When last I wrote about Meredith May the San Francisco Chronicle journalist who is also a beekeeper, yes, the hives are right there on the Chronicle roof in downtown San Francisco, it was to talk about her life with her grandfatherwhose love and respect for the bees he kept inspired her own path.
In the conversation about bees, from which I learned a fortunate lot of information on these wonderful creatures, the conversation still left me a little confused. How do bees build hives? How does nectar become honey? How do bees get home at the end of a long work day? Why does my heart stop every time I see a buzzing little creature attacking my barbecued chicken? And, why do I think I am next on the attack-list?
Meredith, who is a teacher as well as a journalist, and remarkable at both, explains all this and more. Meredith points out that many people’s fears are from bee-wasp confusion. Yes, my problem exactly. Now I know that wasps are the ones that won’t leave your streak or burger no matter that you are sitting there trying to enjoy dinner with friends. Bees are vegetarians and would never bother you at dinner. Bees do not want to sting because they know they will die.
A while ago there was a horrific incident of 30 giant Japanese hornets killing 30,000 honey bees came to light. Wasps, actively aggressive creatures, can and will sting over and over and over. They, too, are known to rob honey-bee hives and sting them.
Is it okay to kill a wasp? I was personally relieved to have Meredith’s permission to do that in self-defense, although truth be told my fear of them would have me running indoors before it would let me pick up a weapon to swat it. It is so worth listening to Meredith talk more about one of the most complicated insect lives I could ever imagine and does it in a way that, true to her style, brings changes in how we see the worldaround us.
And, as always I am on the subject of love letters, I think we had a couple of wonderful and unusual ideas here.
From me to you with love in the air,
Janet
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