PraiseforSWEETNESS&LIGHT

“Anevocativeworkthatfeels,smells,andtasteslikeeverythingtodowithbees.Readerswillbeabsorbedintothebeeyardwithherassheexploresimagesandsensationsofbeekeepingwithallsensesalert.”

—MarkWinston,NewYorkSun“Sweetness&Lightisarefreshingtoasttothehoneybee.”

—WashingtonPost“HattieEllis’sSweetness&Light flowsasreassuringlyasthelowbuzzfrom a contented hive…. It’s an intriguing journey, with finedescriptivedetours.”

—Saveur“Entrancinganecdotes,accuratedetails,andmeticulousresearchadduptoasweetlysatisfyingread.”

—PublishersWeekly,starredreview“ThosewithabentfornaturalhistorywillfindEllisaclassact,herstyleamongthefancifulandinsightfulbest.Anindispensableadditiontoaliteraturealready

brimmingwithanecdoteandobservation.—KirkusReviews

“Amarvelouscombinationofnaturalhistoryandsocialscienceassheexploresthewaysofbees,honey,andhumans.”

—Booklist“Ellisisthebees’knees.”

—TheGuardian

ForRogerandMargaretEllis

“We have chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishingmankindwiththetwonoblestofthings,whicharesweetnessandlight.”

—JONATHANSWIFT(1667–1745)

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Prologue:HeatherHoney

ONEIntheBeginning:Evolution

TWOWildHoney

THREEOrganizationandMagic

FOURFoodoftheGods

FIVECandlelightandIntoxication

SIXEnlightenment

SEVENFrontiers

EIGHTFolkloreandScience

NINECreativeBee

TENDiscovery

ELEVENRediscovery

TWELVEDoBeesDream?

Bibliography

IllustrationAcknowledgments

MACKNOWLEDGMENTS

anypeoplesharedtheirthoughtsandstoriesaboutbeesandhoneywithme.Itwouldbeimpossibletomentionthemallpersonally-nearlyeveryoneIspoketo

on the subject had something close to their heart to say-but such experience andinspirationwereregularspoonfulsofhoneytomymindandmeantagreatdealtome.Thank you. I’d like to thankRogerEllis, Emily Faccini,Gordon Smith, Frances Price,andGailVines,whogenerouslytookthetimetoreadthroughdrafts,andWillieRobson,ofChainBridgeHoneyFarm inNorthumberland (www.chainbridgehoney.co.uk),whobothreadthroughthechaptersandmademewanttowriteaboutthehoneybeeinthefirstplace.TheInternationalBeeResearchAssociation’sspecialistlibraryinCardiffwasagreathelpandamagnificentresource(www.ibra.org.uk).Finally,thankstomyagent,Georginal Capel, andmy exceptional editors, Richard Atkinson in the U.K., and KimKannerMeisnerintheU.S.

W

PROLOGUE

HEATHERHONEY

illie Robson drives up to his beehives on the heather moor atHangwellLawinthenorthofEngland.Asheclimbs,aroadmovie

plays on the windshield of his truck, of speeding cars and tarmac, ofgaragesandcaravanparks,givingwaytoa landscapeof small,uplandfarmswithscrubbyslopes,populatedbysheep.Curvinghorizonsreachto the edges of the sky. Countryside is mostly air; and people, nowlargely urban and suburban, often idealize this sort of landscape asbeautiful in its emptiness. To those who live here, and who canremembertheto-and-froofaruralworkforce,thissilencecanfeelmorelikeaneerieabsence.Thelandisgrandhere,withitsheatheredhorizonsandopendistances,yetitcanalsolacktheintimacyofuse.Beekeepershavebroughttheirhivesontothesenorthernmoorsforat

leastamillennium,andsomestilldo.Julybringsthebonnybellheatherand its rounded, ruby-purple flowers, and then the finer, paler, morecommon ling heather appears, lasting until the end of August. Lingheather honey, with its unique gellike texture and a room-fillingfragrance,isoneofthemostprizedintheworld.Inthepot,itglowsfoxred,oftenbeadedwithlittlesilverbubbles.Willieturnsthetruckofftheroadanddrivesalongahalf-tracktoward

abeltofpines.Infrontofthetreesisabrokenlineoffiftyhomemadehives. Painted in quiet blues, browns, and grays, they sit like orderlytoadstools,squatandoddshaped,withasquareroofontopofeach.Fortwomonths, the bees have been coming and going between the hivesandtheheathermoor,collectingnectarandpollenfromtheflowers,tofeedeachcolonyofuptofiftythousandbees.Thebottomboxcontainsthebroodcomb,wheretheinsectsarebornandraised.Theupperboxes,or“supers,”holdtheexcesshoney,savedupasaheftygoldreserveforthewinter.Thebeekeeperisabouttoraidthebank.Thetruckstops.Fourhundredfeetup,6milesorsofromthesea,the

landherefeelsclosetothesky.Onthehorizon,theheathermoorfades

into the farblueofhills.There isa smellofpinesandahumofbees,quiet, for now. Jumpingdown from the truck cab,Willie takes off hishairy Borders tweed cap and zips up in his bee suit. Beekeepers say,casually,thatstingsarejustanoccupationalhazard,andtheygetridofthemwithapracticedcrossbetweenascratchandaflick.Buttheyallhave tales, ranging from mad bravura to comic-book chases to slyobservations of others’ misfortune. Honeybees left alone do not sting;stinging might harm the intruder, but it also kills the bee. The twinbarbedshaftsdigintotheskin,pumppoisonintohumanflesh,andthencannotwithdraw.Instead,thestingripsthecenterfromtheabdomensotheinsectstragglestowarddeath,itsinsidestornout,pinkandpulsing.Butbeeswilldietoprotectthehive, justastheywill flyceaselesslytocollectnectarandpollensothehive’scolonycanlive.The apiarist’s armor is a bee suit. Willie has a sort of khaki-green,nylon flying suit thatzipsacross thebodyand thenacross theneck toclose up the net-fronted hood. The legs are tucked into boots and thearms into gloves elasticized at thewrists. In his suit, hewalks aroundlikeaspaceman.Bootsandglovesrestrictsomemovement,buthegoesslo-moforanotherreason.“Yougowithaquiettread,orallhellbreaksloose,”hesays.“It’samatterofweighingthesituation.Iftroublestarts,youbailout.”Afterfindingapieceofsackingamongthebric-a-braconthebackofthe truck,Willie lights theclothwithamatchandputs it ina smokerformed like a pair of miniature bellows. The smoke can help lull thebees.Theythinkthereisanemergency,eattheirfillofhoney,asifreadyforflight,andeitherbecauseafullbeeisahappybeeorbecausetheyarenowlessabletobendandsting,theyarelessaggressive.Willietakesthe topoff the firsthive.Pffffff,Pffffff,Pffffff, goes the smoke.Afterashortpause,heheavesoffthetopbox.Immediately,theweightrevealstheexactextentofthehaul.Honeyisoneandahalftimesheavierthanwaterandafullboxtellsonyourmuscles.Beekeeping,insomeaspects,islikefishing:someyearsyougetnexttonothing;others,youcropgold.Thisyeareverythingworked;bothskillandluckcametogether,anditisboom time. The bees were in the right place at the right time; theweatherwas goodover the year.Willie andhis familyhavekept beeshere formore than fifty years, and he is now reaping the rewards of

knowing his turf and keeping bees that are well adapted to theirenvironment.ThistriptoHangwellLawcomesafterarunofcollectingabumperharvestofheatherhoneycomb in tendays. Itdoesnothappenevery year, or even often. But today, he gets 2,500 pounds of honey.Suchisthedramaofharvest.The bees, in themeantime, go purposefully berserk. Zinging, small,aggressiveatoms,goldinthelate-afternoonsun,attackagainandagainfrom different angles, trying to find a way into the bee suit. Theirpersistenceisunrelenting.Beesinthewildcanburrowintothefurofanattackingbear,tostingtheanimalwhereitwillhurthimhoppingmad.In the same way, they seek the vulnerable chink in the beekeeper’ssecondskin.Aholeinthefingertipofaglove,astraystitchonaseamwillnotgounpunished.Youfeellikeacharactertransposedintoavideogame, surrounded by flying attackers, the bee suit slightlyclaustrophobic,limitingyourvisionbutnotthesounds,northesuddensightofbeesflyingontothenetvisor,inchesfromyoureyes.Williesaysthe bees can get to peoplementally. “They get you on the shake,” hesays.“Theyundermineyourconfidenceandgodab,dab,dab.”Whenabeestings,abanana-likeodorspreadsintheair,attractingotherbeestosting the same spot, like sharks coming to blood pulsing through thewater.Today, there’s no real trouble. As each hive is opened, the noisegrows, but Willie keeps calm, steady in the eye of the storm. Somebeekeepers lose bees by carelessly crushing them under boxes as theywork under the pressure of time and the bee blitz.Willie knows thatbees matter more than honey. He brushes insects off each box withgentle sweeps of fern and the triumphhe feels at thehaul is asmuchabout thebees as anything else: “When theopportunitypresents, theyare up and at it,” he says,with frank admiration, as he lifts a box asheavyasablockofgold.Onthebackofthetruck,towersofhoneycombboxesbuildup,withagreatcloudofbeesabove,movingupanddownandroundandroundasifinadementeddanceoffury.Willie,stillinhisbeesuit,butwiththehooddownnow,drivesoff.Hestopsafterafewhundredfeetandwaitsfor a fewminutes, to let some of the bees following the truckload flyback to the hives. Then he starts the engine up, drives another few

hundred feet and stops again. Such thrift is the equivalent of scrapingoutthecakemixfromthebowl:thelastdropsmatter.Honey is, essentially, awild food.Willie couldn’t gethoneywithout

thebees;thebeescouldn’tmakethehoneywithoutthesunshiningandtherainfalling,therightamountattherighttimes,tobringtheflowersinto bloom and full of nectar. It helped, this particular year, that thewinds were themild southwesterlies rather than the usual northwestswiththeiredgeofchill.Heatherisafaddishflowerthatneedstherightconditionstobloombright.Thisyearthepurplespreadtothehorizons.Clouds of pollen puffed up at every step, whitening animals’muzzles.Thenectarflowedandthebeesmassedontheflowers,drinkingdeep.Williecanprovidehivesforthebees;hecanplacehishivesneargood

plants;hecanlookafterthebeestoacertainextent.Butyoucanhardlyterm a man a livestock farmer whose herd consists of seventy-fivemillion flying, stinging, crawling, sucking, working, laying, feeding,fighting, instinctual, independent insects. Manmakes use of bees, butonlybyrespectingtheirnature.

WILLIEROBSON’SFAMILYhomeandbusinessistheChainBridgeHoneyFarm,20milesfromtheheathermoor,onthebanksoftheRiverTweed.Atthispoint,theriveractsasthewateryborderbetweenScotlandandEngland.It runs broad here, with fat, smooth curves, and its force, sprungupstream from so much rain over wide moors and blank horizons, isgathered together, ready to pour into the North Sea at Berwick-on-Tweed3milesdownstream.ThehoneyfarmtakesitsnamefromtheChainBridgeovertheTweed,

justacoupleofminutes’strollaway.Atthetimethebridgewasbuilt,in1820, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. There is aheritage plaque on the Scottish side, with a cartoon of the engineerdrivinganoverloadedcarriageatthelaunch;acheeryDickensianimagereflecting that, in retrospect, thegood timeswere starting to roll. LikemanyotherpartsofNorthumberlandandtheScottishBorders,overthecenturiesthelandhasbeenmetaphoricallycrosshatchedwithscarsfromterritorialconquests,celebratedinBordersballadsofrobbers,orreivers,raidinglandandlivestock,attacksandcounterattacks,allstokedupwith

firesideboasts.Whenthebridgewasbuilt,thefightingwasfinallyover.Now the borderless global culture invades every highway andbackwater.OntheredsandstoneoftheEnglishsideoftheChainBridgesomeonehasscratched:westside,2pac,referringtoanotoriousgangstarapper and his territory in Los Angeles. The incongruous reference, inthisquietspot,isnicelyironic—humansplayingatfrontiers,justastheyplayCDsofguntalk.Now,alongsidecastlesforthetourists,youjustseetheroofsofbig,privatehousespokingoutamidthetalltreesofsettledparkland, all risen with the stability of trade and commerce as theirownersamassedfortunesfromfishing,mining,trade,andagriculture.Thereisgenuineunease,however,aboutthefutureofthecountryside.Inthe1980s,thewealthandwaysofheavyindustrycollapsed;nowitisthe turn of the land. Willie is one of the few people making anunsubsidizedlivingfromagriculture.Allthewhile,amidskirmishesandprosperity,thebeesgowheretheyhavealwaysgone: to the richest, longest, sweetestdraftofnectar theycan find,whether it is Scottish or English; agricultural oilseed rape orheatheronthemoorlands.Whenyouwalkbytheriverinearlysummer,a shy galaxy of wildflowers glimmers from the ground below: pinks,yellows, sky blues, mauves. Walkers shelter from the soft, cold rainundertheoccasionalstretchofhawthornhedge,andthencontinue,withthe grass and flowers glittering below their feet. As I walked by theriver,Iwatchedthebeeswithanewinterest,lookingatthemgotofillthehoneypot,lookingattheplantsandwonderingwhatsortofhoneytheirnectarwouldproduce.Thehawthornusedtobeaficklebutexquisitesourceofhoney,whenthe fields in this part of the world were parceled off between theirprickly hedges. These high hedges, flowering in May and June, keptcattleinandgavetheanimalsshelter,andtheyexistedbecausetheIrishshipped their stock over to be fattened by the Northumbrian farmers,who then sold them to market. No longer. Grain gets more temptingsubsidies than livestock. The hawthorn was ripped out in the sixtieswhenthebeastswent,andthebeesfoundotherflowers.InearlyJune, the landalsoused tospreadwhitewithnativeclover.This helped fix nitrogen in the soil to renew its fertility. Many rural

households tookadvantageof thecloverandkeptbees:anagriculturalworkercoulddoublehismonthlyincomebysellinghoney.Mostpeoplekept bees, and primary schools had hives to teach children aboutbeekeeping, just as they taught sewing and gardening—unimaginablenow.ThecloverwentasfarmersturnedtoartificialfertilizersaftertheSecondWorldWar,madeexpensivelyusingpetrochemicals.Again, thebeeswentelsewhere.Countrysidefollowsmarketforces;orrathergovernmentgrants.Great

swathesofheatherhavebeenrippedouttogrowcropslesssuitedtothemoorland.Now thereare subsidies forputting theheatherbackagain.Themostprolificagriculturalcrop forhoney inBritain isoilseedrape.HeavilysubsidizedbytheEuropeanUnion’scommonagriculturalpolicy,it is used for animal feed, as a break crop from cereals, for cheapvegetableoil,andrecentlyasabiodiesel.Quiteapartfromallthis,itisauseful sourceofnectar for thebees in theearly spring,although someconnoisseursdislikeitsnowcommonpresenceinBritishhoneys,andthewayitgranulatessoquickly.Forawhile,intheseparts,thefieldswereduskywithapurplyblue,as

farmersgrewborageforpharmaceuticalcompanies.Thebeesproducedabeautiful,clearhoneyfromtheflowers.Butthecropprovedfickleandwas dropped. You can just glimpse faint smudges of blue along fieldedgesliketheghostsofpastplants.Wildandgardenflowersarethebees’ever-changingbuffet,alongside

the substantial banquets of agricultural crops.Willow herb, known asfireweed, flowers in midsummer and makes a sweet pale honey. Thewild pink flowers spread like flames and its nickname came from thewayitcolonizedburnt-outbombsites.Italsogrowswherewoodlandhasbeencutdown.Inthelatesummerandearlyautumn,anotherparticularflower,balsam,quiverswithbees,andpinksthebanksoftheTweedsothe peaty water beside them looks like warm chocolate. The flowersspread here from seeds washed down from the eighteenth-andnineteenth-centurywoolenmillsupstream,whereimportedfleeceswerewashedwhite,intheprocessdispatchingflowersfromSpainandFrance.Thisisjustonepatchoftheplanet.Wherevertheyare—jungle,Arctic

tundra,northernforest—beesfindnectar,evenjust thesmallestofsipsfromtinydesertplants.

THE CHAIN BRIDGE HONEY FARM is very much a family business, run by WillieRobsonwiththehelpofhiswife,Daphne,theirson,Stephen,whoisalsoa beekeeper, and their daughters, Heather and Frances. After fourgenerations of building up the business, theRobsons nowhave fifteenhundredhives,whicharemovedaroundthehighlandsandlowlandsofNorthumberland and the Berwick-shire, following the flowers. A localmap theRobsons have pinned up on awall shows their heather sites,and the place names have a terse beauty: Burn Castle, Rawburn,Scarlaw, Stobswood, Old Bewick, Chatton Sandyfords, Harehope,HangwellLaw.Overwinter,thehivesareplacedinshelteredspotsneardomestic gardens; in the summer, near fields of crops or stretches ofwildflowers.ChainBridgehoneyisregardedwithprideandaffectionbytheregion.

You see the plastic tubs of their heather honeycomb and jars ofTweedsideBlendonthecounterinlocalnewsagents,aswellasinsmartgiftshopsandfoodspecialists.Inanageofglobalization,itisagenuineregionalproduct,andtheysellaslocallyaspossible—notleastbecauseitsavesonthecostsofdelivery.In the preparation room of the honey farm, Willie is cutting up

honeycombsfromtheboxesbroughtdownfromtheheathermoor.Heiswearing his tweed cap, its colors reflecting the soft blues, grays, andgreensof thiswet,wild landscape, and tendrils of grayhair breakoutfromunder itsbrim.Thecomb’sminiaturegoldencolumnsarestackedoneontopoftheother.Theroomisfullofthesmellofhoney,hangingintheair,softandwarm,alongsidethesoundofstickycutsashedividesthe honeycomb with a bone-handled knife. In hours of cutting andtalking, not a single stray drip escapes. When a wasp comes peskingnearby, Willie dispatches it with a swift, neat backhand of his knife.“Sampras,eatyourheartout,”hesays,inpassing.Hecutsoffagenerouscornerofcomb,offersittome,andtakesabithimself.Abroad,strongman, he looks, suddenly, like a bear enjoying a sweet snack. Just assuddenly,inthemidstofagloomydiatribeaboutthestateoffarmingorgreedybusinessmenpouringmoneyintoidiotideas,hisfacewilllightupwith a sun-shaft of humor, or he will walk around the honey farmtrailingoutnotesfromhischoir’srepertoire:“Ohtherhythmoflifeisa

powerfulbeat….”As with most small independent businesses, home and work areindivisible. Willie thinks, lives, breathes, and builds the businessconstantly.Thehoneyfarm,inturn,hastakenonmanyhumanqualities.Despitethefactthefarmisdeepinthecountryside,peoplecomeandgoconstantly, dropping by to hear the news or to seewhat is happeningwithWillie’s latest scheme, telling a story as theymake apurchaseorarranging for an item to be picked up or sent on. People—visitors,customers,workers—are greeted as a part of thenatural hospitality oftheplace.Willie reckons 80 percent of the profits go back into the localeconomy. He employs about ten people, some of them highly skilledindividualslookingforahomeafterthecollapseofsmall-andmedium-scaleagriculture.WhenIvisited,therewasmuchbangingandtinkeringgoing on in some new buildings they had put up: a new vintagetransportexhibitwasbeingcreatedtoattractvisitors.Wanderingaroundvehicle entrails and the beastlike bodies of old cars and trucks,Willietold me about a tractor recently shipped over from Australia by abeekeeper who was dying of cancer. He managed to bring his prizedvehicleoverpersonallyinordertogiveitahomeatthenewmuseum.ChainBridgeHoneyFarmdrawspeopleback,andIcould imaginethisman traveling halfway across the world to make a final, lastingconnectionwiththisplacebeforehedied.Willie Robson’s way of treating people fairly (both workers andcustomers—pricesarekeptreasonable)feelsrefreshinglyungreedy;itisalmostold-fashionedinthemodernworld—andyetitworks.Thehoneyfarm produces something good—very good—without cutting corners.Hardlyanyonebothers toproduceheatherhoneycombthesedays: it istoo much work. Yet there is a market for it, as the Robsons prove.Farmers, in thedecadesof subsidies—whatWilliecalls funnymoney—havenotneededtomarkettheirproduceandconnectwiththecustomer.Inthistimeofchange,theyaresuddenlyvulnerable.Willieisinabetterposition. He has had to keep a careful eye on what people want,developingarangeofcosmeticproducts,suchastheheather-honeylipbalm so fragrantyoukeep lickingyour soft lips anddevelopinghoneyfoods,suchasarichcakeandatangygrainmustard.Recently,hehad

been trying to persuade several farmers in the area to grow borageagain.Hewouldgetgoodfoodforhisbees,andtheycouldsellthecropintotheflourishinghealthfoodmarket;theplantmakesanoilthathasmoregammalinolenicacidthaneveningprimroseoil,whichhastakentheinternationalhealthfoodmarketbystormforitsreputedbenefitsforthosewithafflictionsfromhighcholesteroltorheumatoidarthritis.Thesubsidy route is a dead end, he believes: “If youpaypeople for doingnothing,itwillultimatelydestroythem.”The skills of beekeeping itself originate from Willie’s father. SelbyRobson lectured on beekeeping in the days when it was seen as animportantpartof the ruraleconomy.Hewould touraround thenorth,listening as much as he talked, picking up the knowledge of otherbeekeepers and passing it on. Now that farmers are being urged todiversify, they lack the likes of Selby Robson, and others who havehoned such skills for themselves from time-tested experience, amongtheirranks.ForWillie’spart,hesaysthat,increasingly,hisknowledgecomesfrompayingattentiontonature.Itislargelyaboutrespect.Themoraleofthecolony is paramount, and any creature needs to be comfortable. Youmustgetthebeesoutofdraftsandmakesuretheyhaveenoughwater.Drought comes from the nature of the subsoil. Some land needs rainevery ten days, or the plants become stressed and, in turn, the beessuffer. Innature,nothing is fixed—theweather,plants, geography—allhavetheirvariations.WhenWilliewaslearningfromhisfather,theyhadafixedroutineofvisitingthehives.Sometimesthebeeswouldjustnotbeinthemoodandthesituationwouldturnnasty.Nowhegoesmorewithwhatthebeesneedandwant,ratherthandictatingterms.AfterspendingsometimewithWillie,Ibegantounderstandwhatisattheheartofhisphilosophy.Manyotherbeekeepershavegonedownamore scientific route, which involves breeding up or bringing in newstrains topromotepositivegenetic traits in their stock.Aftermakingagoodlivingfrombeekeepingforthirty-fiveyears,Williehaslearnedthehardestlessonofall:todoless,notmore.Heletsthebeesadapttotheirenvironment the best they can.He visits themoccasionally, he checksthemfordisease,hemakessurethehivesareinagoodposition,andhecollects the honey. Only after years of practice, observation, and

knowledgehashereachedthisconclusion:thatthebestyoucandoistodoaslittleaspossible.

