I Love Bees
The Honey Bee
Who is the gentlest creature on planet Earth? To me there is no debate: It’s the Honey Bee (Aphis melifera). Huh? What? Those little shits will sting. Yes, they do sting. But you have to get them riled up and angry. If a stranger entered your house, stole your food, and messed with your kids, wouldn’t you be pissed off? If you had a weapon, you might want to beat them or maybe even shoot them. For the honey bee, it’s the same thing.
Oh, but you say these bees are annoying at best. Let’s be rid of them. When you are outside on a summer day, look for some flowers. You very well might see a bee or two buzzing around. She will land gently on the flower and sip the flower’s nectar. Usually, at the same time, the hairs on the bee’s legs and body will pick up pollen, to be distributed to the next flower the bee visits. The plant can then set seeds, and more beautiful flowers to come in future years. As you admire the flower, notice how delicate the petals, stamen, and pistils are. The bee respects that and does no damage. Could you do the same if you handled the flower? I doubt it. The bee will visit hundreds of flowers before she returns to her colony.
Why do I keep calling those bees she? The worker bees in a colony are all female. Yes, some guys (drones) are born every spring, but their only purpose is to fertilize the queen. Once the queen is fertilized, all the drones do is eat. The workers don’t like that and force the drones, the males, out of the hive. Ladies, I don’t mean to give you any ideas.
Bees live in colonies with about 10,000 members. The roles each member plays in the colony are dependent on the individual’s age. Some tend to the young, some tend to the sector and make honey, some go hares flowers, and some guard the colony. And the one queen lays the eggs. They are fascinating organisms, and some fools wonder if the whole colony should be considered one organism. The bees nest in holes in trees and other handy places. You may have seen the white square bee bowes that beekeepers use.
I had the fortune to keep bees for several years. It is a lot of work, but it is fascinating how best to do your best for the ladies. But now, it’s a lot harder to be successful. Diseases and other pets have become prevalent. And no the plight of the honey bee has become a serious problem, with the US having lost seventy percent of the managed colonies this year. This problem is even more desperate than Trump’s policies of destroying the US economy.
So when you see honey be it when you are outside, taking a walk, or tending your garden, please be nice and do what you can for our beautiful yellow and black friends.
