Whither the little, busy bee?

My first wife was allergic to bee and wasp stings, and that was what kept me from establishing a couple of beehives of my own, even though it was an idea that appealed to me.

Well, in truth, there was one other reason I refrained from taking the plunge into beekeeping. I once did a tour of hives with a major honey-producer and learned the realities behind the business. They are challenging realities.

“That’s a lot of work, Dude,” I thought, though didn’t actually voice as I went off to write my feature on the subject of apian care and maintenance.

My primary reason for wanting bees of my very own is that they fascinate me. They have this wonderful little, yet harsh medieval society in which all devote their energies to the all-powerful queen. Yet, it’s fair homage in one sense, because while Queen Elizabeth may be queen of her land and the Commonwealth, and some may regard her as a ceremonial ‘mother’ of sorts, the Queen Bee is literally the mother of every creature in the hive. Now, that’s power.

Worker bees (females of sorts, but lacking in propagation ability) devote all their energies to gathering the grub, maintaining the hive and keeping it cool enough, and driving predators like wasps away as best they can. Of course, if demands are such that they use their sting, it’s a kamikaze mission since there is a strong element of seppuku about that ultimate sacrifice – if you sting, you die, but the Queen is saved. Long live the Queen!

Of course, the most intriguing thing about bees is honey. This is the only insect by-product we consume in vast quantifies. Honey is a wonderful thing. “Bee Poop” we used to call it when we were kids, earning a reprimand from our mother who deemed the expression “not nice.”

Anyway, bees of all sorts, from the home-grown stumbling, blundering bumblebee in their fuzzy jammies and so aerodynamically unsound that they are not supposed to be capable of flying, according to experts in such matters, through to the agriculturally-raised honeybee (actually a European species) to the fearsome African (Killer) bee, the little creatures do a stalwart job in pollinating everything we have. Without them we would be doomed.

In that context, you might consider a possible environmental threat pertaining to these insects, and it is a threat that will be much more direct and frightening than Al Gore’s much-vaunted Global Warming. It is, the possible demise of the honeybee.

You see, in North America, bees seem to be under threat. Their numbers have diminished radically, causing no small concern amongst not only beekeepers, but also farmers. Now, if you don’t think bees are important, consider this:

By Jean-Claude Gerard Koven

Last week I received an email from a friend reporting a sudden, devastating collapse in America's bee population. The message triggered an immediate unpleasant shiver through my body as I recalled the ominous quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left.

And, in fact, old smarty-pants Einstein was quite right. If nothing is pollinated, then nothing grows. If nothing grows, we don’t eat. If we don't eat, we all die. Scary, no?

What is happening is that bees are taking off from their hives on their regular forays, but not coming back. Where are they going? What is happening to them? They don’t report back, and they never call home.

Speaking of ‘calling home’, some antagonists are trying to promote the theory that cell-phone use is to blame. I like to think that is the case, and then they’d ban the excessive use of the things. But, that is likely not so. Cell-phone use in the UK and Europe is arguably more ubiquitous than in North America, and their bee populations are doing fine – for now.

What, however, may be to blame is a nearly microscopic mite that attacks the bees, kills them, and is immune to anything we currently seem to be capable of throwing at the mite in terms of control

Damn environment. Screwing us up again. Damn us, screwing the environment up again.

Whatever the case, take a moment today to consider the plight of the busy, little bee, and plant lots of flowers that will attract them.