FIVE ROOMSof thehoney farmaregivenover toanexhibition that coverseverysurfacewithinformationonthehoneybee.Aswellasdisplaysonthe biology and ecology of bees, there are bee-related quotes (“If youwanttogatherhoney,don’tkickoverthebeehive”—AbrahamLincoln);bee factsabouthistory;and snippetsonbeesandbeliefs.The insect isfeaturedintheBible,withitslandofmilkandhoney,intheKoran,andin Native American andHindu creationmyths—in the texts of almosteverymajorreligionandliteratureintheworld.At the end of the first room I discovered an observation hive.

AristocratsoftheEnlightenmenthadacrazefortheseglasshivesastheybegantolookattheworldmoreclosely,withaneyeclearedbyreason.Thehivewasabout4feetwideby3feethigh,containingaflatslabofcomb. The bees went in and out through a tube in the wall. I stoodbefore it, mesmerized. There was a faint sound, like a nonstop traingoing through an endless tunnel a mile below my feet. This animalenginechuffedawayinaceaselesssteamofpureenergy.Iputmyeartothe glass and both felt and heard the whirr of life: thousands andthousands of lives wound up like watches, ticking away in collectivesurvival. I blurredmyeyes.Thebees formedanalmost solidmaterial,quietly,steadilyseething.ItwasunlikeanythingIhadseenbefore.Notrepulsive, like the pulsing of maggots on meat. Not a crawling, orscurrying,orwriggling.Ithadagentle,purposeful,cohesivemovement,impressiveandunstoppableinitsnumbers, likeacrowdgatheringatalargesportsstadium,oraworkforcefunnelingintoafactorygate.IthoughtofWillieRobsonandhowheandthebeeslivedwiththeir

surroundings; of the intimate and ultimately curious relationship thatholds bees, plants, and humans in so many different, delicate websaround theworld, and how thesewebs had existed formillennia. Theproductsofthehoneybeehavealwaysbeenusefultoman,butbeyond,far beyond, their material use, bees have always fascinated us, rightfromtheStoneAgecavedwellerswhodrewimagesofwildhoneyhuntsontheirwalls,theprimevallinesflowingwithalifethatissimpleinthe

way that water is simple, or blood. The life of the hive has providedmetaphors, aswe compared this insect society to our own, and it hasalwaysprovidedmysteries,whetherwetriedtounderstandthemorfedthemintooursuperstitions.Civilizations roseand fell; thebee flewon regardless.Howmanhas

seenbeesreflectsbackanimageofeachage.Ilookedatthebeesintheobservationhive,bothindividuallyandcollectively,tryingtounderstandthis essentially strange sight. Thousands of human voices—poets,scientists, saints, hedonists—joined the hum: bees must be the mostdiscussed creature on the planet, after man. A buzz collected, overcenturies.Ididnotknowwhatitwouldtellme,butIknew,then,thatIwantedtowritethisbook.

H

CHAPTERONE

INTHEBEGINNING:EVOLUTION

oney. It starts in the spring. With the brightening air comes aquickening of theworld. All over the planet, plants plug into the

energy of daylight. Systems are switched on; leaves feed on light; sapcirculates. As spring spreads to summer, flowers in uncountablequantities open out. Within the plants lie small, secret pockets ofnectaries, andwithin these glands swell droplets of sweet liquid. Thissugarysubstanceisasymbolofallthatisdesirableinnature:nectar.Thefemaleworkerhoneybeehovers,lands,andbendsintothecenter

ofaflower,headdownforafeed.Shesucksupthenectar,thenshe’soffto another one—accelerating so fast your eyes are left behind. Shecollectsthenectarinatransparent,pear-shapedbagcalledahoneysackthatliesatthefrontofherabdomenaspartofthegut.Whenthissackbulgesfull,shefliesbacktohercolony.In the dark of thehive, this forager bee passes the nectar on to the

house bees. The nectar will be passed from bee to bee, becomingprogressivelymoreconcentratedasitgoes.Thebeespushthenectarintoflatdropson theundersideof theproboscis, andexposure toairhelpsevaporatesomeof the liquid.Adropwillbepumped inandoutmanytimes, each time becoming a little less liquid. Sucked and pumped,suckedandpumped,suckedandpumped,thenectarconcentratesdownto 40 percent of its original moisture, and then small droplets aredepositedontothefloorofthewaxcombwherethewarmairinthehiveevaporates it yet further. As foraging bees bring back the sweet flow,thousandsmorebeattheirwingstocreateathrough-draft;thecolonyisamassofwingsworkingtogethertofanoffthemoisturewithwarmair.When the liquid reduces rightdown,andeachcell’swaterygleamhasthickened to a sticky bead, the bees top the full cell with awax cap.Sealedand stored, thehoney isnowreadyuntilneeded, ratherasyoumightkeepapotuponacupboardshelf.But wait. This image of the well-ordered household with its well-

stockedlarder is tootame,tooneat, toocozy. It is far lessstrangeandextraordinarythanthetruth:themiraculoushasbeendomesticated.Forwhatishoney,onceyoutakeitofftheshelfandtracebacktowhereitcomesfrom?Eachplace,eachplantproducesadifferenthoney.Honeyshave tastes, colors,andconsistenciesaccording to theirnectar sources.Some honeys come largely from a single flower—monofloral honeys—whilemultifloral honeys gather the nectar ofmanyplants fromplacessuchasmeadowsandmountainsides.FromthetoughscentedcarpetofthymeandmarjoramontheslopesofGreekislandsflowsanectarthatbecomes a honey that was once offered to gods. The tree-of-heaven’shoneytastesfaintlyofmuscatgrapes.Beesflybetweenorangeblossomsandthesplayedwhiteflowersofthecoffeeplant,fusingtheirflavorsastheygo.Theyflytomilkweed,thistles,andgoldenrod;todandelionsandtuliptrees,toacaciasandrockroses.Aslightlysalty,snow-whitehoneycomes from the pohutukawa, the Christmas tree of the blazing,antipodean midsummer, that flowers flame red around December.Frothywhiteblossomsonappletreesproduceorchardhoney.Theviolet,snakystalksofviper’sbuglossmakeacleargoldhoney.Italianchestnuttrees spread a dark fragrance; mango honey is truly fruity, and theaguinaldoblancoofCentralAmericayieldsawater-whitehoneysaid tobe one of the clearest in the world. Fields of lavender, of beans, ofoilseed rape; suburban gardens full of flowers nodding with bees;Californian desert and Himalayan cliff; the bone-dry Kalahari and thelooping, raveling rain forest; the fairytale dark-depths of woods inCentral Europe with their resinous honeydew; carob plantations andSicilian lemon groves; rambling British blackberries and the manydifferent kinds of eucalyptus in Australia, which flow unpredictably,perhaps every two, eight, or twelve years; the rich, dark resonatingbrownofrosemaryhoney;theslightlymintyhoneyfromthelindentreeson the Lower East Side of New York City: all these plants, all theseplaces, stream with nectar in large gouts or pinprick stars; all comethroughbeestomakehoney.It is closer to the truth to say that bees perform an act of alchemy.Honeyisnothinglessthanconcentratednectar;andapotofgoodhoneyistheessenceofitssurroundings,asweet,fragrantriverfromamilliontributaries,carriedacrosstheairandflowinggoldintothepotthrough

thetransformingpowerofthebee.

THE HONEYBEE’S STORY must be traced back through an incomparably vaststretchoftime,throughcluesstrewninthegreatevolutionaryflow.Thesearch feels like a detective story. Where to begin? The canvas isunimaginably large. Life—the chemical change that sparked inanimatematter to reproducing molecules—probably began about four billionyears ago. (Humans, of the sort we would recognize, have probablyexisted for about 1.5 to 2 million years, to give some idea of howinsignificant we are in terms of time.) The next stirrings of existencebegan in thewater that surrounded both plants and animals, bringingthem food and oxygen and supporting their bodies. Life moved fromseawater to freshwater, creeping further toward land and thencolonizing its swampy margins. A coating of primitive plants movedacrosstheearth.Itwasinsectsthatevolvedtofeedontheseplants,andtheirremainshavebeenfoundinfossilizedswampsandremnantsoftheearliestforests.Earlyinsectswerewingless;then,astheplantsgrew,theydevelopedwingsthatcouldmoreeasilyreachthenewheights.Bees,likeantsandwasps,arepartof theHymenoptera,or“membranewing,”order,withtwo sets of filmy wings hooked together to cause less turbulence anddrag in flight. Thewings are stretched over a sparse network of veinsthatprovide their support structure, like the frame for a kite’s flexiblefabric.Evolution is the blind shuffle of DNA, filtered by success ofreproduction. Insects have succeeded by being the ultimate nicheoperatorsoftheanimalkingdom,abletoworkinanyenvironment,fromArctic wastes to mountaintops to suburban gardens to deserts. Onereason they can do this is that their exoskeletons can adapt relativelyeasily,theanimal’soutsidealteringwithouttheinsect’sinsidehavingtochange.Theexoskeletonadaptedintodifferentkindsofwings;itturnedintotheneedlinglegsofthespinningspiderandthemusicalsawsofthejumping grasshopper; it became thewarning spots of the ladybug andthe aggressive stripes of thewasp and the bee; it became the battlingclawsofthestagbeetleandthestabbingjabofthemosquito.Theinsect

hasanexternalkitthattoolsitupformanydifferentcircumstancesandits evolutionary success isprovedby thenumbers.Thereareamillioninsectsforeachhumanontheplanet,andtheymakeuparoundhalfofallnamedspecies.How did some insects become bees? The first clue is their intimate

connection with flowering plants, or angiosperms, which arrived onearthduring thegeological eraknownas theCretaceous,between140and 60million years ago. Primitive plants spread their seed bywind,casting their pollen into theworld in profligate quantities. Then someplantsbegantomakesmallerquantitiesofpollenthantheirpredecessorsandinvestedmoreenergy,instead,inenticingcreaturessuchasinsectstovisit.Itwasasmartmove.Insectsevolvedtofeedontheprotein-richpollen,thetinygrainsthatarethesex-dustofmalereproduction.Whenpollenattachestoaninsect’sbody,itcanbetransferredtootherplantsand—bingo!—pollination occurs. When you want to attract lovers, itpays to dress up. Flashy, colorful, sweet-smelling flowers evolved,appealingtoanimals,andparticularlyinsects.Nectar,thebasematerialofhoney, ispartof theflower’s tacticsofattraction,alongwithpetals,pollen,scent,shape,andcolor.Honey,then,isanelixirofsex.

THAT FLOWERS EVOLVED at the same time asmany of the insectsmust be nocoincidence. Bees and blooms are so twisted together by the twinnecessities of existence, of reproduction and food, that theirdevelopmentmusthavebeeninterdependent.Thechronologyof this isnotentirelycertain,however.Thecluesofpaleontologycanliterallybewrit in stone, yet they are still random clues to life, and petals andinsectspreservefarlesswellthandinosaurbones.The oldest known bee fossil was found in New Jersey. This single

femaleinsectisentombedinthehard,orangeglowofamber.Shewas,poor scrap, trapped by sticky coniferous tree resin. She was alsocapturedforposterity.Theresinturnedtoalight,transparentfossilandthebeewasheld forever, legs stretchedout, almost flailing, as thoughsheiseithertumblingthroughsomeotherworldlymedium,orabouttolandonaplantthatproducedthepollenofeightymillionyearsago.Thebee is caught in a fossilized freeze-frame, the durability of the rock

starkly framing the delicacy of the fragment of life within. She datesfrom the late Cretaceous and was already well evolved, evidencepointing toward the fact thatbeeshadbeenaroundat leastas longasflowers.Then,in1994,adiscoverywasmadethatcouldpushbackthedateoftheevolutionofbeesevenfurther.Itraisedtheideathattheycouldhavebeenontheplanetperhapsevenlongerthanflowers.ThePetrifiedForestNationalParkineasternArizonaisatimecapsuleofstonelogsgraduallybeinguncoveredbyerosionandexplorations.The100,000acresonce contained theBlackForest of ancient conifers thatthrivedinthesemitropicalworldoftheTriassicperiod,morethan200million years ago. Then volcanic eruptions sent a huge flood thatflattened the trees like skittles and buried them deep underground,devoid of oxygen.Over time, thewood started tomineralize. In somecases,ironoxidesinthewoodturnedthetreesintoastartlingrangeofcolorssuchasrubybrownandlichenorange;inothercases,theystayedasblackastheforest’sname.Time passed. The landmass of planet earth that had been asupercontinent split intoanorthernhalf, Laurasia,which laterbecameNorthAmerica and Eurasia, and a southern half,which became SouthAmerica, Africa, Australia, peninsular India, and Antarctica. Humansarrived. Humans evolved. Humans became curious. Humans becameacquisitive.By the nineteenth century, the fossilized forest had gained a certaincelebrity.On theordersof theCivilWarcommanderGeneralShermantwopetrified tree trunkswere cartedoff to theSmithsonian’sNationalMuseum of Natural History, where they remain today. Amateurs andprofessionals also came to the forest, picking up souvenirs and booty,from shards to logs. The petrified fragments were turned into clockbases,jewelry,andluxurioustrinketssoldatTiffany.In1962,PresidentJohnFKennedymade thePetrifiedForestanationalpark,affording itsomeprotection.At the end of the twentieth century, teams studying ancientecosystemsandclimatestrackedthroughthepark,tryingtogathercluesabouttheforest’soriginalexistence.Amongthemostinterestingfinds,of

agroupledbyDr.TimDemko,wereapproximatelyonehundredinsects’nests.The inch-longflask-shapedcellswereclusteredtogether,andtheentrance was probably through open knot holes in the wood. Theformationofthecellsanddetailsoftheirconstructionsledthescientiststo believe they were built by ancient ancestors of today’s bees.Elsewhere on the site, they also later found nests closely resemblingthoseofthemodernsweatbees(Halictidae),socalledfortheirattractionto perspiration. Chemical analysis of the Petrified Forest nests showedthat the cells contained some of the organic compounds found inbeeswax.Theearlydateoftheforestcouldbesignificant.Ifthesewere,indeed,

bees’nests—andtheevidencecertainlypointedtothis,thoughsomesayyouwouldneed to findbeebodies to be certain—itwouldmeanbeesexisted 207 to 220million years ago, at least 120million years or sobeforetheoldestpreviouslyknownbeefossil.Beyondthis,thenestsareolder than the earliest known flower fossils. Could it be that beesexisted,insomeform,foragesbeforeflowers?Itdepends,partly,onhowyoudefineabee.Evolutionis,afterall,a

continuum, and these could be bee ancestors rather than beesthemselves.Italsodependsuponwhenflowersfirstevolved,andfragileplants leave an elusive fossil trail. CharlesDarwin called the origin offlowering plants “an abominable mystery,” and it remains, for all thetheories,ultimatelymysterious.What seems more certain is that bees probably evolved from a

descendant of today’s carnivorous hunting wasp. The Russianentomologist Professor S. I.Malyshev posited a theory about how thishappened,andthisleadstopartofwhatmakesabeeabee:itsdiet.Beesareunusualamonginsectsbecausethedevelopingyounghavethesamedietastheadult;bothsurviveexclusivelyonplants.Thehuntingwaspsstillfeedtheirgrubsonprotein-richaphidsthattheykillwiththeirjaws.They also eat, as bees do, the honeydew exuded from plant-suckingaphids. Malyshev argued that these early carnivorous wasps, in theprocess of killing their prey to feed their young, would taste thesweetness in the aphid’s body that they also found in honeydew. Itwouldhavebeenashortevolutionarystepfortheinsectstofeedentirelyonplants,intheirlarvalaswellastheiradultdiet.

Wedonotknow forcertain ifandhowthebee firstevolved fromacarnivoroushuntingwasp.Wedonotknowtheearliestdateofthebeeor the bloom. What we have are theories looped onto fragments. Itmakestheevolutionarydetectivestorynolessintriguing.To get back to a concrete fact—one you can eat—Malyshev’s

speculationsconnecttoanotherpotinmykitchencupboard.Honeydewhoney is a delectable curiosity. Strong, to the point of almost beingsavory, it is not made from the nectar of flowers at all. Rather, beescollecthoneydewfromtheaphidsinforests,justasthehuntingwaspdidallthattimeago.Thishoneyisthereforeastickysubstancemadefromfluidingestedbytwokindsofinsect.But,asIspreadthedarklydeliciousoozeonmytoast,Iprefertothinkofhoneydewasapossiblecluetotheevolutionofthehoneybee.

