To keep the population of pesty Varroa mites under control without the use of pesticides, hobbyist beekeepers will dust the backs of their honey bees with powdered sugar.  Sugar dusting kills two birds with one stone; the sugar particles cause the mites to lose traction and fall off the bees, and it provides the colony with a free resource for producing more honey.  If this first blog post seems to be cut a little short you’ll have to forgive me.  Apparently I overstayed my welcome and right around that second to last photo, the bees decided they weren’t willing to entertain me any longer, if you catch my drift.