Saturday 1 August 2020

The bad bee


Our window box of Night-Scented Stock has grown so luxuriously now that it is attracting a lot of bees. I am extra pleased about that.

The blossoms are so plentiful this year that they have been brought to the hive's attention by a scout. If a bee is doing its job properly it will discover a source of nectar, then go home to tell the others all about it, and I mean all about it.

Bee vocals will tell you that all is well in the hive, but the bee dance is more specific. It tells the others the direction of the flowers, the distance from the hive and size of the source. Presumably if the bed of flowers is very large, the whole hive might go foraging in it, but at our window box there is usually no more than two bees at a time.

I imagine that there must have been at least one rogue bee in the hive over all these years. For the sake of the story, let's call him Barry.

One sunny Spring morning, Barry stumbles upon quite a large bed of flowers and begins sampling the nectar by hopping from blossom to blossom. It is the best nectar he has ever tasted in his life, and he cannot help himself from gorging on it until the sun begins to go down and it is time to return to the hive.

He makes his excuses to the others and retires to bed early without joining in with the day's de-briefing session. The next day he makes sure he is not being followed as he furtively returns to the source, then  spends the whole time drinking the delicious nectar on his own.

After a few days the other bees are becoming suspicious. Every day he returns empty handed, but his hairy legs are covered in pollen. He no longer attends the scout's dances and he always seems to be sleepy. The other bees begin talking about him in a muted buzz and the hum from the hive takes on an air of unease.

One day he returns to the hive and is met by a worker who makes a bee-line for him as soon as he walks through the door.

"The Queen wants a word with you - now".

Barry makes his way to the central chamber through narrow corridors crowded with hundreds of bees travelling in the opposite direction. They all ignore him as they brush past. The closer he gets, the more nervous he becomes. He has only ever seen the Queen once before when he tried to catch up with her on her vertical inauguration flight, but was left behind by the much fitter and leaner members of the hive, so  she flew out of sight within a matter of seconds.

At the door he is met by an attendant who announces his presence to Her Majesty. He is ushered in and finds the Queen lounging on a day bed. She is much larger than he remembered. She stares at him for an uncomfortable few seconds before speaking.

"They tell me that you have not been very successful of late."

Barry does not know if this is a question or a statement, so remains silent.

"I must say that for a bee who has not eaten for a week you are beginning to look like a bumble. Do you know how many eggs I lay in one season? Do you know how much those grubs eat? Don't speak. I want you to go away and consider your position in the hive. If you don't show a bit more commitment to the community very soon, you may find yourself being pushed out of the front door when the Asian Hornet is doing his rounds."

I am sure there is a moral to this story, but I can't think for the life of me what it is.

29 comments:

  1. For some reason I see that I am now having to approve comments before they are published. It was not my idea and settings say that anyone can comment. Just ignore it and it may go away.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It might have been the Asian Hornets that put it up, Tom.

    I like that story of yours -- and want just add: there are other bad guys, mostly bumble bees, who are too lazy to get their nectar the usual way - they bite through the smallest lower part of a flower --- easy, but not nice to the plant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bumble bees have their own problems. The bee hover fly squirts its eggs into a bumble bee hole and the grubs parasitise the bee's larvae. It's a hard world out there.

      Delete
  3. I hope that's not a Freudian story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Replies
    1. In a good way, bad way or boring way?

      Delete
    2. I was often in trouble and had to see Mother Superior. Bad I suppose. I feel for Barry.

      Delete
  5. Between trying to cope with the smaller details of the new blogger and also with a new printer at the same time - I am almost having a nervous breakdown. As to your story I am sure there is a moral there somewhere but can't think what it is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just so long as this story is not contributing to your nervous breakdown.

      Delete
  6. more stories about Barry the bee....please. He's a bad lad. hehe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking about Adam and the Ants next.

      Delete
  7. Well, one of the buggers bit me yesterday ..... I don’t think it was Barry though .... he seems a bit of a softie. XXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That should probably be stung ..... I’m getting old !!! XXXX

      Delete
    2. Did it leave the sting behind? That is bee suicide.

      Delete
  8. Barry should worry about the little parasites that live on bees, the Asian hornet is but a rare visitor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those parasites have recently been discovered to not be as harmful as they seem. The last couple of years have been quite good for the bees I think, especially as farmers become more sympathetic to the use of certain sprays. They need bees for their crops, despite what Monsanto tells them.

      Delete
  9. No I don't either, Tom but you tell a good story.
    Keep safe x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a bee skep similar to the one you have illustrated. I use mine as a garden ornament - it sits in an alcove in our garden wall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be good if it was colonised by the wild bunch.

      Delete
  11. Ha! Cleverly told! The moral of the story might be that hairy legs might be one's undoing?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wish it had been a bee that got me on Thursday! But was a horsefly.....am now on antibiotics

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bloody horseflies are the bane of my country life. Even if you don't need antibiotics, they itch for over a week and even hurt whilst you are being bitten. I will not rest until I have killed the horsefly which has locked onto me. They go through thick cloth as well!

      Delete
    2. First time it happened I had no clue. Foot swelled, blisters and went up past the ankle. Now I know, swelling and blisters start the antibiotics!

      And you are right Tom, the bastards go through cloth!

      Delete
  13. I missed the point, as I generally do. I thought Barry's job was to tell the boys to follow him next day, rather than keeping the news to himself and why didn't the queen bust him on that point? Oh, well...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think you missed the point. You summed it up nicely.

      Delete