THE COMPLEXITY of the relationships between bees and flowers shows thatthey certainly coevolved to a great extent. Many flowers have highlyspecific structures to attract bees and other insects. The colors andshapesofflowersthatsoappealtothehumaneyeactonthebee,thoughin a slightly different way. The velvety red of a rose, for example, iswastedonabee,intermsofcolor,becausetheireyescannotdistinguishdifferencesatthatendofthelightspectrum.Towardtheyellow,green,blueend,however,abee’ssight isacute,whichmayexplainwhysuchplantsas thyme, rosemary,and lavender,with theirbluesandpurples,aresuchfamoussourcesofhoney.Atthefarendofthelightspectrum,beescanseetheultravioletlight

that is invisible to the human eye. Seen through a bee’s eye, theapparently uniform yellow of the petals of the evening primrose willrevealmarkingsthatguidethebeeintothecenteroftheflower.Otherflowersoftenhaveadifferentcoloratthecenter—suchastheyellowinthe center of a rock rose—which also leads the insects toward thenectariesandthepollen-bearingstigmas.Smell is another way that flowers attract bees and help them to

remember to return. Scent and sight clearly work well, because forapproximately twelvedays, thehoneybee retains theknowledge thataparticularfloweryieldsgoodnectarandpollen.Thishelpspromotewhat

isknownasconstancy,thereturnvisitsthatbenefitbothbeeandflower.Theflowerismorelikelytogetpollinatedifthebeeisgoingfromonetoanotherofthesamespecies;andthebeeisabletosuckupasmuchofagood source of nectar as possible. The bee has a daily diary ofappointments since flowers tend to produce their nectar at set times.Beesdevelopanongoingschedulethatchangesasdifferentflowersopenand deliver nectar. Nine in themorning is good for dandelions,whilemarjoramflowsatlunchtimeandviper’sbuglossgetsgoingat3p.m.Bees’ bodies have evolved in a way that makes them able to workflowers.Thebasicdivisionof an insect’s body—intohead, thorax, andabdomen—ledtothename“insect”or“cutinto.”Beeshave,inaddition,what you could call awasp-waist (in insects as in corsetedEdwardianladies); that is, twosegmentsof theirabdomennarrowtoanadjoiningpoint. This means their bodies articulate so they can poke their frontrightintoaplant.Flowerswithdownwardswingingbell-likeflowers,orflowers with oddly shaped or narrow tubelike structures, are easypickingsforabee,whilstinaccessibletolessflexiblecreatures.Someconnectionsbetweenbeesandbloomsareextraordinaryintheirspecificity. The most celebrated is that between the euglossine, ororchid, bees and the bucket orchid of the Coryanthes genus in SouthAmerica. Euglossine bees are among the most beautiful bees on theplanet. Their metallic abdomens are like shards of enamel in hues ofblues and greens, bronzes, and golds, darting through the air in rapidflight. For their part, orchids are famous for an enormous variety offorms, and this is connected to their various, unorthodox methods ofreproduction. Few sexual relationships are as strange and difficult asthis.The flower of the bucket orchid operates like an assault course. Itsstructure,oddenoughtobebeautiful, looksmore likeadigestive tractthanthestereotypicalideaofaflower.Atitsbaseisadeep,bucketlikeform,intowhichdripsfluidfromtwotaplikeprotuberancesabove.Thefloweremitsascentthatdrawstheeuglossinemales.Thebeeslandontherimofthebucket.Theflower’swholedesignthenencouragesabeetofallin.Thesteep,smoothsidesofthebucketareimpossibletoclimb.Thebeehasonlyonerouteout:aspoutsituatedhalfwayuptheflower.Inabidtoescapedrowning,thebeepushesitswaythroughthisnarrow

exit.Intheprocess,hebrushespastapacketofpollenhookedontothetopofthisexitcorridor,whichshould,fingerscrossed,attachitselftohisabdomen. If this bee then flies to anotherbucket orchid and the sameincident occurs (will these bees ever learn?), he has to scramble freeagain,pushingthroughtheescapepassageandintheprocesslosinghispollenpacketsothatpollinationoccurs.Nowonderbucketorchidsare,evenfororchids,comparativelyrare.

FROMTHEEARLYORIGINSofthehuntingwasp,thereevolvedmanywaysofbeingabee.Thereare,today,at least22,000namedspecies.Becausenectar,like nature in general, flowswell inwarmth, the greatest number arefound in the humid tropics. Brazil, for example, has at least fourthousandofthem.Butbeesalsothriveinhot,dryplacessuchasdesertsandcansurviveinsuchapparentlyinhospitableplacesastheHimalayas—certainly as high as 14,760 feet—and Arctic tundra. The larger thearea,thegreaterdiversity:anislandsuchasGreatBritainhas260kindsofbees,Francehas800,and theAfricancontinentandNorthAmericaeachhave4,000.This superfamily of bees ranges in size from the smallest bee in theworld,thePerditaminima,dozensofwhichcouldfitonasingleantennaof the largest bee, to the big, black leaf-cutter beeChalicodoma pluto,withabodyoneandahalftotwoincheslong.Somegroupshavebeengiven namesmirroring human activities.Miner bees, for example, digdeep into the ground—one Brazilian species as far as 16 feet down—makingmininestsattheendsoftunnelsdugoffacentralshaft.Theydiglike dogs, their legs throwing up dirt behind them, and observantgardeners,noticingthesmallmoundsofearthontheir lawn,markthisasasignofspring.Masonbeesmixdustwithsalivatoformacementtoconstructcellsforpollenandhoney.Carpenterbeesusetheirstrongjawsto bore and cut theirway intowood and hollow stems tomake theirhomes, and leaf-cutter bees snip semicircles out of leaves, puzzlinggardeners with these large, neat munch marks, and fly with the leafgraspedbyallthreepairsoflegs,takingittolinetheirnests,whicharefoundwithinsuchprefabspacesasbeetletunnels,plantstems,andevenanimalskulls.

Beeshavereacheddifferentdegreesofcommunal living.Bumblebeesintemperateclimates, forexample, formcolonies inthesummer.Mostof the bees die off over winter, leaving the queen alone. She finds aready-made hole, such as a mouse’s abandoned nest, and spends thewintertherewithasinglecellofhoney.Whentheweatherwarmsandthenectar starts to flow, sheeats somehoney fromthepotand leavesher nest to start the year and a new colony. The sight and sound ofbumblebees is a clear, early sign of the shifting up of the year’s gearstowardlonger,warmerdaysahead.Ofthemanywaysofbeingabee,thehoneybee,asitsnamesuggests,

is distinguished by its high degree of communal, or social, behavior,whichmeans it has become extraordinarily efficient at producing andstoringhoney.TheninespeciesoftheApis,orhoneybee,genusallhavehighlysocial

colonies and nests of hexagonal, wax cells. By collecting honey soeffectively,theycansurviveadropinthenectarflowandotherformsofadversity.Apis florea, the dwarf honeybee, is about ¼ inch in length,whilstApis dorsata, the giant rock bee, can be over ¾ inch. Both areindigenoustosoutheastAsia,wheretheybuildsingle,largecombsintheopen.Thecomblookslikestiffswagsofcurtainhangingoffobjectssuchas tree branches. Apis dorsata, with its shaggy, long-haired coat, cansurvivecoolerheightsand is thebeeof theHimalayas,where itbuildsitscomboncliffs—acombthat isbigenoughfor thehoneyhuntersofNepaltorollupandtakebacktothevillageasagreatprize.There evolved twomore branches of theApis genus,which seem to

haveexistedforjustatenthofthetimeoftheopen-nesters.Bothkindsof beesbegan tobuildparallel combs in cavities such ashollow trees.Furthermore,andmostsignificantly,bothevolvedtheabilitytoformaninertcluster.Thismeantthecolonycouldsurvivecolderwintersbecausethis cohesive, clinging ball of insects regulated its own temperature,looseningwhenthecolonyneeded to loseheatandpulling together toconserveit.Thecolonynolongerdiedoffincoldweather,whichmeanttheycouldmovebeyondtropicalzonesintoafar,farwidergeographicalarea.Theyalsohadsufficientnumberstostartcollectingnectarassoonasitstartedtoflowagain.Buildinganestinthedarkwasanabilitythatwaslatertolenditselftolivinginhives.

Ofthesetwokindsofbee,Apiscerana,theeasternhoneybee,isnativeinAsia.Itscoloniestendtobecomposedofsixtoseventhousandbees.The other bee spread through Africa, Europe, the Middle East, andwesternAsia.Itcanbuildandsustaincoloniesofasmanyas100,000ormoreandhasaprolificandconsistentrateofhoneyproduction.Beingsuitedtohivesandproducingsuchquantitiesofhoney,thisbeewasallset toplaya role in the lifeofman. Itwas tobecome the superbeeofplanet earth: Apis mellifera, the most successful bee of all time, hadarrived.

APIS MELLIFERA, the most studied creature on the planet after man, is asummit of sophisticated engineering; an evolutionary triumph of formand function in a thousand details. This tiny creature’s achievementstower above the flights of architecture and efficacy of man-mademachinery. It has occupied theminds of scientists, writers,musicians,andphilosophersaroundtheglobe.Thefluffinessofbees—evenabee’seyesarehairy—isseenbyhumans

aspartofacartoon“cuteness,”butthehairsthatcoverthehoneybee’sbodyservemanypurposes.Theyhelpcreateanelectromagneticchargethatdrawspollengrainsthroughtheair,leapingtowardthebee’sbody,where they are caught in the mesh of strands. The bristles growingbetweenthe6,900hexagonalplatesthatmakeupthecompoundlensofthebee’seyehelpittogaugewinddirectionandflightspeed.Hairsalsocover the six pairs of legs. Forget bees’ knees; bees’ legs, on the otherhand,make humans’ look pedestrian. Each one endswith a claw andsuctionpadsthatenablethebeetomovehorizontallyandvertically,tolandonapetalandclingtoitwithjustasingleleg,ortoholdontootherbeestoformtheclusterofaswarm.The legs are hairy, and each and every bristle has its business. The

forelegshaveasmall,hair-linednotchthroughwhichthebeecleansitsantennae, keeping their sensitivity clean and bright. The lower, outerpartofeachhindleghasaconcavescoop,intowhichthebeepacksitspollen, the grainsmoistenedwith sticky, honeyed saliva so as to formsmall clumps. Stiff bristles of hair help anchor the collected packet ofpollen, and the honeybee has evolved a sweeper system of moving

pollengrainsdownitsbodytocollectinthesepollenbaskets,whichyoucan sometimes see when it rubs its legs together in flight. You cancertainlyseethepollenclumpswiththenakedeye,ifyoulookcarefullyat the hind legs of a bee as it pauses on a flower, or even as it fliesaroundthegarden.

Aworkerbeereturnstothehivewithwillowpollenpackedintoherpollenbaskets.

The color of the pollen bundles depends upon the flowers the beeshavevisitedandisonewaybeekeeperscantellwheretheirinsectshavebeenfeeding.Abeekeeper’spollenchartlookslikeapaintcatalogwithsome surprising matches of colors and titles. Snowdrop pollen is thecolor of a free-range chicken’s egg yolk, and red dead-nettle a sultry,vampish red; but asparagus is the orange of a 1970s plastic chair;raspberry,forsomereason,isgray;gorseismousebrown;andorientalpoppy is dark blue. Between these are many shades of green, gray,orange,red,yellow,andbrown.The honeybee’s wings are a transparent film, as strong as they are

light.Althoughtheylooklikejustasinglepair,eachbeehastwopairs,theforewingslinkedtothebackwingsbyarowofminusculehooksthatlink the two together tomake a hard-wearing yet flexiblewhole. Themusclesintheinsect’sthoraxenablethewingstobeatatanastonishingtwohundredtimespersecond,anditisthisrapid,energeticmovementthat makes the bee’s buzz. This tremendous energy means the thoraxcould overheat, but the excess heat passes to the head, where it isdissipatedandevaporatedindropletsofsemi-concentratednectar,asif

thebeeweresweatingawateryhoney.Honeybeesareproverbiallybusy;itisevenmoreimpressivethatthey

don’twasteenergy.Evenacasual lookatanobservationhiveshowsamassofactivity,butjustasmuchwaitingaround.Uptotwo-thirdsofabee’slifeisspentwanderingaroundthehivedoingprettymuchnothing.Youwouldn’t call it relaxing, exactly, just not using up energy on theunnecessary.Wherethere’sagoodloadofnectarandpollentobefound,theygo.

The average speed of a bee in flight is 15 miles per hour. Its fuel ishoney,withanaverage load lastingup to37miles.Agallonofhoneypetrolcouldtakeabeesevenmillionmiles.Butthebeeiscarefulnottooverload.Itcalculatesexactlyhowmuchhoneyitneedstotakeintoitshoney sack in order to fly to and from the forage flowers withoutweighingitselfdownneedlessly.A beehive with its honeycomb and its bees is an embodiment of

energy:energyrecycledendlesslyasthehoneyiseatenandusedintheform of flight and every other facet of being alive. As interesting andimpressiveasbeesare individually, it is asa collective force that theymostfascinate.Eachbeemaybeatinyfractionofthehive,buteachoneplaysitspart.Thecollectivelifeofthehiveenablesitnotjusttothrivebut to grow, with new colonies of bees breaking off, or swarming, tocreatenewcolonies.Wetendtoputahierarchyonthethreetypesofbeefoundinahive.

While there may be up to 200,000 female workers, though morecommonly 50,000, theremight be, atmost, a few hundred drones, ormalebees,and justone singlequeen.Her singularityandreproductivefunction—she is the egg layer for the colony—crown her as themostimportantbee.Whenanestbecomesovercrowded,thecolonypreparesto swarm. This involves the old queen flying off with some of theworkers inagreat swirlofbees.Before shegoes,morequeenswillbe“started,” one of which will lead the bees remaining in the colony;othersmaytakeoffwithfurthergroupsorcasts,dependingontheneedsofthecolony.Thequeencells,inwhichthenewqueensgrow,lookabitlike thick, waxy, inch-long peanut shells and hang vertically from thecomb.Whennomorequeensareneeded, thenextqueen tohatchwilldestroyanythatfollowher.Aneerie,keeningnoisecanbeheardoutside

thehiveof thequeenscallingout,abouttobeborn.Theyshouldkeepquiet. The hatched queen will wait for the others to emerge and theensuing fight is a sting-to-the-death. The queen’s sting, unlike theworker’s,canberetractedandreused,ruthlessly.The new queen’s next major task is to mate. She leaves the dark

securityofthehiveforhervirginflight,tobepursuedbythemalebees,ordrones.Theymateinmidairandshereturnstothecolony,storingthespermtouseduringherlifetime.Fromthenon,thequeen’sbusinessismainlytolayeggs—asmanyastwothousandinaday.Shemaybeabletolayamillionormoreeggsaltogether.Aftershehasrunthroughhersupplyofsperm,herendisnear,andshebeginstolookabitthreadbare.Atthispoint,thecolonystartsanewqueenbyfeedingeggswithahighconcentration of royal jelly, a protein-rich food derived from eatingpollen.

Thethreekindsofhoneybee:queen,drone,andworker.

Thequeen’s lifeshowshowthepowerandabilitiesof the individualbeeextendonlytothegreatergoodofthecolony.Nowhereisthismorepoignantlyobviousthaninthelifeofthedrone.P.G.WodehousenamedhisfictionalDronesClubforidleyoungmenwithgoodreason.Formuchofhis life, adrone couldbeportrayed, anthropomorphically, as a lazyso-and-so.Hefliesoutonsunnydays,aroundmidday,butnottocollectfood.Hedoesn’t evenbother toget food forhimself in thehivebut iswaitedonbytheworkers.Thedronesevenexcreteinthehiveandtheworkerscleanupafterthem.Thewholepointofthelifeofadronetakesplacewhenthenewqueen

is ready for her flight. Because, in evolutionary terms, mating is the

crucial part of his life, a drone’s anatomy is geared toward this singleevent. Blunt, square, and altogether stockier than theworker bees, hecutsamasculinefigurewithhislargeeyesliketheaviatorshadesonastruttingrockstar.Theseeyesareimportantforfollowingthequeen.Hishugeeyes,andhispowerfulantennae, ten timesmore sensitive thanaworker’s,arenottheretohelphimfindflowersbutforthismating-on-the-wing.This,then,ishismissioninlife:tocatchupwiththequeenandmate.Whenthefront-flyingdronesachievethisfeat,theydie.Fromthispointon, the rest of thedrones aremarkedmen.Charmedas their lifemayseem, they are pointless. Although they may spend the rest of thesummer hanging out in the colony, or making their sunny, middayflights,whenthecolonyisclosingdownforthewinter,orunderstressofanysort,theworkerssimplystopgivingthedronesfood.Theyevenbarthem from coming back into the hive when they return from theirflights. A beekeeper may see the pathetic sight of dozens of dronesshiveringoutsidethehiveonanautumnalday.Deniedfoodandshelter,shortly theywilldie.Next spring,anew lotofdroneswillbeborn, togrow,live,fly,feed,mate,anddie.Crucial though the lives of the queen and drones may be, the realpowerbehindthehiveisnotthebeesthatdothemating,butthetensofthousands of female workers. To call themworkers is to see them asdrudging laborerswho lack the glamour of the queen anddrones. Yetthelifetimeofaworkerbeecontainsacomplexityandprogressionthatmakestheothertwokindsofbeeslookalmostmundane.Theworkerbee is theultimatemultitasker.Fromthemoment she isborn to themoment shedies, sheperformsa seriesofwidelydifferingtasks:cleaningcells,tendingandfeedingthelarvaeandpupae,buildingandrepairingthehoneycombandnestingeneral,receivingnectarfromforagingbeesandfurtherprocessingitintohoney,receivingandpackingpollen into the cells, ventilating the hive to keep it at the righttemperature by flappingherwings, guarding the entrance to the hive,and then, about halfway throughher life, goingout to forage flowers,bringingbacknectarandpollen,reportingbackgoodfindstothehive,makinghoney,eatingsomehoneyherself,andgoingoutagaintoforagesomemore.Aworkerbeeinthesummermayliveforsixweeksbefore

dying, eventually, of exhaustion. In her life, she may have collectedenough nectar to make just 1/4 ounce of honey, less than half ateaspoonful.How the worker bee ticks off all her tasks is just one of theextraordinaryachievementsofthehoneybee.Theamazingcomplexitiesof these bees and their colony are the subject of many centuries ofdiscovery. How do these thousands of insects communicate? How dothey, for example, knowwhen to leave the hive in a swarm?Howdothey find the flowers thatwill produce honey and bring others to thefeast? How do they build the wax comb, which can hold the largestamount of honey in the lightest and most economically designedstructurepossible?Thehoneybeeevolved,flewaround,andreproducedwithoutnameornumber. As the Ice Ages locked upwater to create land bridges, beesspreadfarther.Inthenorth,theyspreadtothetipofwhatisnowcalledSweden;tothewest,toIreland;totheeast,beyondtheUralmountains,andtothesouth,tothetipofAfrica.Ineachplace,Apismelliferaevolvedslightly differently to suit the area, their limits at first marked bygeographicalboundariesof seas,mountains, anddeserts.Thenanothercreatureappearedthatwastochangeeverything.Enter,Homosapiens.

A

CHAPTERTWO

WILDHONEY

t first, humans found food using the samemethods as our fellowanimals: hunting and gathering. Berry by berry, kill by kill, we

piecedtogetherthenutrientsnecessaryforsurvival.Wefedlikeanimals,we fed on animals, we scavenged from the kills of other animals.Doubtlesswelearnedtechniquesfromthem,too.Honey-eating is an appetite we share with other mammals,

particularlyprimates.MountaingorillasontheborderbetweenRwanda,Zaire, and Uganda hunt for wild honey, as domonkeys and baboons.Chimpanzees,ourclosestcousins,withwhomweshare98percentofourDNA, are adept honey hunters, cooperating to raid bees’ nests ofwildhoneycomb and sharing the spoils. Some of their honey habits soundremarkablyhuman.InherobservationsonchimpanzeesinTanzania,theprimatologistDr.JaneGoodalldescribesamalechimpusingastick toenlargeaholeintheopeningtoanundergroundnest.Hepulledoutthecombandshareditwithhismother.Fifteenminuteslater,hisbabysistercamebackand repeatedlyputherhand in thedrippinghoney, lickingherhairyfingerslikeachildwhohasdiscoveredthefamilyhoneypot.Bears are greedy plunderers of honeycomb. From fictional Baloo to

Winnie the Pooh, from brown bears to the sloth bears and sun bearsknown as honey bears, they relish the sweet wealth of energy thisdelicious food provides, liking both the honey and the protein-richdeveloping brood. Particular bears are such expert honeycomb raidersthattheymaybemarkedoutandshotbyhumansprotectingtheirhives.Of all the tastes known to man, sweetness has the highest status.

Bitternessmeansbileandseethingrancor,aswellascoffee;saltinesscanswellintoagaggingchoke;sournesscanmeanputrificationratherthanthebrightedgeoflemon.Sweetness,alone,isheapedwithconnotationsofwealth and happiness. Youmight eat one toomany chocolates andfeelsick,butthat,afterall,isaproblemofluxuriance.

