University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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Ll Z Z about Bees Qrle Buzz Ta lor gifves students a chance to experience biolog firsthand. Students from the class biology of honeybees leave for the field with a bee food mixture for their honeybee hives. The school apairy is in West Campus behind LiedCenter. photo by Stephen Pingry t was a hot day and a thick smoke of burning cow manure filled the air. We tied on our bulky veiled hats, Armed with hot smok- ers, we marched out, looking like stormtroopers form the movie Star Wars. In a moment the group was engulfed by thousands of furry, flying insects equipped with formi- dable stingers. For some, this may sound like a Student Life 12 scene from a bad dream, but for students enrolled in the course biology of honeybees, it was just another day ofclass. Bees, the subjects of the course, have also been the subject of about Z5 years of study by our fearless leader, Dr. Orley Buzz'l Taylor. Taylor teaches the course so students may experience the bees up close. This is a class in which students can

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il -ii-T, 1 ' ' 'H ' ' Yi' AQ those who had trouble getting the routine down, People who mastered the steps got a pat on the head. l l'his can be the best marching band we've ever had, Foster said. At 11:30 a.m., the first half of prac- tice ended. It was break time. Less than two hours later, the march- ing resumed-and so did the sweating. Studen 11

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experience biology firsthand, which is the way learning should be,'y he said. The course involved in-class lectures and fieldwork that enabled students to work directly with the bees. Students had their own hive boxes. They fed, assessed and maintained the colonies in their boxes. For some, working directly with bees was a little shocking. Rob Calley, Coquille, Ore. senior, holds a male drone honeybee. Male drone honeybees have no stingers, making it impossible for them to sting. There were a hundredfthousand bees everywheref' said Rob Calley, Coquille, Ore., senior. Normally I'd be running, but we were there having to get close to them while Taylor was standing there with a drone in his mouth. Taylor acquired a zany reputation with students and colleagues for stunts like eating bees and putting drones in his mouth to prove that drones do not sting. When dealing with bees, things didn't always go smoothly. LlWe were supposed to transfer bees from one bucket-shaped hive to a more man- ageable box hive, said Paul Bardunias, Stuart, Fla., graduate student. Unfortunately, the combs were all stuck in the bottom of the bucket and we couldn't get the bees out. When we pried out the comb and shook a little too hard, all of it fell out in the groundg wax, honey, and a few thousand bees. The poor little bees were all smeared with honey. Student Life 13 photo Stephen Pingry The ones that weren't stuck in a quivering wad furiously tried to get clean. It didn't help any that excited students kept walking through the grass and stepping on them. Eventually, we got most of them inside the box hive. Taylor said teachers had to let stu' dents make mistakes in order for them to learn. Although the particular type ofhon- eybees the class works with are not ferocious by nature, students do get stung occasionally. When you get stung, just think of the best sex you've ever had, Taylor said. 'Alf you haven't had sex, l can't help you. Taylor first became interested in bees when he was a boy spending summers at his grandmothers house. His grandmothers neighbor kept bees and sold honey that he said with nostalgia tasted just like heaven had descended. The neighbor had many hives but never allowed young Taylor near his bees.