A tradedy

The apiarist Maeterlinck reminds us that "To him who has known them and loved them, a summer where there are no bees becomes as sad and as empty as one without flowers or birds." The poet Yeats also appreciated the "beeloud glade." One lb. of honey necessitates 37,000 trips to collect nectar. Bees are the only creature Allah directly addresses in the Koran. Fertilizer for the soil contains various combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. Fertilizer for the nature lover with an anthropomorphic bent is a golden throng of bees.

Their tempers are shortest on chilly and rainy days but anger par excellence erupts when their lives are turned upside down. A delivery truck containing numerous hives of honey bees recently overturned on a California highway. All stinging hell broke loose. All efforts rallied to re-locate hive and queen. All ramifications of this event spelled tragedy and sadness.

Imagine the disappointed farmers and fruit growers. Imagine the food frenzy for bee-eating predators. Imagine the painful confusion of workers, both men and bees. I can’t imagine how fate could sanction such an accidental end to sweetness and life.