What have bees taught you?
What have bees taught you? We're asking you to share what you've learned from bees. Tell us your story and share your photos of bees with us and the Public Insight Network. One of our shows this season focuses on bee champion and MacArthur "Genius" Marla Spivak. We ask her about what she's learned from bees and how it impacts all of us. And we wanted to hear from you, too. You can share your thoughts and read the stories from others:
When I lived in New Orleans just after Katrina, there was nothing. Everything was dead. Life had been drowned out in a brown brackish slime that harbored chemicals and poisons that surely still sit in some patches of dirt tucked away under those few houses which miraculously stayed anchored to their foundations. As volunteers we'd started to bio-remediate some areas in the 7th and 9th wards, planting first sunflowers to pull arsenic out of the soil.
Before any of those flowers had bloomed, I remember seeing a bee buzzing around a half-revived bush and it was the best thing I'd ever seen. A few of us stood and stared; we could actually hear the buzz because there were no sounds in the lower 9th ward those days. The bee knew that something was coming even when the rest of us couldn't possibly see it.
- Dana, Brooklyn, NY
I have been around the bees most of my life. Each day, season, year, I learn something new. It was early spring & four large fruit trees were blooming beside the house. The morning was cool & as the morning warmed I became aware of a buzzing noise beside the house. I put down my tools and walked over to the side of the house with the blooming fruit trees. I walked into the low hanging branches covered with soft flowers and was surrounded by the buzzing of the honey bees.
Tens of thousands of bees had gathered to harvest this nectar feast and all the human senses came alive at the power of creation pouring around me. I closed my eyes and as the air warmed more bees joined the dance. The buzzing became deafening, the fragrance intoxicating, the color & movement almost dizzying. I have been in bee yards and engulfed in clouds of angry buzzing stinging bees and have never heard or experienced anything like this.
- Jimmy, Oxford NC
At first, I was only interested in bees as pollinators, but I have come to see them as so much more than that. The bees are farm animals like all of our other animals, and understanding their needs has improved our gardening and other plant husbandry. I've also become much more aware of our native pollinators- the bumblebees, mason and sweat bees and the butterflies and wasps.
The bees have also led to our meeting other beekeepers and sharing knowledge. This year we passed along the mentoring role by starting a friend with two divides from our colonies- after he took Marla's course, naturally. The first time a new beekeeper sees eggs or the queen is a great experience for everyone. Now we're getting the colonies ready for winter and looking forward to the promise of another spring.
- Susan and Keith, Young America, MN
The number one thing we've learned is that the more we mess with them or try to fix what we think is a mistake the hive is making, the more likely the hive will fail. If we let go and let the bees take care of themselves, they seem to survive just fine.
- Sharon, Minneapolis, MN
Bees have taught me patience. I tend my bees without gloves as I have issues with my hands (and joints); using gloves was a bit cumbersome. So, I took them off. It was a bit unnerving the first time I stuck bare hands into a moving "pile"of bees in a hive, but I survived. Without gloves, I can feel bees on my hands, and it makes me slow down. If I do not slow down, I will get stung.
- Alex, Proctor MN
