Bücher von Soula Dempster

Melinda ensures that the new queen, Gael, departs on her quest to find a cure for the Varroa mite. She meets Anthony, the ant, who, along with the rest of his nest, help her to retake the hive and spray the bees with their good formic acid. The control by the Varroa mites has been broken and Gael has earned her place as their new queen. Melinda and the other foragers meet a hoverfly who is also a nectar drinker. At first they are suspicious but when Max, the hoverfly, explains why he may look like a wasp, they are much relieved. Wiley the wasp terrorizes the foragers but gets distracted by some jam tarts set out for a picnic. The foragers make it home safely. The final episode recounts the events during the year that characterise the lives of honey bees, their life cycle, and sets the tone for conservation requirements. It is in our interest to maintain healthy colonies of honey bees for our own existence which is dependent on their taking pollen from one flower to the next. This ensures that the plants will produce the fruit and vegetables that we eat.

From the outset, Melinda, a new-born female honey bee does everything she can to please her queen, Melissa. She has many jobs to do in the hive before she can learn to fly. In her first flying lesson, she finds taking off and landing are difficult and she practises hard. Soon she joins the ranks of the foragers. Daisy, the scout bee, returns early one morning and quickly dances her waggle dance to let the other foragers know where to go for more pollen and nectar. On her way home, Melinda is distracted by some pretty flowers in a window box and she enters through the open window. She is made a prisoner behind the glass of another closed window in the same building. She has a lucky escape! One morning soon after, Melinda, her sisters, their queen and some drones wake up near the coast.They are on holiday! They have a wonderful time, buzzing here and there, but returning home one evening, they are shocked to discover their own hive has disappeared. Melinda sees another hive and they join in there for protection. They give all their honey and nectar to their new friends.