Pregnant Woman Stages Photoshoot With 10,000 Bees on Her Belly — Despite Being Allergic
When Bethany Karulak-Baker, a 38-year-old commercial beekeeper from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, decided to commemorate her pregnancy with a maternity photoshoot, she wanted it to reflect her life’s passion — bees. What she didn’t expect was how deeply personal, emotional, and symbolic the shoot would become.
The owner of Outlaw Apiaries, which she runs with her husband Perry, Bethany posed with around 10,000 live bees swarming across her eight-months-pregnant belly. The daring concept alone was enough to make most people shudder — but even more astonishingly, Bethany is allergic to bee stings.
“I have a local reaction that gives me itchy welts lasting up to six weeks,” she explained. “They’re extremely annoying but not dangerous.”
Before the shoot, she consulted doctors and carefully planned every detail with her husband. Together, they decided to use nurse bees, which are younger, calmer, and easier to handle.
A Photoshoot Born From Loss
The bold photos weren’t meant for shock value — they were an act of healing. About a year earlier, Bethany had suffered a traumatic miscarriage, leaving her hospitalized and heartbroken.
“I was filled with self-blame and grief,” she shared. “Driving away from the hospital, I remember crying at the thought of leaving my baby behind in those walls.”
The loss plunged her into depression, and when she became pregnant again, she was terrified. She kept her pregnancy a secret for months, fearful of another loss. Then came the pandemic — isolation, anxiety, and uncertainty — but also, unexpectedly, a stronger bond with her family.
“We grew to love and support each other more than I ever imagined,” Bethany said.
The Bee “Beard”
To stage the shoot, Bethany and Perry tethered a queen bee in a tiny cage around her belly. Worker bees, naturally drawn to their queen, began to “beard” — clustering in a dense formation across her stomach.
“We had to get the temperature just right — cool and cloudy — to keep the bees calm,” Bethany said. “I held a folder under my belly, and we poured the bees onto it. They climbed up and formed around the queen. They stayed there for about 30 minutes.”
Despite her fears, Bethany wasn’t stung once. The entire process was captured by photographer Brooke Welch, the 10th professional the couple approached before finding the right fit for such a delicate project.
A Viral Symbol of Strength
The photos quickly went viral, drawing admiration — and some criticism — from around the world. But for Bethany, the shoot wasn’t about risk or spectacle. It was about reclaiming peace, motherhood, and her connection to nature after profound loss.
“The response has been overwhelmingly kind and supportive,” she said. “Many women have reached out to share their own miscarriage stories. Others have ordered honey from our farm. Of course, there are always a few who don’t understand bees — but that’s okay.”
Through courage, care, and the hum of thousands of bees, Bethany turned her grief into art — a living, breathing portrait of resilience and rebirth.