Thishighregardforsweetnessisbasedonsoundnutrition.Forearlyman,sweetness in fruitproved itwasripeandready toeat.Sweetnessreleases sugars quickly into our bloodstream for instant energy, andhoney,with itseasilydigested fructoseandglucose,notonlydoes thisfastbutalsoprovidesanespeciallydensesourceofcalories.Astashofgolden honey would have been a bonanza to early hunter-gathererhumans, compared with the patient grubbing and picking together ofleaves,fruits,androotsorthedifficulthuntingdownofwildanimals.Ourattractiontosugarissomethingwearebornwith.Sugaroccursinnatureinplantsandmammals’milk,andexperimentshaveshownhownewbornpalates turn to sweetness regardlessof experience, suggestingthatitisaninnateneed,soonsuppliedbybreastmilk.Ofallthesourcesof sugars readilyavailable fromnature, thehoneyderived fromnectartastes especially sweet, making it a particularly nurturing form ofnourishment.Foodisnotonlyamatterofnutrients,orperhapswewouldtodaybelivingthespace-agefantasyofpillmeals.EvenforStoneAgeman,therewereeasiersourcesofcaloriesthanrobbingwildbees.Thewaywelovehoney must be connected to our positive feelings about sweetness ingeneral,perhapsconnectedtoourearliestnurturing.“Goodfood,”wrotethe anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, “must be good to think aboutbeforeitbecomesgoodtoeat.”Weknowthathoneywasreveredbyearlyman,waswovenintoourhighestthoughtsanddesires,because,alongwiththeotheranimalsmostprized inhunting andmythology, thehoneybee featureswidely in themesmerizing,earliestsurvivingmarkswemadeabouttheworld:ancientcaveandrockdrawings.

INTHEICEAGES,whenEuropeanhumansretreatedtoliveinsouthernFranceand the Iberianpeninsula, theirhuntingquarrywasnot just thehairy-coatedmammothandbison.AlimestonecaveinSpaincontainsthefirstpainting discovered in Europe to be recognizably of honey-hunting.Found in 1924 in a rock shelter at Bicorp, inland from Valencia, theimagedepictsasetoflong,swingingropes,letdownoverarockface—likethepictureitselfis,inaliteralsense.Halfwayup,oneclimberclings

on, as the ropes billow out slightly under hisweight andmomentum.Rightatthetop,anotherfigurereachesintothenestofwildhoneycomb;his other hand holds a bagwith a handle, such as thosemade of thestomachofanantelope’shide,usedbylaterhunter-gathererstoenclosethehoneyandkeepthebeesoff.Aroundadozenbeesfunnelintowardthisthief,wingsspreadinabuzzofactivityastheycomefromdifferentdirections,movingfreelythroughtheair,as isthepatternofdisturbedbeesratherthanthemoredirectedmassofaswarm.Thehumans,smallstreaksonthelongladder,havefartofall,whiletheinsectsareasbigas, or bigger than, the hunters’ heads, adding to the hunters’vulnerability.Theimageexpressesthescaleanddangeroftheendeavor:the perilous, swaying ropes; the people dwarfed by the climb and theinsects;thethreateningfocusofthebees’flight;andtheripe,heavyfruitoftheprizedhoneycombatthetop.

Honey-huntingrockart,fromBicorp,nearValencia,Spain.

The power of this remarkable image is easy to feel, and harder toanalyze.Althoughpaintedsomewherebetweentwothousandandeightthousand years ago, the prehistoric humans and their honey-huntingappeartodayasifthetimebetweenthemandushaddissolved.Aftertheinitial shock of recognition, what the contemporarymind reaches outfor,likeasoundjustbeyondhearing,isthemeaningoftheseimagestotheirmakers.Caveandrockdrawingsoftendepictanimals,andthishasledtothe

suggestionthattheimagesweresomesortofmagiccharmconnectedtoimproving thechanceswhilehunting.But this isprobablyonlypartofthetruth.Animalsarenottheonlyimagesinsuchcaves.Insomeplacestherearepoignantpicturesofhumanhands,leftlikeghostsonthewallsby theartistsblowingpaintaroundthem.Thereareother images, too,particularlygeometricpatternssuchasdotsandlines,whichdonotfallinto this literal readingof cave art as portraits of prey.Manyof thesepaintings were made in inaccessible places, deep and dark withinhillsides.Forall thesereasons, it isprobabletheywerenothomes,butmorelikelyplacesofspecialsignificanceforceremoniesofsomesort.Another significant Spanish cave drawing site is on a farm called

Altamira,or“highlookout,”nearSantanderinCastile,acoupleofmilesfromthenorthcoastofSpain.Itwasfoundin1868whenahunter’sdogran intoacaveandwaspursuedby itsmaster.The farm’sowner,DonMarcellinodeSautuola,anamateurarchaeologist,sawlittleapartfromboneswhenhefirstwenttolookatthesite.WhenhisinterestintheIceAgeswaslateraroused,hewentbackwithateamtoexplorethecavesmore thoroughly. Sautuola’s explorers crawled and pushed deeper anddeeper into the rock, to discover that the caves extended to about athousandfeetofgalleriesandsidechambers.Oneday,Sautuola’syoungdaughterMaria joinedinthesearch.Whilstherfatherhadbeenforcedto crawl throughoneof the lowchambers,Maria couldeasilywalk inand lookupat theceiling.Themagical excitementof seeingpaintingsdeep within caves, by the flickering light of a candle, must have felteventoayoungchildlikebeingtransportedbacktotheagewhentheywere first made and seen by firelight. Twenty-four bison thunderedacross the rock. Around themwere horses, boars, deer, and awolf. Ittooktwenty-threeyearsforthedrawingstobeacceptedasauthentically

Ice Age because academics just could not believe that such powerfulimagescouldbemadebyearlyman.There were further discoveries to bemade about the images in theAltamiracaves,anditisthesethatrelatetobees.Wearefamiliarwiththe animals in cave paintings because we recognize the subjects, andthese are the pictures that tend to be printed in books and on touristpostcards.Whatarelesswellknown,andfarhardertounderstand,arethegeometricpatterns.OnesuchimageliesinthecavesatAltamira.Itdepictsanumberofconcentricsemicircles,almostlikeachild’sdrawingofarainbowturnedupsidedown.Strangely,thisexactimageisfoundinmanycave-drawing sites in southernAfrica.Expertsbelieve this imagemaywell be connected to wild-honey-hunting and that it can give usvitaland intriguingclues into themeaningofbeesandhoneytoStoneAgehumans.

THEGREATESTCONCENTRATIONofhoney-relatedrockdrawingsintheworldis insouthernAfrica.Thecontinent,asthebirthplaceofmankind,hasmorecave art than any other part of the world. Dating it is an uncertainbusiness, but there is some evidence of such art a staggering 800,000years ago. There have been art-related tools discovered from 40,000years ago, and paintings and carvings that have been dated back to15,000to20,000yearsago.Withinthefourthousandrock-artsitesinZimbabweandSouthAfrica,therearetwelveimagesspecificallyofhoney-hunting,andtwohundredsites in Zimbabwe alone thatmaywell allude to honey. These imagesshowladders,beesinflight,evenahunterholdingflamestosmokethebeesoutoftheirnest,asisdonetoday.Moreabstractly,therearenestedsemicircles, suchashavebeen found inSpain, someof themengravedintogranite,andanother,oftenrepeatedimageoflong,plump,adjacentbulbous shapes, almost like a collection of long grubs. Some rock-drawing experts call these shapes formlings; their shape is instantlyrecognizableassomethingorganic,butwhatexactlyitrepresentsisnotatallclearatfirstsight.However, honey experts have come up with an intriguinginterpretation of theirmeaning. They turned away from the rock face

andbackto the livingworldtoexaminewildhoneycomb,which lookstodayexactlyasitwouldhaveinprehistorictimes.Fromthefront,asifyouhadjusthackedverticallyintoahollowtreetrunkandremovedthefront like a panel, wild honeycomb looks like a series of parallel,semicircular curves, the largest in the center, with the combs gettingprogressively smaller toward the outside. In other words, they closelyresemble the nests of curves found on the rocks. If you look at thehoneycombfromunderneath,theshapesareagainfamiliar:theybeararemarkableresemblance to theorganic formlings.Like thehoneycomb,therock-artformlingstendtohavetwoparts;thecenterdarkenedbythecells containing developing bees, or brood, and the outside lighterbecauseitisfullofclear,goldenhoney.Theseimageswerecreatedbythebushmen,orSan,whohavelivedin

southernAfricaforperhapsaslongas25,000years.Withtheirpointedchins,goldenskin,widecheekbones,slanted,almostAsiaticeyelids,andbuttocks thatseemdesignedtocarryastoredwedgeof fat,asacamelhas a hump for times of food shortage, they are recognizably adistinctive people within Africa. When they were studied byanthropologists,andcelebratedbythewriterLaurensvanderPostinthe1950sand1960s,therewerearoundfivethousandstillusingtheirwitsandprowesstofeedthemselves,atleastinpart,fromtheirenvironment.AlthoughthesearenotexactlythesameracewhomadetheancientrockdrawingsofZimbabweandSouthAfrica,whospokeadifferent tongueandbecameextinctinthenineteenthcentury,allthesame,bystudyingboththelivingandrecordsofthedead,particularlythebushmenandofotherhoney-huntingpeoplesuchastheMbutipygmiesoftheCongo,itis possible to get closer to the artists of the past, and what bees andhoney-huntingmeanttothem.The Kalahari is not, at first sight, a well-stocked pantry. A vast

expanse,coveringone-thirdofsouthernAfrica,ithasnorunningwater.Itssandysoilandinterruptedpeltofbushgrass,asdryandyellowasalion’smane,ismarkedatpointsbythestrangebulbousshapesofbaobabtrees,with barrel-like trunks, up to 30 feet in diameter, and branchesthat look like roots, as if the tree had been lifted up and stuck backupsidedown.Thistreeisafavoritesiteforhoneybeestonest.Itisalandthathastobereadandtrackedwiththeeyesofa lynx,thespeedofa

cheetah,andanastonishingamountofstamina.Nineteenth-century European settlers were astonished that the

bushmencouldseeobjectstheythemselvescouldonlyperceivethroughatelescope.TheyspokeofaraceofmeninsouthernAfricawho,itwassaid,weresoquickandaccurate inpursuitofa trail, theyhadeyes intheir feet.There are still hunters in theKalahariwhocan literally rundowntheirprey,byfollowingtracksforaslongaseighthours.Findinghoneywasacrossbetweenhuntingandgathering.First,you

had to find the nest. Thiswas done by the bushmen in the samewaytheywouldfollowanantelopebyitstracks:bythepersistentpursuitofsmall signs. As well as recognizing places where the bees habituallynested,thebushmenwouldspotbeesintheair,flyingbacktotheirnest,andfollowthedirection,pickingupthetrailfromasuccessionofinsectsuntiltheynoticedsomegoinginacontrarydirection;atthispoint,theyknewtheyhadpassedthelocationofthehoneycombandturnedaround.SomeotherAfricansweredeftenoughtoattachashortstrandofcotton,alongwhiteoxhair,orapieceofgrasstothebeestomakethemmoretraceable.Trackedintheevening,thebeesbecamemoreeasilyvisibleasdark dots against the setting sun, orwith the last light catching theirshimmeringwings.Theability to followa seriesof fast-flyingdots is extraordinary,but

thehumanalsohad,andstillhas,anavianally.Thegreaterhoneyguide(with the appropriate name Indicator indicator) is a bird with theexceptional ability to eatwax,which other creatures find indigestible.Butitneedshelpingettingtothebees’nest,ofteninaccessiblewithinahollow tree, the cleft of a rock, or in the ground. Honeyguides useseveralsweet-lovingmammals,particularlythehoneybadgerorratel,togainaccesstothenest,butthehandiestmammalofallisman.Whenabushman hunter first hears the whirring cherr, cherr, cherr of thehoneyguide,heknows there ishoney tobehad.Thebird flies a shortdistance. It calls again. Theman follows. It calls. He follows. At eachstep,thebird’scallbecomesmoreinsistentandthedistancesshortenasthe two close in on the nest. Theman also calls to the bird, perhapsusingasnailshell,orhisownformofbirdcall.Whenitfinallyarrives,at the endof this long sequenceof call-and-seek, thebirdhovers overthenest,beforeperchingnearby,waitingforthemantofinishthejob.

Hehacksopenthetreeandthehoneyoozesout.Itcantakeawholedaytofindanest,butjustafewhourswithahoneyguide.Themanleavesapiece of comb containing the prized, nutritious bee brood. And therewardmay not be so big as to sate the bird’s appetite; otherwise, itmightnotleadthehuntersontothenextpotofgold.Onceatreewasidentifiedasasourceofhoney,thehuntersmighttieapieceoftwinearoundthetrunk,signalingitastakenterritory.Suchahoneytreemightthenhavewoodenpegsdrivenintothewood,tomakeit easier to climbup to thenest. Improvised ladders,madeoutof treebranches,werealsoproppedagainsttreesorrockstoreachhoneycombsites. Some tribes became adept at climbing trees either by wrappingtheirarmsandlegsaroundthetrunkandshinningupor,ifthetreehasalargerdimension,byslingingalengthofvine(orlaterabelt)aroundthetrunk like an extension of the arms, to inch theirway up to the nest.Anothermethodwastoclimbaparalleltreeandthenclimboverontoanotherwise inaccessible branch. Once up, the hunters hacked into thewoodandpulledoutthecomb.Sometimes,smokewasusedtopacifythebees,justasitstillistodaybyhivebeekeepers.The hunters and their families feasted on the honey right away,gorging on the comb as a treat. The brood comb, containing thedevelopingbee larvae,was especiallydesired; theanthropologistColinM.Turnbull,inhisbookontheCongo,WaywardServants,describeshowthe Mbuti honey hunters would warm the comb gently to make thelarvaewriggleastheywereeaten.InmuchoftheWesternworld,thereisatabooagainsteatinginsects,butmanyculturesseeinsectsasausefulsource of protein, and have preferences for different ways of eatingthem. In Zambia, for example, the unsealed brood comb is a delicacywhile the sealed comb is left uneaten, perhaps because of the risk ofeatingnearlyformedbees.While the hunters would devour some of the comb immediately—gleefully licking their arms and fingers as their upper bodies becamesticky with honey—they kept some to be shared. Dividing up foodamongagrouplessenstheriskandfearofstarvationandhasaprofoundsignificance for bonding. Typically, among African tribal peoples, thesuccessfulhunterisnotboastfulofhiskill.Hemightatfirstdenytothegroup, on his return, that he has had any amount of success, and the

fellowhuntersmightteasehimaboutthesmallnessofhiscatchastheyheave it back to the others left in the camp. Successful hunting andsharing food are part of survival and they are also the cornerstone ofsocialcohesionwithinagroup.Notsharingfoodvergesonthetaboo.Hunting-gathering, far from a random and desperate lurch betweenlife and death, is a skillful way of life that requires coordination andknowledge in order to succeed. Land is not so much property asterritory,agivenareathatcansupplytheneedsofacertainnumberofpeople.Thebushmen,likeotherhunter-gatherertribes,dividedtheyearinto two halves: a dry season, when they gathered together in largegroupsof perhaps ahundred, and thewetter season,when theybrokeintosmallergroupsofaboutthirtyandmovedaroundtofindfoodinahighlyorganizedbutnomadicpattern.Suchtimesspentinasmallerunitwereanopportunityforcloserbondingandanydisagreementscouldberesolved in the larger gathering, before formations of new, smallergroupsforthenexthuntingseason.Thispatternoffusionandfissionisstilla typicalpartof thehunter-gathererwayof life.Mbutipygmies inthe equatorial rain forest will go on twelve-day honey-huntingexpeditions, collectingmore than 66 pounds of honey per day, and asimilarprocessofreformingandbondingtakesplaceonthesetrips.IntraditionalAfricanhunter-gatherersocieties,menhuntandwomengather.WhenanthropologistRichardLeestudiedonegroupofbushmen,the !Kung in northwest Kalahari in the 1960s, he calculated theeconomics of survival. The women of the tribe could walk for fifteenhundredmiles a year, slowly collecting nutrients formore than three-quartersof thediet, spotting smallwisps stickingout from thegroundthat they would follow down, digging with their grubbing sticks, toreach thenutritious tubersbelow;patientlypickingberries, or suckingwater through a hollow stem to be collected in empty ostrich eggs,whicharepluggedwithgrassandleftburiedinthegroundfortimesofneed. Such gleanings—small in themselves—built up to a substantialpercentageofthedietandcouldbegivenjusttotheirimmediatefamily,withinthegroup.But the bounty of the male hunters, while it adds up to far fewernutrients,carriedfarmoresignificancewithinthegroup.Ashoneywasmostly hunted, as opposed to gathered, it had meanings other than

nutrition attached to it. Laurens van der Post, whose search for thebushmenisdescribedinhisbookTheLostWorldoftheKalahari,wroteofthebushman:“Typically,he raised the search forhoney intoakindofsacramentaladventure.”Bushmansongsshowhowmuchthebountywasprizedanddesired.Onehunter’s songasks theGreatFather to lethimfindsweetrootsandhoney,andwatertodrink;anotherisaboutpeoplecarryinghoneyand fleshbackhometo theirhungrywomenwhoneedfood.Thetwo-monthhoney-huntingseasonof theMbuti intheIturi forest

of theCongo is described byColin Turnbull as a time of festivity andmagic. Special songs anddances relate to bees andhoney. In one, themen sing a honey song while the women buzz. The men “find” thehoney and the women “sting” them with burning embers. In anotherritual,awomanblowsthroughaspecialstickintotheearsofthemen,makingasoundthattheysayresemblesthesoundsofthebroodeatinghoneyinthecomb,andthisismeanttohelpguidethemtothebeesinthetreesabove.Peoplemisinterpretancientrockcarvingbyseeingitsimplyasdaubed

representations of surroundings, the equivalent of Sundaywatercolors.Byjoiningtheseenduringimageswithobservationsoftribalcustoms,arthistorians and anthropologists are beginning to understand what liesbehind them,and therefore somethingofhowearlyhumans related totheirworld.

THEDIVISIONSWEMAKE,betweenanimalandhuman,andbetweenvisibleandinvisible,aremorerigidthanthosemadebythebushmen.Forthem,thespiritualandmaterialdissolvedintoeachother; theGod-likefigures inbushmanstoriesassumeanimalforms,ratherasZeusdoesinthestoriesoftheancientGreeks.Somerockimagesshowanimalsdisappearingintothe clefts of rocks, and David Lewis-Williams, an expert in suchartworks, has interpreted this by seeing the rock as the interfacebetweenthephysicalandinvisibleworlds,withtheanimalabletopassbetweenthem.Humanscouldalsomovebetweenthetwoworldsbybecomingmore

likeotheranimals,a featperformed through trance.Such trance states

wereachievednotbydrugsbutbyritual.Forexample,bushmendancedaround a fire, close together, their clapping, songs, and movementsbeating louder and faster until a state of delirium was achieved.Individualsmightthenfalltotheground.Inthisstate,thehumancouldreach the spiritandpowercontained inanimals,andbecomecloser tothem.Rock carvings reflect this transitionbetweenmanandanimal; aclassicexampleisthefigurewithanantelopeheadandahumanbody.Thisleadsbacktothemysteriousgeometricimagesofnestedcurves.It

seemsanextraordinarycoincidencethatthesameimageshouldoccurinboth southern Africa and the Iberian peninsula. Could some sort oftraditionhavecrossedcontinentstopassfromonepeopletoanother?Oristhereadifferentexplanation?The state of trance can also be reached through psychotropic

substances.Scientistshave recorded thathumans takinghallucinogenicdrugssuchasLSDunderlaboratoryconditionsstartto“see”asuccessionof glowing geometric patterns that pass across the eyes. These are thesame for tribal peoples performing rituals as they are for researchsubjects taking drugs in laboratories, suggesting that they have acommon neurological origin. After seeing these geometric patterns,calledentoptics,thehumanmind,withitsconstantneedforexplanation,starts to interpret them, fitting them to images with which they arefamiliar.Lewis-Williams thinks a bushman in a state of trancemight see this

patternofnestedsemicirclesandthenassociateitwithabees’nest.Therockartistsmayhavebeenshamanswhointerpretedwhattheyfeltandsawinastateoftrance,andthenmadetheimagesweseeonthegraniterocksofsouthernAfrica.Honeywas,forthem,themiraculousproductofasacredinsect;themarkstheymadewerepartofitsmagic.Hunter-gathering was a way of life our ancestors pursued for 99

percentofhumanexistence.Thetinyproportionofmankindwhotodaylive in this way still attach enormous significance to the finding andeating of food. Honey continued to be hunted, whether by medievalpeasants in the forestsof centralEuropeorby today’sGurung tribeofNepalinthefoothillsoftheHimalayas.Butotherancestorswereabouttomakeaseismicshift,fromhunting-gatheringtoagriculture,andwithitcamebeekeeping.

