Slurps Terps Apiary

Meet the queens and her workforce in the hive. View inside a hive upclose with a hive tour at Udderly Ridiculous Farm Life
Keep your eyes peeled for tour dates and more info or feel free to reach via dm or hit the site and send an email to inquire about group rates and dates. *Full Safety Equipment provided, children suits also available but as you can see, we raise very docile bees that are a joy to work with.

Big bottom queens make me swoon....big momma Queen Betty making her first appearance this year, she's fast and sneaky most days and usually very hard to locate during a hive inspection.

Nature is incredible, poor bee has been kept alive in this state for a couple weeks now by the hive

Happy World Bee Day!

There's something uniquely special about working with bees. The first couple times you crack a hive open the nerves are high and the adrenaline is pumping. As you begin to work with them, a peaceful calm comes over you. Fear is suddenly gone as wonder and amazement takes over, your nose filled with the scent of sweet nectar and beeswax and in the blink of an eye a group of tiny insects have captivated your heart and will slowly take up all of your free time going forward.
Truly blessed to work with such amazing creatures. A share in their bounty of honey is a gift from nature like nothing else

Today we’re celebrating the mothers, nurturers, caretakers, and strong women who hold their own hives together every day.
Happy Mother’s Day from the bees and our apiary. 💛🍯

Previous research has shown honey bees and bumble bees are intelligent and innovative creatures. They understand the concept of zero, can do simple math, and distinguish among human faces (and probably bee faces, too). They’re usually optimistic when successfully foraging but can become depressed if momentarily trapped by a predatory spider. Even when a bee escapes a spider, “her demeanor changes; for days after, she’s scared of every flower,” says Lars Chittka, a cognitive scientist at Queen Mary University of London whose lab carried out that study as well as the new research. “They were experiencing an emotional state.”

Bees use the sun as a reference point and adjust for its movement throughout the day using an internal “body clock.” Even when it’s cloudy, they can detect polarized light patterns in the sky to stay oriented

After a hive is moved, honey bees take to the air in slow, deliberate orientation flights—mapping light, landmarks, and position to anchor themselves to their new home.
It’s a quiet, essential step that ensures the hive can settle, stabilize, and return to its rhythm in the landscape.
For those who are part of the hive share, this is one of the many moments you’re connected to throughout the season—from first flights to finished honey.
A closer look at what it truly means to support the bees. 🐝

Male honey bees, known as drones, have one main purpose: to mate with a queen. They don’t forage, don’t make honey, and don’t even have stingers. But what they lack in versatility, they make up for in importance to the survival of the species.
You can spot drone brood by their larger, dome-shaped caps—almost like little bullets sticking out from the comb. That’s because drones are bigger bees, and they need more room to develop.
Worker bees, on the other hand, are the backbone of the hive. Their brood cells are smaller and flat-capped, packed tightly together in a neat, efficient pattern. These are the bees doing the foraging, nursing, building, and defending.
Same hive, two very different roles—each with its place in the bigger picture.

The sounds and vibrations produced by honey bees are increasingly being used in a therapeutic practice known as vibroacoustic apitherapy or bee sound therapy. This holistic approach suggests that the low-frequency hum of a hive—typically around 190–200 Hz—can promote both mental and physical well-being.