Watercolour design for garden stationery apple and blossom

Izzie Lizzie

Apis mellifera

Also known as: 'Western Honey Bee'

Address: Izzie's Hive, Apple Blossom Apiary, South of England.

Air miles: official 'super flyer'

email: n/a - shares news via the traditional 'waggle dance' method

Experience & Skills::

working as a team, maintaining a successful hive
'pollen studies' on-the-job learning
dodging birds and hornets, fast flying

Education: passed 'flight school' with flying colours

Good at:

dancing,
communicating
navigating
multi-tasking

teamwork
pollen storing,
comb=cleaning,
nest-building.

Achievements:

regularly gathers pollen from over 10,000 flowers a day
defended the hive from the local robber bees
produced enough honey with the hive for someone to have a little on their toast every day for a fortnight

Work Status: known as 'the bees knees'' - ready and willing.

References: comes highly recommended by Her Royal Majesty.

A lovely nature book for children about this beautiful honey bee and her foraging adventures.

Meet Izzie Lizzie Busy Bee

Book for Children: Izzie Lizzie Busy Bee

Honey Bee Year

Find out more about honey bees and discover some challenges experienced by Izzie Lizzie and other bees over the year.

1.1

The Incredible Foraging Map

When Izzie Lizzie is flying around the countryside, she knows precisely where she is going...

1.2

Snowed Under

It seems like the honey bees are hibernating for winter, but they are vibrating their wings and huddling together to keep warm ...

2.1

Protecting the Hive

It isn't only the weather that threatens Izzie's hive over winter. Hungry birds, such as the green woodpecker, will attack her hive to get to the food inside...

Painting of honey bees on their cleansing flight

2.2

First Flight Cleansing Relief

The honey bees don’t go out one-by-one but they do go out in a somewhat orderly race!

Delicate daffodils painted in watercolour

3.1

Daffodils, the First Signs of Spring

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet
She wore her greenest gown;
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbour:
"Winter is dead." – A A Milne

Watercolour painting of an apiary which has been flooded

4.1

Water Damage from Spring Rain

April rain from a storm have left the apiary at risk of water damage...

A Bit About Izzie Lizzie - The Busiest Bee Around

'As do many, many honey bees across the country and the world, Izzie flies over a three or four mile radius from her hive in search of nectar, pollen and water.

Her continual, tireless foraging not only builds up a healthy hive with stores of honey to share with you, as she dusts the plants she visits with pollen, she increases crops of flowers, fruit and vegetables worldwide.

This book is dedicated to all the honey bees, the miles travelled and plants pollinated in bringing you the teaspoonful of honey for your breakfast toast.' (Valerie Rhenius.)

Izzie Lizzie Busy Bee published by CMI Publishing Ltd in the South East of England.