W

CHAPTERTHREE

ORGANIZATIONANDMAGIC

hile humans were hunter-gatherers, the honeybee inhabited thedarkcavitiesofrockcrevicesandhollowtrees;butaswebeganto

settle, to grow crops and rear animals, new spaces were created thatbeescouldinhabit.Thisprobablyarosebyaccidentratherthandesign.The water pots and baskets made by Neolithic humans to aid theirfledgling agriculture would have been perfect spaces for bees; it isn’thard to imagine roving swarms settling in ones left lying around. It islikelythathumanswouldthenraidtheseimprovisednests,sinceitwaseasierthanhuntingdownhoneycombinthewild.Thenextstepwouldhavebeentocreatespacesspecificallyforbees:whynotencouragethemtosettlewherethehoneycouldbecollectedmoreeasily?Thisseemstobe thebest explanationas tohowbeekeepingbegan.The insectswerestillwild,justencouragedtoliveclosertohumans.Through the papyrus records, paintings, and sculptures that were

preserved in thehot,dryclimateofEgyptweknowsomethingofhowthe first farmers kept bees. Beekeeping was one of the many lastingachievementsoftheancientEgyptians,andthepatterntheysetremainsinmanywaysessentiallythesametodayasitwasfivemillenniaago.Egyptisalandoftwocontrastingparts:therich,fertileblacksoilof

the alluvial plain, which you still see clinging to new potatoes ingreengrocers,andthearidredofthesurroundingdesert.Thegreenstripof vegetation that grows on the black soil is threaded on the Nilethroughthecenterof thedesertandiscomposedof thefine,richmuddepositedbytheriver.PriortothebuildingoftheHighAswanDam,thislandwasbroughtbacktolifeandreplenishedeachyearbyfloodwaters,aswellassustainedthroughouttheyearbyirrigation. Ina landwheretherainfallcanbesparse,orevennonexistent,andwherethesunbeatsdown from a cloudless sky, this river has always been the region’slifeblood.NowonderthatancientEgyptianscalledtheirlandthegiftoftheNile.

The fertilegreenstripalong theNileprovidedplentyof foraging forthe bees. Pollen grains found in ancient honeys include those cropsgrownforanimalfodder,suchasalfalfa,clover,andchicklingpea.Thefruitsandvegetablesgrownforhumanconsumption,suchaslemonsandbeans,provided food, too, for thehoneybee, in the formofnectarandpollen. The ancient Egyptians also loved their gardens; one of theirprayerswasthat,afterdeath,youwouldsitintheshadeandenjoythefruit of trees you had planted. The garlands discovered on themummifiedbodyofTutankhamen(KingTut)indicatetherangeofplantsprized by the Egyptians that also provided nectar for honey, such ascornflowersandwildcelery.Settled civilization began on riverbanks and its roots were inagriculture. The Egyptians were among the first to centralize andorganize food production, including beekeeping. As well as irrigatingand cultivating the soil, they bred cattle, farmed pigs, had primitiveincubatorsforeggstocreatethefirstpoultryfarming,andstoredgrain.Therewasenoughfoodproducedinthissuccessfulagriculturalsystemtofeedtheworkforcethatbuiltthepyramids.Lifewaslesshand-to-mouth—more planned than before. Just as scribes counted the peasants’produce, stored it in state granaries, and distributed it back to thepeople, therewasa specializedhoney scribe to count jarfulsofhoney.These early civil servants monitored every part of this “black soileconomy,”leavingafascinatingrecordofdailylife.TheirpapyritellushowRamsesIIIprovided20,800jarsofhoneyasanofferingtotheNilegod.Onamoredomesticscale,it isthroughthemthatweknowaboutthe marriage vow that includes the line “I take thee to wife … andpromisetodelivertotheeyearlytwelvejarsofhoney.”To have such large quantities of honey, the ancient Egyptiansmusthavegatheredinregularsupplies.Honey-huntingcontinuedinthedesertfringes of the fertile area, where specialist bee hunters, called bityw,undertook expeditions, alongside collectors of turpentine resin andarcherstoprotectthemfromthedangersofthishostileenvironment;butthebulkoftheirhoneymusthavecomefromthemorereliablesourceofhives.Theearliestarchaeologicalevidenceofhivehoneyisfromastonebas-relief in the sun temple of King Ne-user-re at Abu Ghorab, dating to

around2400bc.Itshowsasequenceofproduction,fromhivetosealedpot. Although one end of the sculpture is partly destroyed, it is stillpossibletoseetheedgeofthecylindricalhives.Ahieroglyphabovetheimageindicatesthatacurrentofairisbeingused,probablymeaningthesmokeusedtopacifythebees.Themanholdingthesmokerisobscuredbydamagebutotherimagesfromlaterperiodsshowthisuseofsmokequite clearly, with beekeepers holding pots emitting stylized flamestowardtheopenendsofhives.Theimageinthesuntemplenextshowsthreemenpouringhoneyintolargecontainers,andthenanothersettinga seal on some closed, round pots. The hieroglyphs continue: “filling,pressing,sealingofhoney.”AverysimilarsequencecanbeseenonawallpaintinginoneofthetombsofPrimeMinisterRekhmire,attheWestBankofLuxor(1450bc).Onthecarvedwall,abankofthreehivesisclearlyvisiblethistime,witha beekeeper holding a burner toward the hives while another takes acomboutofthemiddlehivetoaddtothecombsalreadypiledupintwodishes.Othermen in the scene have jars, large containers, and sealeddishes—thevessels thehoneymusthavebeenkept in.Thehivesareapurplishgray,thecolorofdried,unfiredNilemud.Dr. Eva Crane is an international bee and honey expert. Over thecourseoffiftyyearsshehastraveledtosixtycountries,ridingbysledinAlaska,boatingintheMekongdelta,descendingaropetoinspecthiveson a rock ledge in the Pyrenees—going anywhere and everywhere inordertomeetbeekeepersaroundtheworld.Herquestbeganwhenshewasgivenaboxofbeesasaweddingpresentin1942,atatimewhenhoneywasaboosttothedullwartimediet.AuniversitylecturerwithaPhD innuclearphysics, shebegan tomakemore inquiries aboutbees,and realized therewas no coordinatedway to learn about beekeepingaroundtheworld.Shesetupsuchaninformationpool,andwasdirectorof the International Bee Research Association, now based in Cardiff,between 1949 and 1983. Among her many travels, described in hermemoirMakingaBee-line, andhermagnumopus,TheWorldHistory ofBeekeepingandHoneyHunting,Dr.CranevisitedmodernEgypttoseeifcurrent beekeeping could throw light on themethods of the ancients.Herobservationshelpjointhefragmentsthatwehaveinheritedthrougharchaeology. She saw that modern beekeepers were using cylindrical

hivesmadeofdriedmud,whichtheypiledupingreatbanks,eachlayerhelpingtosupporttheoneabove.In1978,whiletravelingthroughtheNilevalleyjustnorthofAssyut,Dr.Cranesawanestimatedtenthousandsuch hives in just 17miles. The cylindrical form of the hives and theway they are placed on top of each other is strikingly similar to theevidenceofancientart.Themethodstillusedtomakethesetraditionalhivescouldwelldate

back to ancient times. A layer of mud is smeared on a mat made ofstraightplantstalkssuchasreeds,rolledupandlefttodry;thenthematis cut away to leave a long cylinder. Both ends are then coveredwithmud discs, with a hole in one end for the bees to come and go. Thebeekeeper opens the other end of the hive to collect the honey-filledcombs. Dr. Crane also saw cow dung, a common form of fuel in theMiddleEast,beingusedtosmokebees;thiscouldeasilyhavebeenthemethodusedinancientEgyptianbeekeeping.

PaintinginRekhmire’stombinLuxor,showinghivesbeingsmokedandhoneycombsremovedandpackedintojars.

Other current observations give us clues as to the methods of theancients. An eighteenth-century traveler in Egypt described how hivesweremovedgraduallydowntheNileonboats, leavingUpperEgyptatthe endofOctober. Thehiveswere put on rafts and the beeswent tosuccessive fields in flower as they weremoved northward toward theMediterranean. By the start of February, this traveling workforce

reached Cairo, where the honey collected on the journey was sold.Migratorybeekeepingisamajorsourceofincomefortoday’sbeekeepersinmanypartsoftheworld,whotaketheirhivesaround,followingthecropscurrentlyinbloom,theireffortspaidforbythefarmerswhowanttheir crops pollinated by the bees. The process of pollination wasunknown to the ancient Egyptians, but it is not hard to imagine thisboat-basedsocietymovingtheirhivesaboutinordertogetagoodcropofhoney.Thereissomearchaeologicalevidencetoshowthatbeekeepersand farmers worked together from the start—though the relationshipwasnotalwaysaneasyone.Apitiful,desperatetonepervadesathird-century bc petition from beekeepers calling for donkeys, urgently, tobring their hives back from the fields before the impatient peasants,wanting topresson, flooded the landanddestroyed thehives:“Unlessthe donkeys are sent at once, the resultwill be that the hiveswill beruined.”

THEMECHANICSOFBEEKEEPINGinancientEgyptarenotallthatweknow;wealsoknowsomethingofhowhoneyandotherbeeproductswereusedinthehousehold,bothforpracticalandforother,moremystical,purposes.The diet of ancient Egypt has some striking similaritieswith that oftoday. The grain, honey, and cattle shown in the ancient picturesbecamethebread,beer,beef,andhoney-richcakesontheirtables,asonours.Fooddifferedaccordingtotherankandneedofdifferentpartsofsociety.Themessengerandstandard-bearerofKingSethos Iatebread,beef,wine, sweet oil, olive oil, fat, honey, figs, fish, and vegetables, acombinationthatcouldeasilysuitthemoderntastesofacontemporarycivil servant eating aMediterranean diet.Quarryworkers at that timegotamorefunctional,thoughnutritious,rationof4½poundsofbread,twobundlesofvegetables,andapieceofroastmeat.Honey was a food of the rich—the poor sweetened their food withdates—and its high statusmeant itwas celebrated in poetry at feasts.Thedaughter of PrimeMinisterRekhmirehad a song sung at a party:“The littlesycamore,whichshehathplantedwithherhand, itmovethitsmouth to speak.Thewhisperingof its leaves is as sweet as refinedhoney.”

Therearehoneycakesdepicted inRekhmire’s tomb that can stillbefoundindifferentversionstoday.Thescribesrecordlargequantitiesofhoney being used for such cakes as offerings,which showshowmuchthey were valued. The Agricultural Museum in Dokki has an ancienthoney feast cake shaped into the form of a human, with a head andarms,possibly,Dr.Cranesuggests,anearlyformofagingerbreadman.Honey and beeswax occur in many other parts of ancient Egyptian

dailylife.Waxwasusedtoholdthewavesoftheelaboratewigsusedbyboth men and women. The long braided and sculpted tresses, somecomposed of more than 120,000 human hairs, are reminiscent ofeighteenth-centurywigs, or even the hair extensions of today and thesculpted forms of dreadlocks. Bee products have been found in thecosmeticboxesfilledwithkohlandothercolorants,lotions,andbeautypotions.Honeywas,forexample,includedinacompoundofpowderedalabaster, powdered natron (sodium carbonate, much used in themummification process), and salt, which was supposed to smoothwrinkles.Honey was also used for more personal treatments. A mixture of

honey,herbs,oils,andonionswasappliedtoawoman’svaginatotrytostopamiscarriage,whilecrocodilefeces,honey,andsaltpeterwereusedto stop conception in the first place (perhaps such a substancewouldworkbyputtingyouoffsexaltogether).Dr.Cranewastoldin1993thatcotton soaked in lemonandhoneywas stillusedasa contraceptive inEgypt.Thefactthathoneywasaddedtosomanyofthemedicinesofancient

Egypt may have been a case of sweetening the pill when remediesincluded the likes of fingernail dirt andmouse droppings. Ingredientsliketheseweresupposedtoberepulsivetotheevilsinhabitingthebody.Putting aside such deliberately disgusting treatments, and such hocus-pocus as curses for catarrh, we still have lessons to learn from thephysician-priests of ancient Egypt, who were much admired by theancient Greeks, usually seen as the founders of medicine. Honey wascertainlyputindressingsforwounds—aneffectivemeasure,asmodernmedicinewas later toprove.Whenhoney ismixedwithbodyfluids, itproduceshydrogenperoxide,whichinhibitsthegrowthofbacteria.Forsimilar reasons, honey was—and still is—used for gut problems, and

evenfortoothdecay.TheremainsofancientEgyptiansrevealthattheyhadstrikinglybadteeth—perhapsfromhavingtogrinddownthecoarsegrains—and a mixture of honey and herbs would be packed into themouth to fight infection.Themodernmindmay scoff at suchan idea,but itwas, in fact,aperfectlygoodremedy,and is starting tobeusedagaintoday.

ANCIENTEGYPTcastsaspellonuswithitsstrangemixtureofpracticalityandmysticism. Its priest-physicians were using amixture of medicine andmagic.Manypapyrusrecordscontainformulaethatsoundlikeplausibleprescriptions,withatoneofprecisionandcorrectness,beforesuddenlyveeringoffintospells—ratherasifasolidlyreassuringdoctor’snotehadvaporizedintosparklingectoplasm.Thismixtureofknowledgeandthemetaphysical intrigues us today; in the same way, we admire theengineering featof thepyramidsandat thesametimefeelalienated—andfascinated—bytheirpurposeaslaunchpadsintoeternity.Themummy is the obvious physical embodiment of this cult of the

afterlife.Forahigh-classembalming,firsttheentrailsofthecorpsewereremoved, preserved, and wrapped in separate packets (the brain wasdiscardedasirrelevant).Therestofthebodywasthendriedbyputtingit innatronfor fortydays. Itwaswashed,purified,anddried, theskinrubbedwithhoney,milk,andointments.Becausehoneyhaspreservativequalities, italsoplayedadditionalparts in someburials.ThecorpseofAlexandertheGreatwassaidtohavebeencoveredinhoney,onhisowninstructions, to stop itsputrefyinguntilhewasburied. InTheMummy,the British Museum’s Egyptologist Sir Wallis Budge described thediscoveryofahoneyedcorpse.Ajarofancienthoneywasdiscoveredina grave by some treasure seekers.Onewas dipping his bread into thehoneyforatastewhenhenoticedahair:“[A]stheydrewitoutthebodyofasmallchildappearedwithallitslimbscompleteandinagoodstateof preservation; it was well dressed and had upon it numerousornaments.”Such a ghoulish incident, like the curses on the doors of tombs in

mustypyramids,ispartofthisfrissonofancientEgypt.Beeswaxfiguresaresimilarlychillinginthiseffect.Theyweresaidtoprefigurewhatyou

hopedwouldhappen.Onepapyrus fromaround2830bc, forexample,tells of the spells of aman called Aba-aner. From a box ofmagic, heproduced a wax crocodile and put it into the water where his wife’sloverwasbathing.Itcamealiveinthewateranddraggedthemandowninto thedeep. This grisly tale shows a belief in the power of beeswaxfigurestomoveinandoutofreality.Medicine andmagic both drewupon the ideaof haka, the term theancientEgyptiansusedforthepowerthatcamefromcreation.Apotion,aprescription,aprayer:allturnedtowardthesamesource.Thisultimatepowercouldbeembodiedinanimalsandstatues,andtheyfigureintheamulets, or magic charms, that were carried about for good fortune.Theycould take the formof insects, sometimesbreathingmagic intoacloseobservationofnature.Thescarabbeetlerollsaballofdungintoahole and lays its eggs inside to give them warmth and food; theEgyptiansdepictthescarabasrollingthe life-givingsunacross theskyeachday.TheancientEgyptiansbelievedbeesoriginatedastearsoftheSungod,Ra,mergingthetwocrucialsubstancesofwaterandsunlightinthebodyofthebee.TheSaltMagicalPapyrusrecords:“WhenRaweepsagain thewaterwhich flows fromhiseyesupon theground turns intoworkingbees.Theyworkinflowersandtreesofeverykindandwaxandhoney come into being.” As we’ve already seen, honey was sacredenoughtobeasuitableofferingtotheNilegods;sacredbeeswerealsopartoftheEgyptian’scultoftheafterlife,withhoneyoneofthefuneraryfoods left in the tombs of themummified dead, as sustenance for thenext world. The Opening of the Mouth ceremony was performed onmummiessotheycould“eat”thesefuneraryfoods.Inthewordsofonesuchritual, theKher-heb,recordedbyWallisBudge,thepriest foreseesthenewlifeofthesoul:“Goingaboutasabee,thouseestallthegoingsaboutofthyfather.”

OldKingdom(top),TwelfthDynasty,andSixthDynastybees.

BeescanbeseenalloverthemonumentalremainsofancientEgyptforanotherreason.ThesymbolofUpperEgyptwasasedgeplant,andthesymbolofLowerEgypt,abee.ThetwoareunifiedinthehieroglyphsaspartofthetitleoftheKing,orPharaoh,ofEgypt.AncientEgyptwasaunified, organized civilization in a world of warring tribes, and thetitularyofthebeeandthesedgeplantisoneofsignificantunity.Itmaybe that the coming together of Upper and Lower Egypt is partlymythical, a concept rather than a matter of history. Either way, thehieroglyphicbeeinthePharaoh’stitlerepresentspowerfulconcepts.ThebeewaspartofthePharaoh’sgodlikegloryanditshoneywasofferedtohimandtoothergods;thehoneybeehadbecomepartofthedivinityoftheland.

K

CHAPTERFOUR

FOODOFTHEGODS

ronos, the father of the Olympian gods, clung to power byinfanticide: warned that he would be dethroned by one of his

children,hetooktoswallowingthematbirth.Afterthebirthofasixthchild, hiswife, Rhea, instead gave him a stonewrapped in swaddlingclothes, and took the latest newborn into hiding in a cave on MountDicte in Crete. Out of sight, the baby Zeus, destined to be the god ofgods, was still in danger of detection from the insistent sound of hiscrying.Youngguardshidthenoisebyclashingtheirspearsandarmor.Aswell as being one of the few sounds that could possibly override ababy’s wails, clashing brass was believed by the ancients to attractswarms of bees; insects came to the cave of Zeus and settled, and theinfant deity was nourished on milk and honey. So it was that honeybecameafoodofthegods—andpoetryaddedyetmorelustertoitsgold.Inastory,anythingcanhappen.Theclassicalwriterselevateddeities

to powerful, Olympian heights; on the other hand, they could dashmortals down with obliterating fate. What gave them the power?Honeyedwords.Beeshoveringnearthelipsofanewbornwasanomenthatthechild

wouldgrowupwithamellifluous tongue.Beesare said tohave flownnear the milky infant mouth of Virgil, the greatest poet of ClassicalRome.Thebreathof life is certainlypresent inhismany references tothem; some scholars and apiarist readers believe he himself was abeekeeper,suchisthedetailandfreshnessofhisobservations.ThefourthandlastbookofVirgil’sgreatpoemontheartoffarming,

theGeorgics,ismuchabouthoneybees,describingtheircollectivework,frugalways,organization,andobediencetoleadership.Alesserworkonthisthememighthavehadasimplisticringofstern,Romanvirtue,butinsteadthepoetryhumswithlifeinallitscomplexity.Virgil spenthisadult life in thecountrysidenearNaples,away from

the politicking and power-grabbing of Rome during a particularlytumultuous period.Nearly a third of his life had thebackdropof civilwar.TheGeorgicswerebegunaboutsixyearsafter theassassinationofJuliusCaesar in44bc, and themoral,peaceful rural lifeof thispoemcommunicates,subliminally,areactiontothetraumaofwarbeyonditspages. The Latin name for the poem, Georgica, translates as “whatconcerns the man that works the earth,” and was about suchsmallholders,ratherthanthelargeRomanestatesthatusedslavelabor.

AncientGreekamphoradepictingsacredbeesstingingintrudersinthecaveonMountDicte.

