Dear Andrea,
   Howdy!!
   Good Tuesday morning to you lady.  I'm a hobbiest beekeeper from Dallas,
TX. FYI, most state laws prohibit a beekeeper from keeping a beehive that
does not have removable frames.  Being able to lift the honeycomb frames out
of the hive (without damaging the hive) has been one of man's greatest im-
provements to keeping bees and collecting honey. [Developed by a yankee
preacher in the 1850's].  A "natural" beehive (as Pooh robs) in a tree would
not have removable combs.  The bees anchor the top of the combs to the tree
structure.  The health of the colony is improved when a beekeeper can
actually pickup and inspect the cells and brood condition of the hive.  BTW,
it was a "bee tree" on my grandmother's farm back in Kentucky (where I'm
from originally) that got me interested in bees when I was just a kid.
   You might find it interesting that I'm actually teaching a lady beekeeping
over the internet (e-mail).  I live in Texas and she lives on the eastern
shore of Virginia.  Where she is located there are no other beekeepers or
beekeeping clubs around so she writes and asks questions and I write her
back the answers.
Obviously, she's reading books and magazines on the subject too!  This
coming Spring will be her first time to keep bees. (She's been building the
hive bodies and frames all winter long).
   Good luck to you in your efforts to teach kids about nature (we need more
people in the world like you!).  Best wishes.
Sincerely,