Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Bee carnage


inside the hive


bee carnage

Last weekend, I took the blue wooden top off the hive. Dead, mouldy bees were scattered about. Looking down into the hive, I could see honey dripping from the frames. It smelled sweet but tainted. It felt like walking into the scene of a mass murder. Bodies everywhere. I could imagine the bees in their final moments, crawling feebly to where they finally lay.

3 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Somehow the bees being moldy is the most disturbing part to me... I guess I didn't realize bees could mold.

Anonymous said...

Yes. Very sad. I loved that you had bees. Sad that you don't now. Honeybees are so vulnerable.

For some reason this is reminding me of something B told me last night. When he was a kid, he caught (or was given) a snake. Not knowing any better he kept it in a coffee can (with holes punched in the lid) and left it outside in the sun. Of course, the poor thing baked to death. It's so sad when innocent living creatures die.

Anonymous said...

i came across this today, and it put me in mind of your bees.

i'm not really sure what a "bee performance" is, but i found the idea that "the honeybee dares to abandon its life when enemies are attempting to attack" a romantic one.

anthropomorphic, i know.

still.