Nature runs through the lines ofGeorgics, Book Four, like a stream.Youseeandsmelltheflowersthatattractthebees—thewildthyme,the“richbreathing” savory, thebankgreenwith celery, the limeblossom,willow, saffron, and lily. You recognize how the bees “hurry from thehive,allhelter-skelter”(thistranslationisbyCecilDay-Lewis,whowashimself working against the backdrop of the SecondWorldWar); the“vagueandwind-warpedcolumnofcloudtoyourwonderingeyes”ofaswarm;thebucolicimageofanoldsmallholder,happyasakingwhenhis small, poor land can yield roses in spring, apples in autumn, andfrothyhoneysqueezedfromthecombs.Thepoempartlyposesasinstruction,anditisfascinatingtoreadwhat

Virgilthoughtofbeesandhowtheyshouldbekept.Heencouragesthebeekeepertokeephishivesnearwater,sothebeescandrink,andsaysthe hives must be sheltered from rough winds. He emphasizes theimportance of the hive’s ruler, and perhaps this commanding figure ismeant to suggest, on a political dimension, a leader who could bringunitytothewarringfactionsofRome,spinningoutofcontrolafterthemurderofJuliusCaesar.Thepoemtells thebeekeeper to site thehiveaway from lizards, the“sinistertribeofmoths,”andfrombirdsthateatbees.Someofthisisalltoorecognizabletoday.Aswellasthemothsthatcandevastateacolony,birdswith strongbeaks, suchas thewoodpecker, havebeenknown tobreak intobees’nests in thewild, and thereare twenty-five speciesofbee eaters, including one occasionally found in Britain, that can catchbees on thewing in their beaks and pull themover a hard surface toextractthevenombeforeeatingthem.(Scientistsdissectingspine-tailedswiftsinthePhilippinesfoundonebirdwiththeremainsofnearlyfourhundred bees, the bird’s mouth and gizzards barbed with scores ofdetachedstings.)Virgil mentions the three kinds of bees in the hive. His probablesourcewasAristotle(384-321bc),whowroteextensivelyaboutbeesinhisnaturalhistorywriting,particularlyinHistoriaAnimalium.Aswellasnoting there are different sorts of honeybees, all with different roles,Aristotle’sbookdescribeshowthebeescollectthejuicesoftheflowersintheirstomachsandtakethembacktothehivetoregurgitateintothewax,andthatthisliquidgetsthickerwithtime.Aristotlesawthattherewerehairyworkerbeesinsidethehiveandsmootheronesoutside(theworkerbeesbecomelessfluffywithage),andthatthenewrulercouldkilloffothers thatemerged fromothercells.Heevennoticedhow thebeesdancedacrossthefaceofthecomb,thoughhedidnotunderstandthemeaningofthis(wenowknowitisameansofcommunication).Somemysteriesremained.Manymusedonthereproductivemethodsof bees. Aristotle was especially interested in where bees came from,thoughheneverreachedasatisfactoryexplanation,ponderingwhethertheyoungwerecollectedfromflowers,olives,andreeds.Thestrangestbelief of all, maintained for many centuries, was that honeybeesgeneratedspontaneouslyfromthecarcassofanox.Credenceinthisidea

of “ox-born bees” continued right up to the time when a certain Mr.Carew reported this feat of reproduction in Coventry in 1842. Virgilpraises theworker bees’ abstention from sexual intercourse, an escapefromthemessofpassionandthepainofbirth.“Howtogetbeesfromanox” appears in his Georgics, Book Four, almost like a recipe: in thespringtime,youmusttakeatwo-year-oldoxintoasmallhousewithfourwindows,stopupitsnostrilsandmouth,bludgeonittodeath,andleaveitintheroom,alongwithcassia,thyme,andbranches.Virgil’sdescriptionofhowbees thenpouredoutof the rotting flesh,

likeathrobbingattackofarrows,issolikethepulsatingreleaseoffliesfrom the maggots feeding on carrion that this could be one naturalexplanation for this curious belief. The honeybee does not settle onmeat;butiteasilycouldhavebeenconfusedwiththedroneflythatlaysits eggs in decomposing carcasses. Another possibility is that bees donest in skulls, andamongotherbones, inplaceswhere shelter is rare,such as the Egyptian desert. This could also be the origin of the OldTestamentstoryofSamson(Judges14)whenheaskstheriddle“outofthe strongcame forth sweetness”; the imageofa swarmofbeesandalionremainsontinsofTate&Lyle’sgoldensyrup.InVirgil’sGeorgics, there isamore important interpretationthanthe

literal truthof theox-bornbee: this is the idea that life regenerates.Aswarm of bees is a beautiful, visible embodiment of reproduction;movingthroughtheair in itsdarkcluster, it isa livingsymbolofhowlifemoveson.Inthebeliefsoftheancientclassicalcultures,thisconceptwasreinforcedbecausethebestswarmshappeninspring—atimeoftheannualrebirthoftheworldandthecontinuationoflifeafterthedeathofwinter.Whetheraswarmofbeescomesfromanoxorahive, it is thestartofnewlife, flyingtowardthefuture.Hardlysurprising,then,thatbeescametobeportrayedasspecialcreaturesthatcouldmovebetweenlifeanddeath,betweentheworldandtheunderworld,betweenhumansandthedivine.InancientGreece,beesflyingthroughthecracksofrockswere thought to be souls emerging from the underworld, just as theancientEgyptiansbelievedtheinsectstobehumanspiritsthatcouldflyanywhere.OneofthemostmovingpassagesinGeorgics,BookFour,describesthe

bees’blendingof thenaturalandsupernatural. It connects these flying

particlesofheaventothewayinwhichallofnature—includingman—exists(thetranslationisDryden’s):

Ox-bornbeesinanengravingillustratingJohnDryden’stranslationofVirgil’sGeorgics,BookFour.

…somehavetaught

ThatBeeshavePortionsofEtherialThought:

Endu’dwithParticlesofHeavenlyFires:

ForGodthewholecreatedMassinspires;

Thro’Heav’n,andEarth,andOceansdepthhethrows

HisInfluenceround,andkindlesashegoes.

HenceFlocks,andHerds,andmen,andBeasts,andFowls

WithBreatharequickn’d;andattracttheirSouls.

HencetaketheFormshisPresciencedidordain,

Andintohimatlengthresolveagain.

NoroomisleftforDeath,theymounttheSky,

AndtotheirowncongenialPlanetsfly.

Life comes, briefly, and then is reabsorbed back into the heavens andnever dies. I asked Willie Robson, on the Northumberland heathermoors,aboutthelifespanofacolony.Thebees?They’reimmortal,hesaid.

WHO WERE THE Greek and Roman gods? In his exploration of Sicily, TheGolden Honeycomb, Vincent Cronin described the ancient world as atwilight zonewhere legend and historymet. The stories ofmythologygavegodsandgoddesseshumantraits,raiseduponMountOlympus;buttheywere, forall theirglory,ultimatelyakintomenandwomen,withcharacteristicsandfoibleswerecognize.Thiswasthetimewhenhumansbegan to civilize the Western world, to form it to our own will.Mythologywasawayofprojectingusontoa larger scale,withall thepossibilitieswithinthereachofourimagination—andallourmistakes,too.GreekandRomangodscertainly feelmore familiar tous than themysterious deities of ancient Egypt,worshipped fromafarwith fearfulawe.TheGoldenHoneycombisbasedaroundCronin’squestinthe1950sto

uncovertheoriginofonesuchmyth,thetaleofDaedalus,thelegendarymastercraftsmanandinventorwhosupposedlyflewtoSicilyfromCrete,believedbytheancientstobetheoriginofbeesandbeekeeping.Ontheway,Daedalus’s son Icarus flew too near to the sun, and the beeswaxholdinghiswingstogethermelted,plunginghimintothesea,wherehedrowned.ButDaedalusmadeittotheislandandherewassaidtohavewroughtanexquisitelyrealisticgoldenhoneycomb.Diditactuallyexist,orwas it ametaphor of some sort? Cronin travels around looking forclues.HegoestoGreekruins,suchasSilenus,namedafterwildcelery,

whichisagoodsourceofnectar forbees;hereadsthesweetwordsofpoets; he writes of how nature was connected to divine forces. InTaorminaheseesthespring,withitslavishsurgeoflifeandtheflowersthat provide so much nectar for the bees—and the reassurance thathumans, too,will be able to eat again after thewinter.Was this vitalexpressionofMediterraneannatureinsomewayconnectedtotheoriginofthegoldenhoneycomb?No conclusive answer could be found; rather, Cronin’s search gives

him a reason to explore successive cultures, and the ways in whichhoneyplayedapartinthem.Alongsideoilorwine,honeywasoneofthelibationsforthedeadin

theclassicalera.Achillesputjarsofoilandhoneybythefuneralpyreofhis friend Patroclus, so the food of this life could be enjoyed in theafterlife.Honeywasofferedtothegodsbecauseitwasaproductofbothearthandsky;itwasbelievedthebeesgatheredthejuicethathadfallenfromtheheavensandcollectedinflowers,andhoneywas,therefore,anappropriate food with which to commune with the otherworld. Suchbeliefsinthesanctityofbeescontinued.WhenCroninwaswritinginthe1950s,Siciliannewlywedsarrivinghomefromthechurchforthebridalfeast were given a loving spoonful of honey to share. Death, life,mythology,andlove:honeyslidintothemall.

THEANCIENTGREEKSandRomanswerethefirstseriousobserversofthenaturalhistoryofthehoneybee.AfterAristotle,thenextmostsignificantauthoronbeeswasVarro(116-27bc), thegreatestRomanscholarofhisday.HisResrusticaewaswrittenatroughlythesametimeasVirgil’sGeorgics,Book Four. This practical, useful text goes into subjects such as thedifferent types of hive, evaluating those made from wood, bark,earthenware, and reeds. He writes about the plants that are good forhoneyproduction, suchas thyme,beans,and the successionofbloomsbetween the spring and autumn equinoxes. He even mentions theeconomics of beekeeping, telling of two Spanish brothers who ran asuccessfulapiaryonjusthalfanacreofland.Hewrites,too,ofthevalueof propolis; in Rome’s Via Sacra, it was more expensive than wax.Propolisisthesticky,dark“bee-glue”gatheredfrombudsandthebark

oftrees,withwhichthebeessealuptheirhives(thewordcomesfromtheGreek“beforethecity,”meaningitsurroundedthecity,orcolony,ofbees). Even at this early date, it was valued for its bacteriocidal andfungicidalproperties,andwasusedbydoctorsintheclassicalworldtotreatulcersandtumors.AnotherRomanwriter,PlinytheElder(ad23-79),notedthatpropoliscouldalsodrawoutstingsandforeignbodies.Asforunderstandingthebees,hementionsaconsulwhohadhivesmadeoftranslucenthornsothathe couldwatch thenewbeesemerging from their cells. It soundslikeaprimitiveversionofanobservationhive,thoughnotaparticularlyclearone.Pliny’sownquestionsandobservationscouldalsobeopaque,ifpoetic.Washoney thesalivaof thestarsor thesweatof thesky,heasked?Alittlemoreontarget,henotedhowhoneythickenedandwascovered with a skin that was “the foam of the boiling.” This kitchenmetaphor, of a liquid reducing through evaporation, is analogous towhathappenstohoneyasitthickensthroughthefanningoftheinsects’wings(thoughthe“skin”ismadeofwax).Therewasstillamisunderstandingabouttheoriginofbeeswax,whichwasthoughttobeasecretioncollectedfromplantsratherthanaproductofthebeeitself.Whateveritssource,thewaxitselfwasmuchusedonapractical, everyday level. Wooden boards, coated with wax, werereusable writing tablets. Wax was also used by craftsmen, real andmythological,forjoiningobjectstogether—unsuccessfully,inthecaseofIcarus’swingsandmoresuccessfully,withPan’spipes.In the artistic field, statues were cast using the cire perdue or “lostwax”method.Malleablebeeswaxwasmodeledandthencoveredinclay;thiswasthenheatedsothewaxmelted,leavingacastinonepieceintowhichmoltenmetalcouldbepoured.Withothermethods,thecasthadtobecutintopieces;withthelost-waxmethod,acompletemoldcouldbemade.Waxbustswere also sculpted of famous people, a techniquethatisstillused.Besidesthis,theflawsindodgyclassicalstatuescouldbehiddenwithbeeswax. Ifastatuewassanscere, orwithoutwax, thesellerwasanhonestdealeror,asyoucouldsay,sincere.Writing about bees and honey continued, but more in encyclopediccollections of received wisdom than in fresh observation. Fifty yearsafterbothVirgilandVarrocameColumella,anarmyofficerfromCadiz

whoretiredoutsideRome.Hisbookonagriculture,Dererustica,writtenaroundad60,methodicallyrunsthroughmanyaspectsofthehive,fromtheracesofbeestotheextractionofbeeswax.Palladius,writinginthefourthcenturyad,givesamonth-by-monthaccountofthehoneybee;hisbook was translated into English in the fourteenth century. Classicalauthoritywassettoremainlargelyunquestionedforathousandyears—then the chief work of the Greek physician Dioscorides, De materiamedica,writteninthefirstcenturyad,wasacrucialtextonbotanyandhealing through the Middle Ages and was used right up to theseventeenthcentury.

THE ANCIENT GREEKS and Romans already distinguished between differentkindsofhoney.DioscoridessaidAttichoneyfromGreecewasthebest,with that fromMount Hymettus the very best of all. Honey from theislands of theCycladeswas next best, followed by that fromHybla inSicily. They prized the distinctive quality and flavor of one particularhoneymadefromthethymethatcoveredtheirhillsandmountainsides.The herb imparts a special fragrance to the honey, giving it a uniquetasteofplace.Iassociatethymewiththesinuousbrownhoneythatyoudrizzleonsharp,whitesheep’s-milkyogurtforbreakfastinGreece.Aftera trip to Sicily to see whether the honey culture of the ancientscontinuedinthisareatoday,IcannowpictureitamongthelimestonegorgesofwhatisnowcalledMonteIblei,formerlyMountHybla.SortinoisahilltownonMonteIbleiwherefortybeekeepersstillmakeatleastpartofalivingfromthenectar-richslopesoftheirsurroundings.At certain moments of my visit, the past millennia seemed to vanish.When ImetPaoloPagliaro,a sixth-generationbeekeeper inhis sixties,healmostimmediatelyquotedVirgiltome,inItalian,hislightblueeyesandyouthfulfacelightingupashespoke:“Nonvièmielepiùdolcedite,omieleibleo!”(Thereisnohoneysweeterthanyou,oIbleanhoney!)EveryOctoberPaolohelpsrunagreathoneyfestival,SagradelMiele,which now attracts more than 65,000 people, and there runs acompetition between honeys from all over theMediterranean. I tastedhisdizzyingassortmentofpots, fromasurprisingly floral thistlehoneytoonethatwasdarklysavory,almostlikelicorice,whichturnedoutto

be rosehoney and cost $170perpound. For all thesenovelties, Iwasmostinterestedintryinghislocalvarieties:thedelicious,runnythyme,whichwasdarkasapolishednut;thewildflowerhoneywithitsup-frontsweetness jolly as a child’s painting of bright blooms; and the subtlyfloralorangeblossom,whichwasslightlywaxyintexture.Evidence of the tradition of beekeeping on Mount Iblei came in

different forms. One church had a collection of beeswax modelsembodying ailments such as broken legs, which reminded me of theeffigiesofancientEgypt,thoughhereinaChristianform.Paoloshowedme his family’s ferula hives. Right up until a generation ago, thebeekeepers used such hives, which were made with the light, strongstemsofagiantfennelthreadedontoawoodenframe,usingnotasinglenail,norasingleelementthatcouldn’tbegatheredfromthesurroundingarea.SuchhiveswerementionedbyVarroandColumella;someancientbeekeepers thought them better than those made of pottery. Plantmaterialswere said tobe lighter, lessbreakable,andbetteratkeepingthebees cool inhotweather.The small, rectangularhiveswouldhavebeenstackedinpilesofeighthighbytwentywide.Youcouldgetaround6 pounds of honey from one, a very small quantity compared to amodernhive.Theferulahiveshadthatsimple,handmadequalitythatisjustashortstepfromthesoil.WhenPaolowasyoung,hewouldmovethemaroundthecountrysideonfoot,pullingthecarthimself,orwithahorse.Followers of Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher of the sixth century

bc,believedyou shouldbreakfastonbreadandhoneyeveryday foradisease-free, long life; while the philosopher Democritus (460-370 bc)advised that if youwanted longevity, you shouldmoistenyour insideswithhoneyandyouroutsidewithoil.IaskedPaoloaboutthelongevityofhoneyeaters.Yes,hesaid,hisgrandparentshadbothlivedintotheirnineties.Paolohimselfhadavigorandlightnessundimmedbyage.

NEARSORTINOisPantalica,awinding,flower-strewnlimestonegorgewithaBronze Age necropolis of around five thousand tombs. These small,square-fronted caves were probably gouged out of the limestone withtools made from hard volcanic rock. The regular, simple entrances

almost resemble large televisionscreensormodernistarchitecture.Thenecropolis was certainly in use around 1200 bc, around the timearchaeologistsbelieveTroywasbesieged.Onelatertraveler,ignorantofPantalica’sorigin,speculatedwhethertheseholesintherockmighthavebeen carved for giant bees.When the gorgewas properly explored byarchaeologists in the nineteenth century, inside the tombs theydiscoveredthatbodiesinthecaveshadbeenburiedinthefetalposition;insome,theheadsrestedonlowstoneledgesasifonpillows.As Iwandereddownthegorgeonarubblymuletrack, thescentsof

flowers arrived like snatchesofbirdsong.At thebottomwasapoolofclearwaterandaNewAgerwearingarainbowT-shirtsittingonarockandfillinghispipe.Hehadcometoaplaceoftheutmostpeace.Inthestillness,theloudestsoundwastheriver,likearushofwindbelowmyfeet.Itwasnotalwayssopeaceful.Nexttotheyoungman’srockwasaruinedmillwhereexplosiveshadoncebeenmadeusingbatexcrementfromanearby cave.Beesnowmassedon the ivy thathad crawledalloverthestonesoftheruins.WhenVincentCronindescendedthegorgeonhorseback fromSortino in the 1950s, he foundwild honeycomb inthe cleft of a rock, like a seam of gold; the climax of The GoldenHoneycomb comes as he sees its swirls of honey-filled cells, the sunreflectingahundredthousandsunsinprismatic,reflectedlight.Thiswastheendofhisquest:notthemyths,ortheruins,butthetimelessgloryofthehoneycombitself.I found no wild honey in Pantalica, but the gorge was still full of

hives.ThehoneyplantsofMount Iblei succeedeachotheras theyearmoves on: the early spring almond blossom; the orange and lemonblossoms thatmake one of themajor Sicilian honeys; the wildflowersthatgointomillefiori;thenectar-ladennativeoaks,whichoncecoveredthe countryside in classical times and were mostly cut down to buildshipsandclear landforfarming;andthecarobtrees, thesourceofthepodsusedforachocolatesubstitute,whichflowersinOctober,yieldingararehoneythatcomesattheendofthebees’foragingseason.Sicily, as awhole, is famously fertile.Homer told of howOdysseus,

returning from Troy, sailed around such an island, marveling at itsgoldenfieldsofwheat.ItbecamethebreadbasketoftheRomanworldandwasknown,also,astheislandofmanyfruits.Orchardsstillflowup

thesidesofMountEtna,probablythemythicalhomeoftheCyclops(thecratermayhavebeenthesingleeyeofthegiants).Thevolcanocanstilleruptwith fury, but between such devastation, the local farmers havebenefitedfromtherichvolcanicsoil.Sicily’s bountiful agriculture is the base of the island’s celebrated

cuisinethat is layered, likeitsarchitecture,withtheculturesthathaveformedthisepicenterofMediterraneancivilization:Greek,Roman,Arab,Norman, Spanish, French, and Italian. All these cultures brought theirplantsandneeds;allofthesehadaneffectonthehoneysandtheirusesinthekitchen.Thiswastobethenextpartofmysearchoftheclassicalworld.

