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The 31-year-old engineer-turned-beekeeper has been doing this
for years both competitively - he fondly recalls a Canadian
model's "Bikini of Bees" at a beekeeping event - and as an
effort to educate Egyptians on the usefulness of bees.
"The goal is to show that bees are not aggressive," he told
Reuters at his farm in Shibin El Kom, the capital of the Nile
Delta province of Menoufia.
"One the contrary, they are helpful and produce things that help
humans and agriculture."
Hagras extracts hormones from queen bees after they die and uses
them to attract bees from the same hive to perform his show. He
uses the same technique to form new hives, he says.
He uses the "Beard of Bees" at contests and exhibitions where
like-minded people try to break world records. The current
holder is a Chinese beekeeper who in 2015 covered his entire
body with over a million bees, a combined weight of almost 110
kg (242.5 lb).
Other than honey and pollen, bees are also medicinal, Hagras
says, adding that many people come to his farm to get stung in
efforts to cure various diseases.
(Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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