# New Forum member seeking advice



## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Hello, everyone!

I'm an artist, working from Norway. I'm looking for a rather large amount of dead bees for a project.
Is this possible to procure? Are there any biohazard risks? 
You are the experts, so why not ask


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## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

In a market-based economy, many things are available for purchase if the right price can be negotiated. 

Most beekeepers are relatively emotionally attached to their workers and would prefer not to have them die, particularly not in the large quantities you hope to be able to source. 

Several conceivable scenarios: You purchased bees from a beekeeper and killed them, perhaps with CO2 gas. Cold bees look dead. There is undoubtedly a point after which they have been chilled that they won't recover (and will be dead), but this miay be an approach that would fit well with the purpose for which you want these bees. The biohazard you would face would be beestings from inadequately chilled bees. If you are able to find a beekeeper who had bees who were inadvertently killed by pesticides they encountered while gathering nectar and pollen, and were able to collect them before they decay from in front of their hives (perhaps with a vacuum cleaner). This latter approach would expose you to small amounts of whatever toxin killed the bees. 

Good luck! I hope there is a creative approach I could not think of that will provide you with the resource you desire that will not require incidental killing of bees.


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm not looking to commit mass murder! I was hoping to collect bees that are already dead, for whatever reason
I completely understand any emotional attachment a beekeeper has to his or her bees. Personally, I know I couldn't bring myself to kill a bee that isn't threatening me.
This makes me want to examine any particular emotional bond between a beekeeper and his/hers relationship with the relevant bees- or, rather, workers, as you say.

My purpose for gathering the tiny corpses is a bit odd. In reality, I only want their knees.


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

in the spring bees from a dead hive are not too hard to find. not much of a bio-hazard. dead bees with any amount of moisture rot, they soon smell real dead.


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Interesting. I will, of course, have to arrest the decomposition.

Are any of you willing to answer some basic questions about your dealings with bees?


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

Wait...bees have knees? I thought that was just some silly phrase


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Yeah, they have knees.

Bees do have segmented legs, consisting of parts called a coax, a trochanter, a femur, a tibia and a tarsus. The joint between which must be considered to be 'knees'. 
I aim to collect these knees, and put them in a flask of some sort.


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## CopperBee (Jun 4, 2014)

Gorgonaut said:


> Yeah, they have knees.
> 
> Bees do have segmented legs, consisting of parts called a coax, a trochanter, a femur, a tibia and a tarsus. The joint between which must be considered to be 'knees'.
> I aim to collect these knees, and put them in a flask of some sort.


Is this a real conversation right now? opcorn: :lpf:


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Yeah, why not? I have many bee-related questions, and this is the perfect place to ask them 
Also, I'm going to realise that bee-related pun!


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## CopperBee (Jun 4, 2014)

It's a great place for your bee-related questions, just a fun topic! May I ask what a flask of bees knees will do for you?


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Well, when people ask my what's the flask for, I'll say "it's the bees' knees". (yes, bees, plural, obviously). Seriously, that's the whole reason, and I'm willing to put way too much effort into this. :-D


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## CopperBee (Jun 4, 2014)

HaHa that's great! technically if worst came to worst you would only need one bee as it would have four "knees".


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

True! But visually, a flask full of them is better! It shows commitment to a worthless cause!


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## PirateShipp (Mar 10, 2015)

Gorgonaut said:


> True! But visually, a flask full of them is better! It shows commitment to a worthless cause!


Nice. I guess I just always associated knees with knee caps which I think they're lacking. They definitely have the joints on the leg


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

For this project, I've decided on the aforementioned definition of a knee. Now, to somehow find the mystical bee graveyard, and steal the corpses without angering a bunch of tiny ghosts!


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome!


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## Gorgonaut (May 12, 2015)

Thank you!

The response has been illuminating, but my search continues.
Dead bees are hard to come by!


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

contact some local beekeeper with a larger amount of hives, they will sooner or later be cleaning out a dead-out. shipping dead bees across a border would be a paperwork nightmare.


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