AN HOUR’S DRIVE down the hillside from Sortino is Syracuse, one of theforemostcitiesoftheancientGreeks.Syracusewasmuchassociatedwiththeriseofcookingasanart;thefirstcookbookoftheWesternworldissaid to be by Mithaecus, written here in the fifth century bc. In thefourthcenturybc,SocratesspokeoftherefinementsofSiciliancooking,andthefameofthetablesofSyracuse,inparticular.Thecitywashometothefirstschoolforprofessionalcooksandthroughthisbecamelinkedwith food, far and wide. It was something of a status symbol amonghigh-rollingRomanstohaveyourkitchenrunbysuchaSicilian,andhebecameastockcharacterincomedies.One of the best recordswe have of ancient Greek food comes from

Archestratus,aSiciliangourmetwho traveledaround theGreekworld,recordingthegastronomichighlightsofmorethanfiftyports.Thesixty-two fragments remaining have the tone of the enthusiast urging hisfellowtravelerstowardthebest.Ifyoufindtheflat-cakesofAthens,dotrythemwiththeAttichoney,hewrites.Despitehisjokingtone,Archestratus’swordsgiveussomecluesabout

ancienttastes,andhelpustoseehowhoneywasusedinGreekcooking.Itwasoneofthetwomainsweetenersoftheday,alongsideboiled-downgrapejuice.SuchsweetnessworkedasacounterpointtowhattheBritishchef and classics scholar ShaunHill has identified as “a rank, slightlyrotting quality” prevalent in the food of the time; a juxtaposition thatwasnotunlikethecontrastbetweenourStiltonandportormuttonand

redcurrantjelly.Honey was later much used in the somewhat overblown dishes—

dormouseinhoneyandthelike—describedbytheRomanwriteronfoodApiciusinthefourthcenturyad.Heput it innearlyallhissauces.ButGreek cooking, as recorded byArchestratus, had amuchmore refinedair.Hismaxim, thatyou shoulduse thebest, seasonal ingredients andnotmessaroundwiththemtoomuch,isintunewithmanyofthebestchefstoday;thesemastercraftsmen—intheancientworldorthetwenty-first century—dare to let their ingredients sing their own flavor noteswithanunfussyclarity.ThetablesofSyracusewerestillexceptional.I’dreadofancientGreek

cheesecakesflavoredwithhoney.AtJonicoaRuttaèCiauli,arestaurantabovetheseaedgingthecity, Iwasofferedasimplifiedversionof thehoneyed cheesecake: a starter of softly scented orange-blossom honeyfrom Sortino with aged pecorino and cacio cavallo, a hard cow’s-milkcheese from Ragusa, on the other side of the Iblean mountains fromSortino.Itookateaspoonofhoneyandzigzaggeditoverthecheese,itsgleamturninglighttosyrup.Themattetextureandtangyflavoroftheagedcheesescounterbalancedthesmoothsweetnessofthehoney.AsIsatatthetable,eatinganddrinking,Inoticedhoweverythingon

thetable—thecheeses,honeyandbread,thewhitewinefromMarsala—was a form of gold. The wine and the honey held the same hue, thecheesesapalershade,thebread’scrustadarkerone.Eachoneofthesefoods—not least the honey—was virtually unchanged from ancienttimes.VincentCronin’squestforagoldenhoneycombendedwithwildhoney;mineatthissimplefeastinahospitablerestaurantinSyracuse.Itwas here that I finally understood how honey had been eaten in thesamewayformillennia;andhowcenturiescoulddissolveandyetformawhole. “The past is not over,”WilliamFaulkner said. “In fact, it’s notevenpast.”

I

CHAPTERFIVE

CANDLELIGHTANDINTOXICATION

n the woods that once covered swathes of northern Europe, menwouldraidthebees’neststheyfoundwithinhollowsintreetrunks.To

thebee,atreeisnotjustahome;theflowersofferanenormousstashofnectar gathered together in one place. Even a single lime or chestnut,say,canreleaseenoughnectartomakeatleastakiloofhoneyinjustashortamountoftime.The insects’ woodland stores then made rich pickings for medieval

honey hunters. Russian bee men, for example, working the forestsaroundMoscow,would keep an eye out for swarms in the springtimeandfollowthemtowheretheysettled.Sometimestheysmearedhoneyinaboxtotrapasinglebee,and,onitsrelease,followedtheinsectbackto its colony.Abeemanclaimeda foundnestbycarvinghispersonalmark—perhaps a hare’s or goat’s ear—on the bark, and returned yearafteryeartoseeifitcontainedanyhoney.Wild forest honey-hunting began to give way to more organized

practices. In addition to plundering natural nests, the specialistwoodlandhuntersgougedholestocreatenestspacesinwhichhomelessbeescouldsettle,andwouldmakesmalldoorwaysover thehollows inthetrunkssotheycouldcheckandcollectthehoneystoresmorereadily.They also hung hollow logs in the trees, high enough for swarms tosettleoutofreachoftheanimalsontheground.Oneillustrationshowsacruel trap,designed toget ridofone suchmajor competitor, thebear:theclimbinganimal is trappedonaplatformplacednear thenestandshotatbyarcherssoitfallsontospikesonthegroundbelow.Itmightbea12-mileround-triptochecka“bee-walk”ofcolonies;the

moreprosperousbeemenwentbyhorseback, the less soby foot. Inaforestof fivehundredknowntreecavities,as fewastenmightcontainnests. Collecting honey could be as treacherous as unpredictable:perhapsoneinathousandhuntersdied,nottomentionthenumberofbrokenlimbsthatcamefromfallingoutoftreeswhenpursuedbyangry

insects.Accordingly, thesewoodlandworkersbegantodevisesafermethods.Hollowsectionsoftrunkweretakenfromthetreeandputonthegroundto make primitive wooden hives. In Poland and eastern Germany,ground-based log hives became folk art and were carved into figuressuchasbearsorhumanbeings,perhaps,inthelattercase,withthebeeentrance positioned below a man’s belt so a stream of bees flewcomicallyinandoutofhispants.

Germanwoodlandbeekeepersremovingcombsfromtrees.

Althoughthesebeemenlaidclaimtothehoneyfromtheirnestsitesandhives, itwasthelandownerwholetthemwalkthroughthewoodstocollect it, andhedemandedaportionof thehoney. If the landwassold,thisrightofhoneypaymentswastransferredwithit.Thewoodlandlaws of medieval Europe were strict and comprehensive. The Ancient

Laws of Ireland, codified by St. Patrick in ad 400, covered wildwoodlandbeesaswellasthosekeptingardens,andimposedafineforstealingthem,thetariffbeingspecifiedas“aman’sfullmealofhoney.”Neighboring properties also had rights of recompense for “the damagebees did to fruit and flowers”; the benefits of pollination were stillunknown.Astowhatconstitutedtheneighborhoodofahive,itwassaidthatabeeflewasfarasthesoundofachurchbell,oracock’scrow,anevocativedefinitionofalocalfood.Inninth-centuryWessex,KingAlfreddecreedthataswarmshouldbeannouncedandclaimedbybangingmetal,neatlyturningintoanaudibledeclaration of ownership the classical belief, known as tanging, thatswarmingbeescouldbemadetosettlewiththesoundofclashingmetal.England’sCharteroftheForestsin1225establishedthattakingsomeoneelse’s honey and beeswax was an act of poaching. The judgments ofspecial courts created to enforce forest laws have left us some of thenames andmisdemeanors of thesemen-of-the-woods. In 1299, severalmenwere caught at Ralph de Caton’s housewith a nest ofwild bees,leaving behind the remnants of the tree they had burned in order tocollect thecomb.Theywerefinedforbotharsonandlooting. In1334,anothertwomenwerefinedforcarryinghoneyoutofSherwoodForest.Butin1335,acourtupheldGilbertAyton’sdefensethathewasentitledto the2gallonsofhoneyand2poundsofwax inhispossession; theycamefromhisownwoods,andthereforebelongedtohim.These rights of honey ownership continued to be exercised in theBritish Isles long after the medieval period. Even as late as 1852, alandownerinHampshire’sNewForestlaidclaim,incourt,toanyhoneyfound in his woods. When it came to wild food, finders were notnecessarilykeepers.Thequantityof laws that relate tohoneyandwaxshows their economic importance. In Germany until the seventeenthcentury, the chief value of the forests was not just hunting but alsoharvestingthehoneyandwax.The great woodlands of medieval Northern Europe progressivelydwindled,as treeswere felled tobuild shipsorburned to smeltmetal.Woodland beekeeping continued as long as there was honey to becollected;meanwhile,anotherwayofkeepingbeeswasbeingdevelopedin northwest Europe where there were fewer large trees to provide

materialforloghives.

THE FIRST of these newhives in the British Islesweremade fromwickerwoven into conical shapesandcoveredwitha substance called cloom,whichwas cowdungmixedwith something like lime, gravel, or sand.These structures sound like an agricultural version of the wattle anddaubofhumanhabitations.Theyweremostlyreplacedbytheskep,thedomedstrawhive thathasbecomeamuch-lovedsymbolof traditionalbeekeeping.ThewordmaycomefromtheoldNorseskeppa,meaningabasket that both contained andmeasured grain. Skepswere originallyusedbyGermanic tribeswest of theElbe and entered theBritish Islesthrough East Anglia with the Anglo-Saxons; the hives also spreadsouthwardasfarastheAlpes-MaritimesandPyreneesinFrance.Today,theserustichivesaremadeprettymuchinthesamewayastheywereinmedievalEurope.They still have their fans amongbeekeepersbecausethey insulate thebeesbetter thanwood,and their roundedshapesuitstheclusteredballofoverwinteringbees,helpingthemsurvivethecold.Thematerialsforskepscameoriginallyfromtheagriculturalmaterials

that were at hand. Lengths of wheat strawwere used, or dried stalksfrom other plants such as reeds, rye, and oats. These were gatheredtogetherandpushedthroughasectionofcow’shornwiththetipcutofftocreateanapertureabout1½inchesindiameter.(Atwentieth-centuryskepmaker,FrankAlston,suggestedsubstitutingthecow’shornwiththemetalringofaTVaerial.)Thegatheredbunchofstrawwasthencoiledintoadomeshapeandboundtogetherwithastrong,flexiblematerial,whichwas traditionallydethornedbramblebriars, thoughcane isnowused,moreconveniently.Someskepsweregivenstrawhats,known inpartsof thecountryas

hackles,tokeepouttherain;othersweresitedinshelters.OneelaboratemedievalshelterinGloucestershire,madeofCaenstone,hasnichesforthirty-eight skeps and magnificent carved dividing brackets betweenthem.Itwasindangerofdemolitionuntilgivenarestingplace,firstattheagriculturalcollegeatHartpury,andnowatthelocalchurch.On a more domestic scale, there was the bee bole, a recess into a

houseorgardenwall inwhichoneormore skepswere sheltered from

the elements. These tend to be sited on north-and east-facingwalls toprotect thebees fromtheprevailingsouthwesterlies.Youcansee themstillinthecobwalls—someofwhichareasmuchas4/2feetthick—oftraditionalDevonbuildingsaswellas inother rained-upon, traditionalplacessuchastheLakeDistrictandtheYorkshiredales.OneCumbrianbeebolecanbespiedinanillustrationinBeatrixPotter’sTaleofJemimaPuddleduck.BeatrixPottertookherimagesfromhersurroundingsandinreallifeyoucanseethisverybeebolebesidethevegetablepatchatherhouseHillTop,nearAmbleside.Inmid-Devontherearetwo,highupina wall of the Ring O’Bells pub at Cheriton Fitzpaine, a village nearExeter. Bee boles come in different shapes in different parts of thecountry: in Scotland theyare rectangular; inDevon, archedordomed;andinKent,gabledortriangular.Theseskepnichesareanexampleofthe local distinctiveness that has been so eroded in this homogenizedworld,butisstilltheretobeenjoyedinmanyrichparticulars,onceyouareonthelookout.

KEEPING BEES in skepswas different frommodern beekeeping in one vitalaspect:inordertocutoutthecomb,manypeopledestroyedthecolony.The skep was put over a pit that held a burning paper dipped inbrimstone; this gassed thebeeswith sulfur.A cabbageor rhubarb leafmight be put on top of the smouldering fire to stop it from beingextinguishedby the falling, deadbees—a curiously homeydetail for adeadly task.Carehad tobe takennot toadulterate thecomb,and thesellerscouldbetakentocourtifthishappened.Beekeepers tended to remove the comb from the heaviest and thelightest skeps; in the case of the former, because itwould contain themost honey; and in the latter, because the bees probably wouldn’tsurvive thewinter on the honeywithin in any case. There wasmuchdisquiet about the killing of these sacred and useful creatures, andpeopledevisedwaysofdrivingthemfromoneskepintoanothersothecombcouldbe taken fromanemptynest.Oneof thedisadvantagesofthisannual slaughterwas that itbredout themoreproductive strains.Nevertheless, the colonies left to survive the winter would, if all hadgonewell, get going again in the spring, when theywould reproduce

andswarmoncetheskepwastoosmall.Thebreakawaybeeswouldbecaught in new skeps, to start all over again. Straw skeps are used bysome beekeepers today precisely to catch swarms; their light, handyshapeisgoodforthistask.I went to see a contemporary skep maker and beekeeper, David

Chubb,wholivesinsouthGloucestershire.HisfarmhousewasinSouthCerney,avillagethathasbeencolonizedbythecommuters;therewereplentyoffour-wheel-drivesontheroads,raringtotacklethewild,urbanterrain of Cirencester and Swindon. In a previous life, before hewentinto farming and skep-making,Davidwas amaintenancemechanic ontherailways.Oneofhisbesthoneycropscomesfromthewildflowersonthe disused Southampton-to-Birmingham railway line. It wasincongruous but somehow satisfying that the old-fashioned skep wasbeingmadeinaplacethatsodefiedthepicturepostcard.The Chubbs have moved through mixed farming, diversifying long

before it was the trend, to keep the big, rare-breed Cotswold sheep,chickensforeggs,andbees,aswellasdoingcontractworkandmakingskeps.David sometimes puts his Cotswolds onto nearby land to act asbucolic lawnmowers, andproblemscanarisewhenpeoplewant to fitthesheepinlikeappointments;whencommuterslivealongsidefarmers,neitherquite speaks theother’s language.But this isamodernvillage,wheretightestatesofnewhousesfaceontofields,andbothtribesneedtotalktoeachotheriftheincomersaretogettheirruraldreamandthefarmer is to survive. Both have an attachment to the idea of thecountryside, as well as its reality.When I asked David what he likedaboutthecountryside,hisblueeyesbecamemomentarilyabstracted.“IescapedoverthegardenwallwhenIwasfour,”hesaid,“andI’venevergoneback.It’sbetteroutthere.Nature.”What better way to be a part of your place than to eat your

surroundings in the form of honey? David now focusesmostly on theskepsandthebees,sellinghispotsinlocalshopsandfromhishome.Hestartedmakingskepsbecausehecouldn’tgetholdofonehimself.Somepeople like them for display because the golden dome represents acertainimageofrusticity;likethehandicraftsmadefortheheritagepubmarket,thesymbollingersbeyonduse.But at least half ofDavid’s customers still use skeps for beekeeping,

oftenbuying them fromhimvia themodernmeansof the Internet.Atthe Chubbs’ farmhouse, we looked at photographs of Dutchmen withskepfuls of bees at markets—the tradition of these hives continuedlongerintheNetherlands—andatpicturesofskepsthatshowedhowthebees’entranceholecouldbefoundatdifferentplaces,atthebottomorthe top, and at images of another kind that looked like a medievalhelmetforascarecrow,withasingleeye-slithalfwayup.Davidagreedthat skeps provide good insulation (he said an inch of straw wasequivalent to6 inchesofwood),andhecontinues tokeepat leastonecolony in thisway as an insurance policy against a bigwinter freeze.Mostly,though,hekeepshisownbeesinwoodenhives,becauseitissomucheasiertoharvestthehoneyfromthem.IwatchedDavid inhis skepworkshop.Hebuysold-fashionedwheat

from the same sources as thatchers, who also need longer stalks,harvestedwithabindertopreservetheirlength.Thewheatstillhaditsearson,andDavidpulled themoffashewentalong.Ashe talked,hetamed the rustling tail of wheat-ears into a fat coil, a process thatreminded me of hairdressing, and I remembered how the medievalskep’sdomedoutlineandcoilswerelaterrepeatedinthe1950sand’60sbeehivehairdo.We went to David’s honey room, where the jars of glowing honey

resembled big, boiled sweets, then moved outside to see his skep. Itlookedlikeahuge,strawthimble;whenDavidturneditover,Icouldseethelayersofhoneycombinbeautiful,organicswags,massedwithbees—amesmerizingsight.Drivingawayfromthegoldskepandgoldhoney,andtheshornwheat

fieldsthatwereScandinavianblondinthebleachinglightoflateAugust,Ithoughtagainofhowtheskepwasstillthesinglemostevocativeimageofbeekeeping, instantlyconjuringupacottagegarden fullofdrowsilybuzzingbeesinlate-afternoonsun—evenif,inreality,itwasnowmadein a commuter village and sold to customers who did not use it forbeekeepingatall.

“Sowethebeesmakehoney,butnotforourselves”:aseventeenth-centurywoodcutshowingaskep.

DEEPINTHECONFUSINGforestsofShakespeare’sAMidsummerNight’sDream,Titaniaorderedherfairies tofindwaxcandlesto lightthewayforhernewlybelovedBottom(act3,scene1):

“Thehoney-bagsstealfromthehumble-bees,/Andfornight-taperscroptheirwaxenthighs,/Andlightthematthefieryglow-wormseyes,/Tohavemylovetobedandtoarise.”Shakespeare shows the contemporary confusion between the pollenloadsonthebees’legsandthewaxtheysecretefromwithinthemselves.Oneofthemostextraordinaryskillsofthehoneybeeisitsproductionanduseofbeeswax.Whenthebeeshavenomorecombinwhichtostorehoney,thenectartheyhavecollectedstaysintheirhoneystomachsandthe stored sugars assimilate into their bodies; this enables them tosecretesmall,transparentplatesofwaxthroughtheglandsonthefrontof theabdomen.Thewax ismovedby their legs to theirmouthparts,where it is kneaded until it is ready for use.With this newwax, theybuildmorecomb.Thehoneycombisbuiltbyahangingcurtainofworkerbees,whopassthe materials up a chain to their fellow builders. The cells of the

honeycomb are hexagonal because this design needs the minimumamount of wax to hold the maximum amount of honey—almost 2/4poundsofhoneyinjust1squarefootofcomb.Thebeesaresocarefulwith theirwaxbecause it takesnearly16poundsofhoney toproduceenoughcombforacolony:waxsecretion is thereforeaveryexpensiveiteminthehive’senergyeconomy.Light as a feather, the wax comb is now ready for use. It hangs inparallel, vertical sheets, a networkof regular cells placedback-to-backandtippedonaslightanglesothenectarandhoneydonotdripout.

HONEYWAS NOT always themostvaluableproductof thebees; inmedievalEurope, beeswax was so important that it could almost be said thathoneywas a by-product of thewax. In England, at the time, thewaxcould be worth eight times as much as honey. No wonder, when itprovidedthemostprizedmeansof lightingafterdark.Justasthebeescanmanipulate thewarmwax tomakecomb,humanscaneasilymoldandshapemoltenwax.Itisflammable,aswellasmalleable,andsocanbewrappedaroundapieceoffabric,orawick,toformacandle.The cheapest candles of themedievalworldwere rush lights. Reedswere picked, ideally, in the early summerwhen theywere young andjuicy, stripped to just a single layer covering the pith, and dipped inmeltedfat.Theserushlightscouldbemadefrombeeswax,asPlinytheEldermentionsinthefirstcenturyad,butmostlytheyweremadewithanimal fat, or tallow. Sheep fat was the best, with beef fat as secondchoice.Thepig,acommonlykeptanimalthatcouldbefedonhouseholdscraps,unfortunatelyhadfatthatburnedwithathick,blacksmellyandgreasysmoke;sincepigfattastesfarbetterthansheepfat,perhapsthiswas ultimately providential. The smelly, sputtering nature of tallowcandlesshowswhy,incontrast,beeswaxwassovalued.Beeswaxcandleshave a beautiful, clean, and cozy scent of honey, and emit a pure,unsmoky light. The seventeenth-century bee author, Reverend CharlesButler,summarizeditsmerits:“…itmakeththemostexcellentlight,fitfortheeyesofthemostexcellent;forcleernesse,sweetness,neatnesse,tobepreferredbeforeallother.”Thereweremanykindsofbeeswaxcandles.Perchersweretallcandles

foraltarsandceremonies.Quarerreswerelarge,squarecandlesthatwereused in funerals. Flambeaux—torches made from material soaked inresinandcoatedwithbeeswax—weredesigned toburn so fiercelyandbrightlythattheycouldbekeptflaminginwindandrainandtakenonprocessions.Thewaytheclothwas twistedmayhavegivenrise to thewordtorchfromtheLatintorquere,totwist.Ingreathalls,waxcandlesofmanysizesweresetincandelabra.The

brightnessoftheirlightenhancedthestatusofthelordofthehousehold,andcandleswerepartof thepayments formembersof thehousehold.Domesticaccountsgointosomedetailonsuchallowances,showingjusthow valuable wax was. In the fifteenth century, the Lord Steward ofEdward IV had a winter allowance that included a torch to attend tohimself,atortayes(smalltree)ofcandlestosetathisliverybasin,threeperchers,andseventallowcandles.Beeswax could be readily available, if you kept bees, inwhich case

youcouldmakethecandlesyourself;butbythelatethirteenthcentury,demandoutstripped supply,andmuchwaxwas imported,mostly fromEurope through theHanseatic League. Therewere now also dedicatedcandlemakers. Thesewax chandlers rose to be one of the eighty-fourlivery companies of the City of London. They started as a “mistery,”whichmay come from the Latinministerium, meaning occupation (theFrenchwordmétiercomesfromthesameroot).Misterieswerecomposedof master craftsmen, who served an apprenticeship and formed anorganizationthatrepresentedtheskillsandprideofatrade,maintainingstandardsbysuchmeansasfiningmakerswhosoldadulteratedcandles.In1482, thewaxchandlerswerehonoredwithacharter,decoratedonitsborderswithhoneybeesamidflowersandbearingtheroyalsealmadeofresinmixedwithbeeswax.Withthehonorofacharter,liketheotherguilds, the wax chandlers were “invited” to contribute money to theCrowntoswellitswarcoffers.The chandlersmade candles in various ways.Moltenwaxmight be

drippeddownawick,buildingupinsuccessivelayers;awickmightbedrawnthroughmeltedwax;thesoftwaxcouldberolledaroundawick;or itcouldbeput inamoldwiththewickplacedinthemiddle.Somecandleswerereallyjustlonglengthsofwickbarelycoveredinwax.Longcoils of these thin tapers were called trundles; in fourteenth-and

fifteenth-century France, lengths of fiber, long enough, it was said, toencircle a town, might be dipped in wax and burnt as a protectivecharm. Whether or not one literally did go around a town, the ideaillustrateshowcandleswerebothpracticalandsymbolic.NowherewasthismoreevidentthanintheChristianchurch.

