bee landed on my arm. The young girl announced at the top of her voice to her watching parents 'Mummy, the bee loves him!!'

In reality I don't think the relationship has a long term future but she knows when the next market is and she'se more than welcome although she's been told not to bring her sisters.