My stepdaughter obviously thinks her father and I are somewhat crazy. I believe it is a trait she has inherited and not one to worry about. A dollop of insanity protects one from the real madmen!
I think she thought her views were confirmed a couple of evenings ago when she came home and finally spotted the stethoscope near my chair. She is involved in medicinal drug trials so I guess it seemed of interest.
Lesley: ‘Is that a stethoscope – what is it for?’
Me: ‘to listen to the bees’
I think her response can best be an expression on her face I interpreted as ‘well now I know they are crazy’.
I have used the stethoscope but I am still learning what to expect from it. You can certainly tell where the cluster of bees are because there is a definite change / increase in throbbing/hum but as to recognising any change in the pattern of noise – I am a long way from that stage yet. The stethoscope was from ebay and was such good value – only a few pounds – less than a fiver even with postage I think. I’ll get a white coat for when I extract my honey and then if ever I am invited to go to a fancy dress party I’ve got a ready made outfit.
The idea of teh stethoscope came from the friendly Beekeeper’s forum. I can also see that there seem to be groups in each BKA who get interested in the microscopy possibilities. I have certainly used my USB microscope at times to examine bits from the floor of the hive.
