The Silence of Bees
I was greeted by visitors to my home many months ago. They were a curiosity to me. Dutifully going about their business climbing wood columns and disappearing under siding. Everyday, I watched with fascination as they climbed with bright yellow pollen on their legs.
I had a moral dilemma. Many times I have read where the bee population has been decimated nationwide. What do I do? I called various Bee removal services and they all charged quite a bit. In the past, I have witnessed large dragon flies swooping down to eat the bees in the afternoon. Hmm... can't I just let nature take care of nature? Perhaps we can all co-exist peacefully together? That was a pipe dream.
Everyday, I calmly walked out to my vehicle and ignored the bees buzzing around me. Sometimes they would bump into me, but never did they sting me. It was a little annoying to navigate through a swarm of bees, but a part of me felt proud that I let them be.
As time marched on, the swarm got bigger and bigger. With a low mosquito population, there aren't as many dragon flies on the farm eating bees. A part of my brain told me that I had to do something that I did not want to do.
After a morning of tennis, I arrived home and regretfully got my first bee sting. I have been stung enough by wasps, yellow jackets, and bees as a child to not have a highly allergic reaction. Sure, it hurt but it was more of a nuisance than anything else.
What if I had a visitor who was highly allergic to bee stings? I had to do something. I stalled for weeks, but eventually did what must have been done.
The next morning, I found scores of bees dead. There was no buzzing sound or bees flying around to greet me as they have done so on a daily basis. It made me sad. I killed them all. I am a bad person. :(
Why are we forced to hurt or kill other living beings? Why must our very existence harm nature time and time again? Reflecting on such things is pointless because I always arrive at the same answer: "that's just life!" Somehow, it doesn't make me feel any better.
posted by Brettcajun at Friday, October 14, 2011
12 Comments:
I would have killed them too. I don't blame you. We have a small nest out on our back porch, but it's in a place where they don't bother us so I don't bother them. However, I sprayed at least 4 small 'starter-nests' earlier this summer.
Your final paragraph sums up the situation admirably. Life is cruel and imponderable - and makes even LESS sense when one brings in the thought of a 'loving' Creator - but that's for another time.
I'd never kill a bee, or even a fly, or any creature at all unless it was (a) absolutely essential and (b) there was no alternative. Easily enough said, I know, but not always so easy to 'stick to the rules'.
If you had not gotten rid of the nest in the eaves of your house, you would've had a problem with bees IN your house.
Life's not fair - it just is. Sometimes it's cruel.
So the "great opportunity" to which you alluded in the comments after your last post was beekeeping?
Have the bees stopped buzzing, Clarice??
Murderer!
I had trouble getting past the idea of you having visitors to your place in the middle of nowhere.
Are you sure they were honey bees? Their population has been decimated recently and bee keepers are actually looking for new hives. Even as a child, the bee keepers just loved coming out to get any unwanted bees. You must have called the wrong people. Unless they were another type of bee.
Killer bees have been moving north. They mate with domestic bees and the result is not good. Those new types of bees should be killed A.S.A.P. You can usually tell the difference by the aggressiveness of the bees. Honey bees will just ignore you while he killer bees will attack.
yeah, I too have an issue killing bees. They do so much good that I want to keep them around.
Wasps on the other hand...
I think this is a good lesson to not ignore an issue. If you had taken steps to stop the hive from being built in the first place there wouldn't have been this massacre.
Did you light their honey pot on fire, or lash them all to death with your acid tongue?
I am surprised that you could not find a local bee keeping association to put you in touch with someone who would have taken them off your hand for free. What a waste.
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