CENTRAL POINT — Freddy Orpet, age 3, peered into a panel of a beehive encased in plexiglas.

The observation hive was teeming with bees, mostly female worker bees. Freddy's mother Angela, looking over his shoulder, asked if he could see the queen.

Leslie Lundgren, president of the Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association, pointed to a small white dot in the hive, which was painted on the queen's back.