Beehave! - tales from the bee hive

Proving we are not bears! (not to scale) Illustration by Sarah Keen

Beehave!

the attentive reader will remember we put our bees out to winter in a contented state.

Were they happy when they emerged to the splurge of the sound of the Spring? No! The old queen buzzed off with half the tribe to pastures new. The remaining bees hung around in trees and flowers, terrorising anyone who set foot in the garden that may threaten their newly hatched queen.

Our mentor thought we should kill the bees (involves petrol – don’t ask) and start again. Harsh! Things were looking bad for the bees and us. On YouTube, we discovered an ancient beekeeper[1] who made the following pertinent observations.

 Above all, bees fear two things – Smoke and Bears. Fire is a present and constant danger for tree living insects, but bears? In Hampshire?

 However, humans on two legs look rather like a bear on its hind legs rearing up to destroy a nest. The bee is rightly alarmed.

The ancient mariner’s advice – shape shift. Fold forward and bow as far down as you can. Hmmm I can hear you thinking. But worth a try.

 One afternoon I was pursued by an angry bee set on stinging. I folded forward in my best yoga pose and the bee floated down to my hand by my feet. There we remained. The bee by my hand, me folded up. Eventually, I drew myself upwards and the bee followed. But the mood had changed. The bee flew up level to my face and there she hovered, her wings so fast that I could not see them. She was a tiny bullet shape inspecting this strange creature in her world and I was completely at her mercy.

So, we gazed at each other until she returned to the hive with a bear not bear report. We have not been stung since and in the summer, took 43 jars of honey in relative calm[2].

Magic happens not only when we look at nature, but when nature looks back at us.

[1]  A bit like the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner except he stoppeth every bee

 [2] And as we are not bears we left most the honey behind for the bees