Inside the Beehive

Up close at a neighbor's beehive: 45 minutes of buzzing, plus a few moments when the bees took a very personal interest in the mics. Did you know it takes about twelve bees their entire lives to make a spoonful of honey? Or that bees consume 6 to 8 pounds of honey to create just 1 to 2 pounds of wax? Bees are fascinating, vitally important to the ecosystem, and credited with all sorts of healing benefits. I’ve learned a ton about them over the years because my wife runs a candle company that uses only natural beeswax from local beekeepers. So when I found out our neighbor had started a beehive of their own, I knew I had to get a microphone on it. Today’s episode is a stereo recording of that hive. I set up my mics about 12 inches from the entrance and let them roll for around 45 minutes. What you'll hear is the steady, living hum of the colony: bees coming and going, working and hovering, all layered into one constant drone. Listen closely for the random moments when a few bees decided the mics were a threat and went on the attack. It makes for some surprisingly dramatic moments in an otherwise meditative listen. Recorded with a Zoom F3 and LOM BasicUchos. This is Outdoor Sounds.