THIS wasn't what I had planned, I thought, as a yellow-striped bee settled on my arm. Moments before, I was just observing some of them leaving their hive. The sight strangely reminded me of aircraft leaving their carriers. But this very curious bee saw me and homed in on my arm.

"Nice little bee," I muttered, slowly standing up. I prepared to swat the bee when--aray! I ran to my father, shouting "Tatay!"

"Nakagat ka ba ng aso (Did a dog bite you)?" he asked, worried, as he saw my ashen face.

"Hindi po, kinagat ako ng laywan (No, a bee bit me)!" I said.

Tatay laughed, and that was how my bee-keeping lessons started. Lesson after lesson passed and, every now and then, I had bee stings and other minor scrapes. But I was learning, so I didn't mind. My Tatay is a bee-keeper (among other things) and I was continuing the family tradition.

To be a bee-keeper, you have to wear an astronaut-like outfit. Why? The bee veil, made of cloth and net, protects the bee-keepers from stings. The "smoker" is used to shoo furious bees away. Gloves are optional. And one always has to be calm and relaxed when prying open a hive.

The hive is contained in a large box with a cover on top and a horizontal passageway at the bottom. Inside the box are several frames which hold the beeswax. A hive consists of a large queen bee, several harmless drones, and thousands of worker bees. There are usually four frames in a hive.

The queen bee moves from time to time laying eggs, while the workers feed the baby bees. In case a queen dies or gets lost, the workers create another queen bee by secreting royal jelly into one of the eggs.

By pollinating flowers, bees are able to get nectar and pollen which--after a long process--is transformed into the sticky, sweet substance called honey. Once a bee discovers a nectar-rich place, he goes back to the hive and begins to dance! His fellow bees also dance after him. Talk about hive-disco!

Bees are surprisingly like humans. The worker bees teach the baby bees how to fly. They are also easily attracted to light and this sometimes causes their deaths. Once I saw a group of bees carrying an ill-fated worker out of the hive. Sometimes, when running low on food supplies, bees throw out the drones. The male bees don't collect honey, they just keep on eating.

The enemies of bees are birds, and mostly, mites. A mite can kill a young bee quickly, eating its insides. The bee can do nothing but writhe in agony!

It's very astounding to think as small as a bee can greatly help us. Imagine, what would the world be without bees and honey? Foodstuffs like juices, baby foods, medicines and countless other edibles would've tasted terrible if not because of honey. I'm just grateful to have some honey-sweetened food to eat!