Monkey bees

Just back from checking the Top Bar hive. The queen is out and accepted, pulled the empty cage out of the hive or they will seal it in permanently. Every bar with starter comb has bees on it, means I must ready more bars so expansion is happening fast. The coolest thing is seeing the bees hanging from each other, like a monkey. This is how they measure when making comb, their body serves as a yarstick. At first, you think a spider got in and built a web they are stuck on, it sways when you move the bars around.
The foragers (oldest bees) are making a beeline in and out gathering pollen and nectar. At the entrance are bees who meet them and take the bounty, taking it into the hive to give the nurse bees (youngest) to feed the eggs, each other (no bee feeds itself) or up for honey. The housemaid bees pulled the dead bees, debris out of the active hive and to the ends of the hive. I cleaned it out for them- if left, once the frantic work slowed down, it would be some bee's job to carry the dead bees out of the hive. If a bee can get outside to die, it will so no one has to clean up after them. There are bees who make the comb and others who are guard bees. Organization makes the world go round. All jobs switch and the average lifespan for a bee in the summer is 5 weeks.
No sign of propolis yet- a reddish resin that seals all the edges and it is anti- viral, -bacterial, - fungal. But, boy, does it ruin clothes, alcohol will remove the resin but the stain is impossible to remove. I think that is why beekeepers wear white.

Just a mention that all these bees are females. The boys are hanging around looking a queen to mate with- their entire job- "Hanging on the corner, watching all the girls go by" is the song in my head every time I see a drone.

So, give me "bee" songs. I'll start- "Honeycomb, won't your be my honey"