• Home
  • The Class
  • The Book
  • The Author
  • Reflections
  • Contact

mystery of bees

Bees: Wonderfully And Fearfully Made

Posted on April 29, 2020 Leave a Comment
Photo credit: royalty free

Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk, Chap. 11, Matthew II

“Who can comprehend a submicroscopic, life-enabling molecule of information that can guide an ant or bee or elephant into making millions of yes/no, life/death decisions? Every one has its miracle story, none of which is humanly comprehensible.”

Although 2020 is officially the Chinese “Year Of The Rat,” in the Young homestead it has become the year of the bee. It began with a big spike in the Mason Bee population in our garden. Mason bees are mostly female who lead an almost totally solitary life with the only contact made while mating with males who typically die shortly thereafter. The males do not have a stinger, and the females will only sting if trapped or squeezed. This makes them an ideal neighbor for the home garden, since they pose little to no threat of stinging.

In many ways, honeybees are starkly different. They are highly social and a healthy colony may include 50,000 bees. They depend on each other and if bothered can be easily provoked. Giving up their lives, female “worker bees” can insert a stinger, usually attached to a venom sac, that injects venom into human skin. The sting is often painful and the effects of the venom can last for days.

None of the aforementioned information was of much importance before a tree-service crew arrived to fell one of our huge oak trees that was posing a threat to our neighbor’s property. The tree was safely lowered and it became my task to clean up the brush and saw the trunk and limbs into rounds. That’s when I discovered a honeybee hive hidden in the hollow of the tree.

Photo credit: Julia-gavin.jpg

While I consider myself a devout Naturalist, the prospect of being stung by 100s of angry bees was quite scary. I quickly invoked Charles Darwin (survival-of-the-fittest) and decided the hive had to be eliminated. When I shared this view with my wife Christie, she was shocked by the possibility of losing so many of her bee friends. Of course, I should have known that she would channel St. Francis of Assisi and her concern conjured up the words of one of the hymns that our family enjoyed singing in church:

“All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful

The Lord God made them all.”

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her Hymns for Little Children.

Having no idea what to do, I consulted a local apiarist for advice. She quickly discerned that, due to the size of the trunk, relocating the hive intact would not be feasible. She mentioned another option, but indicated it may take two weeks to remove the bees. Meanwhile, she was keenly concerned about the newly horizontal position of the hive and indicated that even one hot day could alter the structural integrity of the hive and possibly cause irreparable damage.

“Whatever you do,” she said, “ better do it at night to minimize risk to you and trauma to the bees.” Having no beekeeper equipment I had to improvise and prepare for an after-dark mission. My chainsaw would be needed to make crosscuts above and below the hive in order to return the trunk to the vertical position. Because of evening noise regulations I notified our neighbors and the local police about my pending soiree with the bees. The police dispatcher seemed amused with my request, probably because it had nothing to do with Covid-19.

A long-sleeved shirt and Levis would be covered by mechanic’s coveralls, wrapped with duct tape at the ankles. A rain parka with hood that could be cinched down tightly around my face that would be covered with a facemask. A hiker’s headlight was at the ready. Leather work gloves would hopefully protect my hands. Christie mused that I looked like medical personnel working in a Covid hospital. I double-checked the chainsaw and procured bubble-wrap to seal the entrance. I had never embarked on an operation like this and the fear of possible attack by a swarm of angry bees was palpable. As nightfall approached we both felt like we might lose our dinner.

Everything was in place and the bubble-wrap was quickly inserted. And then I was cursed by a double whammy of quotes: Whether Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” or Robert Burn’s; “The best laid plans of mice and men;” the chainsaw refused to start. However, after using a couple of farmhand expletives, the motor roared to life.

I made the first crosscut 18 in. below the hive opening and rolled the round out of the way. Then I quickly made the top cut, 18 in. above the opening. The hardest part was repositioning the 300 lb. stump into the vertical position. As I wrapped my arms around the stump section, the frenetic buzzing of thousands of angry bees resonated throughout my body. I tried not to think of what would become of me if they escaped their temporary prison and attacked the source of the alien noise and shocking vibrations.

The section of trunk was secured in the vertical position and I fled the scene. I had brought along a 15 ft. pole saw that I used to retrieve the bubble-wrap, and then quickly retreated to the safety of our home. Meanwhile, Christie was texting every stage of the drama with two of our daughters. All three were cheering me on from at least six feet away from the hive.

As I write this, life in the hive seems to be returning to normal. The bees are busy flying to and fro on their busy errands.

Photo credit: Wallpaperflare.com

We hope that the hive did not sustain any permanent damage.

I would not describe the experience as “bee’s knees,” but an adrenaline-inducing event that was hopefully once-in-a-lifetime.

Lowell H. Young
Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

young.lowell@gmail.com

Posted in: Reflections | Tagged: Biodesign Out For A Walk, mystery of bees

A Bobby Burns Moment: Yellow Jackets and the Bulldozer

Posted on October 22, 2014 1 Comment

Screen shot 2014-10-22 at 9.51.46 PMWhen new owners purchased the property adjoining ours, it included 50 acres of abandoned olive trees. When they decided to expand their grape vineyard, the old olive orchard had to be cleared. In a previous life, I worked as a “Cat-skinner,” and so I was not surprised by the low-toned thrum of the approaching Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. What was about to happen, however, was shocking and created an intense learning moment.

