This afternoon, a swarm of bees swirled down Palmerston Street, Riverton's main, creating fear and loathing as they went. I strode amongst them, bare armed and careless, trying to follow their progress and perhaps box them in order to take them home to begin another hive, but they moved too fast, after invading the supermarket car park, and sped off to who knows where. One of the towns tattooed hard men cowered inside his van, pointing frantically at the cloud of bees, warning me of the danger. It was a great moment.
3 comments:
Ha..poor Mr Macho Hard man, being shown up by the reckless greenie, brilliant! I'm often described as "brave", "crazy" for my penchant for sky-diving/bungying but have seen the result of a single sting on my allergic son and would be clamouring for the passenger seat next to the tattooed gentleman!
"Everybody knows that swarming bees don't sting"
That is what my Grandfather said to his boys just before one did sting him
Thing is they don't often sting because they are so full of honey for the move?
In reality (flight of fancy, in part, my swarm story), my hard-man friend wasn't 'cowering', more 'wisely staying put'. I don't know how real the immunity from stinging is, for someone standing in the midst of a swarm on the move, but I'm going to soldier on anyway, knowing how impressive it looks to those who don't subscribe to the theory. Ray, perhaps the bee that stung your Grandfather, wasn't swarming - a renegade from elsewhere perhaps, going along for the ride, looking to make trouble and blot the copybook of another hive. Who knows what insects are thinking?
'Full of honey'is my take too, though that might wear off in one or two individuals and their benevolence evapourate. As well, they are following the queen and probably don't want to lag behind and fall from royal favour. Honey bees don't do 'independent' well,
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