In chapter 8 in the middle of page 148, August is speaking about the complicated lives of bees. Relate this "secret life" to lily.

August also tells Lily that bees have a secret life that people cannot understand, and Lily likes the idea that they have a secret life like she does. Lily thinks much of her past is a secret to the other women. During the harvest, the bees flood around Lily, and she loses herself in thought about her mother.