As the tractor driver approached an olive tree near our property line, he lowered the bulldozer blade enough to scrape the surface of earth. He had done this hundreds of times previously and so there was no reason to expect that this time would be different. Both he and I were in for a huge surprise.

Suddenly, he threw the clutch lever into neutral and leaped from the high tractor. He landed on the run with arms flailing, a tortured look on his face, and was cussing a blue streak. He headed straight for a garden hose next to our barn, turned it full on and sprayed his head and body. It all occurred so quickly, I was having trouble processing what was happening. Then a sting on my right arm included me in the little drama and answered my questions.

Meanwhile, the tractor driver ripped the shirt tails out of his jeans, popping all the buttons off. Evidently some of the bees got under the shirt and were brutally attacking him. Still flailing wildly, he used the wet shirt to swat at his attackers.

Everything happened in slow-motion and so it seemed like a long siege; the actual attack probably only lasted for a couple of minutes and then the bees retreated.

Hearing the commotion, Christie ran from the house and offered to stir up a batch of baking soda and meat tenderizer. This was what our family doctor recommended when one of our kids got stung. The driver respectfully declined. I was concerned about anaphylactic shock and offered to take him to a doctor. He declined my offer as well.

Instead, he slithered into his torn, wet shirt, made a wide circle to the back of the tractor, climbed on and slowly backed away.

In honor of Robert Burns, I contemplated the event and came up with more questions than answers.

Why did the bees attack the driver and not the shiny bulldozer blade that was destroying their underground nest?

Why did they not attack the whirling, engine fan-blade which would seem to be the center of action?

Instead, the bees went straight for the monstrous animal that was responsible for destroying their habitation. Bees evolved millions of years before humans, however, they have been mysteriously equipped with the ability to discern between man and bulldozer as their enemy.

Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodesign Out For a Walk

Posted in: Reflections | Tagged: Bobby Burns, mystery of bees

Bees – Flowers – Human Beings

Posted on October 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
Honey BeeTo make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
– Emily Dickinson

Charles Darwin called the emergence of the angiosperms (flowering plants) an abominable mystery. He also had no clue how or why the human brain evolved. It took naturalist Loren Eiseley (The Immense Journey) to complete the triad by pointing out that the evolution of both the flowering plants and humans would not likely have happened without bees and other insect pollinators. Ergo: Flowering plants, humans and bees have become a macro-symtriotic relationship. Without flowering plants and bees, human life, as we know it, would definitely not be the same.

We have only begun to understand the mystery and wonder of bees. We don’t k now how they fly (200 wing-beats per sec) create complex hexagonal combs, convert nectar into honey, pollen into bee bread and use propolis as a building material. We don’t know what they know, but we do know that they communicate and are socially interactive. Generally, their behavior is considered entirely “instinctive” however, more and more scientists are admitting that, “Instinct is just another word for something we don’t understand.” The Tao of Pooh (Benjamin Hoff)

Every cell in their body needs over 2,000 enzymes, co-enzymes, vitamins and minerals to function. The billions of cells are grouped into tissues, organs and systems that carry out highly complex functions. Although we can partially understand how DNA can create body structures, we have no idea how bees can be pre-programmed to handle the millions of sensory and motor instructions necessary for their survival.

As with all life, the quintessential question is; how did bees, flowering plants and humans evolve? Believers in “scientism” proclaim that all of evolution has been the result of “chance” and “random” activity. Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and Loren Eiseley, disagree and suggest that the process must be the product of “intelligent design.” None of them attempted to define a Creator, but all agreed that all of nature is evidence of a mysterious super-human being.

In the introduction to Loren Eiseley’s, The Star Thrower, W.H. Auden wrote:

I do not personally believe there is such a thing as a “random” event. “Unpredictable” is a factual description; “random” contains, without having the honesty to admit it, a philosophical bias typical of persons who have forgotten how to pray.

Lowell H. Young, Author: Biodesign Out For A Walk

Posted in: Reflections | Tagged: Charles Darwin, Loren Eiseley, mystery of bees

Recent Posts

  • “Let Freedom Ring!” Dr. Martin Luther King
  • Mark Twain – Half Dome – Moonstruck
  • Erin Sawyer Soper (A Candle In The Wind)
  • The Love Of Words – The Words Of Love
  • Maria: “If God made the Universe, Who Made God?”

Bio-Words

4th of July Advanced Biology Amazing Grace Author Lowell Harrison Young big bang theory Bio-spirituality bio-spirituality. freedom of religion Biodesign Biodesign class Biodesign Out For A Walk Biodesign Out For Walk Charles Darwin evolution existence of God faith freedom of religion Grand Canyon Half Dome Henry David Thoreau intelligent design John Muir John Muir vision Loren Eiseley love lessons Lowell Harrison Young Mendocino Merry Christmas miracle of life mystery of life Nature Power of Music soul soul medicine Spirit of Thanksgiving spiritual evolution spiritual gifts spiritual growth spirituality spiritual origin of music synchronisities the origin of life wilderness Yosemite Yosemite Temple Yosemite Valley

Copyright © 2022 .

Theme by ThemeHall.