THECHURCHwasavoraciousconsumerofwaxcandlesintheMiddleAges.Monkskeptbees,andrentsandtithesfromtheirsubstantiallandscouldbepaidbytheirtenantsinwax.Candleswereneededinlargequantitiesto light the large, dark spaces of churches, chapels, and cathedrals. Intheeighthcentury,PopeAdrianIburntaperpetuallightinSt.Peter’sinRome consisting of 1,370 lights in the shape of a cross: it must havebeenastaggeringsightinthedimworldoftheDarkAges.Candleshaveamany-layeredsignificanceinChristianbelief;notonly

was light seen as symbolic of the awakened soul, but beeswax wasregardedaspurebecauseofthechastenessoftheworkerbees.Ifthewaxwasthespotlessbody,thewickwasthesoulanditsflameasymbolofdivinity,ortheHolySpirit.Sometookthemetaphorfurther,toportraythedronesasmonks,and theirautumnalexpulsion from thehiveasasymbolofgoodmoralhousekeepingbythepunishmentofthelazy.Purebeeswax candles were burned at liturgical services, and there was abelief that thesoulsof thedeadcouldonlybeatpeacewhenwatchedoverbytheliving.Candleswereburnedintheirmemory,acustomthatcontinuestodayintheslightlydifferentformofvotivecandles.Honey,too,wasalsopartofearlyChristiancustom.Untiltheseventh

century,peopletookhoneyandmilkjustafterbeingbaptized,aritethatechoes theearlydietof the infantZeus. Inanother story thatconnectsthemedievalworldwith thatof theGreeksandRomans, St.Ambrose,thefourth-centuryBishopofMilan—andthepatronsaintofbeekeepers—wasvisitedbybeesinhiscradle.Theinsectsflewuphigh,vanishingas if toheaven.Thiswas said tobe a sign that St.Ambrosewouldbebothgreatandeloquent.CandlemasonFebruary2isthedaywhenthecandlesfortheyearare

blessed and distributed. Based around the same time as the Romanpaganfestivalofpurification,itisthefestivalofthepurificationofthe

Virgin Mary and marks the presentation of the infant Jesus at thetemple,whenSt.Simeon, in theNuncDimittis,calledJesus“a light tolightenthegentiles.”Bythemiddleofthefifthcentury,candlesbecameanexplicitfeatureoftheoccasion.The guilds, including the Wax Chandlers, would participate in big

religious festivals, and doubtless provided the candles. The famousfuneralprocessionofHenryVin1422,anexerciseinstateshowmanshipofsomeproportions,waslitbyfourteenhundredwaxtapersalongthe2-mileprocession,andeveryfifthmanheldatorch.The significant religious demand for beeswax meant it was dealt a

great blow when the monasteries were closed by Henry VIII in thesixteenthcentury.AlthoughtherewasarevivalofcandleuseundertheRomanCatholicMaryI,exemplifiedbythemakingofanenormous,300-poundPaschal candle, suchdisplays fell from favor inEngland.OliverCromwelllaterbannedaltarcandlesaltogether.Beeswaxcandleswereanespeciallyvaluedformof light; theninthe

eighteenthcentury,NewEnglandwhalersdiscoveredhowtoburntheoilfound in the head of spermwhales, in a substance called spermaceti,which was refined into a hard, crystalline substance and made intocandles that burnedwith a newbrightness. The cheap,mass-producedparaffin candles of the nineteenth century were to further eclipse thelightofthehoneybee.Youcan,however,stillfindbeeswaxcandlesasaspecialist product and enjoy their soft scent and beautiful shine. TheWax Chandlers Guild continues and has links with contemporarybeekeepers, offering an award if an entrant especially excels in theBritishBeekeepersAssociationannualexaminations.

IN MANY CULTURES around the world, honey was regarded as a magical,transformingsubstance,almostapotion.Attheheartofthisbeliefwasmead. As a sweet intoxicating liquor, it was themain use of honey—more so than as food ormedicine. The question arises, even,whetherhoney was more valued for its sweet taste or for its power as analcoholicdrink.The sugars in honey naturally ferment whenmixed with water and

yeasts already present, or in the air; it is therefore one of our mostancientdrinks.TheGreekshadmanyhoney-baseddrinks,someofthem,like mead, made from fermented honey and some made from honeymixedwith another drink, such as the commonmulsum, amixture ofwine and honey. Rhodomel was made with roses and honey;omphacomel from grape juice and honey; thalassiomel used seawater;and there was even a meal-of-a-drink called kykeon, with oil, wine,cheese,andmead,thatwasdrunkattheharvestfeast.Dionysus,ortheRoman Bacchus, was probably the god of mead as well as wine. Buthoney drinks were also a source of good health and not justbacchanalian excess. Pollio Romulus, aged one hundred, told JuliusCaesarhehadkept thevigorofmindandbodybytakingspicedmeadinwardly and using oil on his outer body, an alcoholic variant onDemocritus’s prescription for long life: takinghoneyon the inside andoilontheoutside.

TheimpactofmeadonsomeCaucasianpeasants.

Meadpredateswine,perhapsbymany thousandsofyears;butwhenthe grape arrived, it eventually began to replace mead in southerncountries.Meadcontinuedasa fine tradition innorthern climes.PlinywroteoftheBritishCeltsthat“theseislandersconsumegreatquantitiesofhoney-brew.”Meadwasadrinkofstatus,ofroyalcourts,actualandliterary.TheQueenbears themead that isgiven toBeowulf,andKing

Arthurdownedgobletfulsofthestuff.MeadismuchmentionedinWelshpoetry and laws. A free township had to pay its dues to the king bygivinghimavatofmeadbigenoughforthemonarchandacompaniontobathein.Greatceremonialcommunaldrinkingbowlsweremadeofwoodand

precious metals, and known as mazers, from the word for one of theoriginalmaterials,maple.OneexampleofsuchavesselistheRochesterMazer,made in 1532,which is in the BritishMuseum in London: thewide, shallowbowlwouldhavebeenheldwith twohands andpassedbetweendrinkers. (Admiring this renownedobject,now sequestered initsglassmuseumcase,Iallowedmyselfthescurrilousthoughtthattheremight have been a term, in the ebullient vein of northern Europeandrinkingtraditions,“togetmazered.”)Beyond theBritish Isles,meadwas thedrink of gods andheroes. In

Teutonicmythology,warriorsreachingValhallaquaffedsparklingmeadofferedbydivinemaidens.Odinstolethemagicmeadofthegods,madelovetoitsguardiangiant’sdaughter,drankthebrewinthreemouthfuls,andfledintheformofaneagle.Someof the intoxicatingstoriesconnectedtomeadhavecomedown

to us, almost inevitably, with a lurching exaggeration. In the tenthcentury,Olga,widowofthePrinceofKiev,wassaidtohaveinvitedthemurderousmournerstoherhusband’sfuneral,instructingthemtobringplenty ofmead. These five thousand incapacitated drinkers were thenslaininvengeance.Meissen,inwhatisnowsoutheastGermany,hadsomanybreweriesthatmeadwassupposedlyusedinsteadofwatertoputoutafirein1015.In1489,TartarsattackingtheRussiansdiscoveredastash of Russian mead—perhaps put there as a deliberate trap—anddrankthebooty,tobeeasilyovercome.Meadwasalsoanaphrodisiac thatenhanced love, smoothed itsway

andpowereditsvirility.TheScottishsayingthatmeaddrinkershadthestrengthofmeateatersprobablydidnotrefertothebulkoftheirbiceps.The alcoholic properties of this honey drinkmaywell have enhancedhoney’s reputation as a love food.The termhoneymoonmayoriginallycomefromtheinitial,sweetboutofpostmaritalpassion—thoughthereisanother theory that it stems from the relatives’ monthlong meaddrinkingincelebrationofthenuptials.

Theremnantsofmeadthatyoufindnowtendtobesweet,notunlikeafruitwine.Meadinitsheydayhadmanystrengthsandflavors.Itcouldbe brewed strong and dry, distilled, ormade to sparkle. It could be aweaker,quaffingdrinkorflavoredwithherbsandspices,inadrinkthatbecame known as metheglin. This aromatic, medium-strength drinksounds like an ancestor of today’s grape-based aperitifs, such asvermouth.SirKenelmDigby (1603-1665) collected recipes thatwere publishedafterhisdeath inTheClosetof theEminentlyLearnedSirKenelmeDigbieKt,Opened;hehadmorethanahundredrecipesformeadandmetheglin.The drinks he described could be kept for a fewmonths or for up tothreeyears.Onereasonsuchimportancewasplacedonalcoholicdrinksat that time was because they were a safe, as well as delicious,alternativetopollutedwater.SirKenelmeDigbie’schampioningofmeadalso had a background of disquiet about imports. The deluge of winecomingintothecountyfromtherestofEuropemadenativedrinksseemout-of-date.Meadwasmade simplywith honey,water, and yeast andwasagood,honest,home-producedbrew.Theromanceofmead,withallitssophisticatedvariants,didnotlast.Todaythedrinkseemsfaintlyquaintandcanbeatouchcloyingduetothepreponderanceofthesweetermeads,whichcapitalizeonthehoneyflavor,ratherthanthedrierstylesofthisversatiledrink.Therearesomedelicious brews still made commercially (as well as the home brewsmade by curious beekeepers who can spare the 4 pounds of honey ittakes tomake a gallon ofmead).Whenwellmade,mead can give aninitial impression of a sweet, honeyed roundness that turns into amellowdrynesssimilartoafinesherry.The superseding ofmead by other drinks camewith the rise in theprice of honey. Sugar became more available (though it was stillluxuriantly expensive until the advent of the sugar beet) and theReformationmeantfewerchurchcandlesandthereforefewerbees.Butalthoughthenumberofhivesdeclined,thebeedidnotdropinstatus.Ifanything, these sacred insects were to become even greater objects offascinationinthescientificagethatwastocome.

T

CHAPTERSIX

ENLIGHTENMENT

he Reverend Charles Butler signaled a new phase in man’sunderstanding of the honeybee. He used his own observations to

challengemedievalbeliefs,thereforepushingbackcenturiesofreceivedwisdom.Anerainwhichscientificthoughtbecamebasedonthedirectstudyofthenaturalworldwasabouttobegin.Butler was the vicar of Wootton St. Lawrence, near Basingstoke in

Hampshire,intheearly1600s.Aswellasbeingascholar,teacher,andinventorofaformofphoneticspelling,hewroteaboutlogic,music,andtheology,wasanadvocateforthelegalityofmarriagebetweencousins,and was the great-great-grandfather of the eighteenth-centuryHampshirenaturalistGilbertWhite.Heisbestknowntodayasoneinaline of humane, engagingly helpful authors on the subject of thehoneybee; his bookThe FeminineMonarchie is still read by beekeeperswithaffection.TheFeminineMonarchie, firstpublishedin1609,waswellreceivedat

court, and the third edition (1634) was even dedicated to QueenHenriettaMaria,thestartofafashionforpresentingsuchbookstotheroyal“queenbee.”Butlerstartswithanoteofadmirationforthebee’smoralrightnessandpracticality,depictingtherelationshipbetweenbeeandbeekeeperasoneofgood,cleanliving.Ifthebeekeeperapproachesthehivedrunk,puffing,blowing,hasty,andviolent,hewillbestung;ifhebehavesproperly,allwillbewell: “[T]houmustbechaste, cleanly,sweet,sober,quietandfamiliar; sowill they lovethee,andknowtheefromallothers.”TherighteouspraiseforsuchsteadfastqualitiesisleavenedbyButler’s

variedandidiosyncraticenthusiasmsforhisinsects.Thesoundofahivestartingtoswarmiswellknowntobeekeepers.Butler,amusicscholar,scoreditinthefirstedition,laterturningthenotesintoamadrigalwithfourparts.Anothersectionofhisbookdealswithsuchmattersassealingwax, drinks, and a syrup of violets and honey that “tempereth and

purgeth hot and sharp humours, expels melancholy and effects—headache, waking, dreams, heaviness of heart,” like a seventeenth-century liquid form of aromatherapy. It was Butler who recorded theflavorings of Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite spiced mead: rosemary, bayleaves,sweetbriar,andthyme.CharlesButler’smostsignificantadvancewastotrusthisowneyesontheworkingsofthehive,ratherthanthewordsofclassicalauthors.Henotes, for example, that drones were clearly part of the reproductivemeans of the hive, although exactly how, he did not know. He alsoobservesthe“shivering”beesthatseemedtopresageswarming.Wenowknowthisisonewaybeescommunicatewithinthehive.Muchofthebookisimmediatelyrecognizable.Nature,afterall,barelychanges,justourknowledgeofit.Butlerdescribesthepoisonedspearsofstingsthatyoumustquicklyflickouttostopthepainbeing“greaterandlonger”;thelateswarms,knownasblackberryswarms,whichstarttheirnew colony too late to store enough honey to survive thewinter; thepassingoftheyearthroughthezodiacanditsdifferentflowers.Geminibringsushoneysuckleandbeanblossom.Cancerbringsthethymethat“yieldethmost and best honie.” Then come knapweed and blackberry,and ivyduringScorpio. In this classicofbeebooks, youwalk throughthepastasifitwereyourbackgarden.

BUTLER’S WORK was just the first break from classical tradition; in theseventeenth century, new technology would start to unravel manymysteriesofthehoneybee.Peoplecouldnowexaminebeesmorecloselyin twoways: throughobservationhives,whichopenedup the internalworkings of this city of insects, and through microscopes, whichrevealedtheindividualbeeinminutedetail.One of the first observation hives in England was made by theReverend William Mewe, rector of the parish of Eastington inGloucestershire between 1635 and 1655. Although Mewe consideredbecoming a polemicalwriter, and took the republican side during thecivilwar,heultimatelyretreatedtothecountryside,wherehemusedonsuchsubjectsasthehoneybee.

Mewe’s interest in beeswas partlymoral. His hivewas inscribed inLatin,praisingthe insects’ industriousnessandharmoniouscommunity.Forhim,thebee’swell-orderedcolonywasanexampletomankind.CivilwarandregicidehadtornEnglandintwo;thecountryneededtofindacohesive social order, and what better example than the productivegovernmentof thehive? “When I sawGodmakegoodhisThreat, andbreak theReines ofGovernment, I observed, that this prettyBird [thebee]wastruetothatGovernment,whereinGodandnaturehadsetittoserve,”wroteMewe.Aswell asbeingable to lookat thebees in theirglass-paneled hive for moral instruction, he thought the bees alsobenefited:theyproducedmorehoney,hebelieved,fromtheveryfactofbeingwatched.Mewewasaruralclericwhokepthisobservationhiveinhisgarden;all the same, his ideas soon spread to theworld beyond.Word of thehive may have reached Oxford through Samuel, one of his eightchildren,butitisjustaslikelythatthedesignwassoughtoutbyotherswhotookupthecauseofbeekeepinginthe1640sand1650s.The first known description of a windowed hive comes in JohnEvelyn’sdiaryentryforJuly13,1654.Herecordsdiningwith“thatmostobliging and universally Curious” Dr. Wilkins, at Wadham College,Oxford,wherehesawtransparentapiariesbuiltlikecastlesandpalaces,adorned with dials, statues, and weather vanes. King Charles II latercameespecially tosee thesehives,whichhecontemplated“withmuchsatisfaction.”ThedesignofthishivecamefromMewe.

JohnEvelyn’sdrawingofhisobservationhive,withadornments,giventohimbyDr.JohnWilkins.

The “universally Curious” Dr. JohnWilkins (1614-1672) was at theverycenterofseventeenth-century intellectual life.WhetherasWardenof Wadham College, Oxford, as Bishop of Chester, or as joint firstsecretaryoftheprestigiousnewbodyforscientificdiscovery,theRoyalSociety,hewasconsistentlyinthemidstofmattersreligious,scientific,and political, and deftly managed to remain so both during theCommonwealth—when he married Oliver Cromwell’s sister, Robina—andunderCharles theSecond.Hewasalsooneof themostsignificantbeekeepersofthecentury.Wilkins’s gallery and lodgings at Wadham, as described by Evelyn,

soundratherlikehishive,fullof“dyals,perspectives…andmanyotherartificial, mathematical, Magical curiosities; a Way-Wiser, aThermometer, a monstrous Magnet, a conic and other Sections, abalance on a demi Circle,most of them his owne and that prodigiousyoungScholar,MrChr[istopher]Wren.”Theroomsembodythemindofits polymath inhabitant; Wilkins’s conversations and thoughts, hisdreams and inquiries, can all be glimpsed in this intellectual toolshed.Hisprojectsincludedasail-poweredcoach,adouble-barreledwindgun,

and a machine for weaving ribbons. He was part of a group whoseconversations and experiments cross-pollinated and bore fruit.ChristopherWrencameuponthe ideaof injectinganimalswith liquidsafterdiscussionswithWilkinsandRobertBoyle,andthesewerelatertobecomethefamousexperimentsinbloodtransfusionscarriedoutbytheRoyalSociety.Thebreadthof inquirywithin this circle includeda fascinationwiththehoneybee.Oneof theirquestswas to collecthoneywithoutkillingthe bees. Straw skeps began to have extensions put on top,where thehoneycouldcollectandbe removedwithoutdestroying the restof thehive.These resembled aprimitive versionof thewoodenbox “supers”usedbybeekeeperstoday.In the seventeenth century, the search for the perfect hivemirroredthe contemporary preoccupations with science and architecture. ThehiveinWilkins’sgarden,withitsvanesanddials,displayedtheabidinginterest in meteorology. A drawing of one such hive, owned by JohnEvelyn, shows statues and other ornamentation, but its essentialstructurewasoctagonal,whichwasthecabinetmaker’sapproximationofthe round nests of the honeybee. Stripped down, as it was in one ofChristopher Wren’s first architectural drawings, Evelyn’s hive was astackofboxeson topof oneanother,withholesbetween them so thebeescouldleavetheirhoneyinoneboxandcrawldowntothenext;thehoneyontopcouldthenberemoved—oratleastthiswasthetheory.

OFALLTHEseventeenth-centurydevoteesofthehoneybee,perhapsthemostsignificantwasthewriterandcollatorSamuelHartlib.Hartlibcollectedthoughtsandexperiences froman impressivenetworkofcontacts fromEngland, Europe, and the New World with the purpose of bringingstability, prosperity, and healing to England through the scientificadvance of agriculture and horticulture—motivated, also, by thestarvationinthecountryfollowingthedisastrousharvestsofthe1640s.Of the twelve books Hartlib published on food production, TheReformedCommonwealthofBees(1655)wastypicalinbringingtogetherideasandexperiencesfromarangeofsources.Inthebook,hepublishedanumber of letters on the insect, including those fromWilliamMewe

andChristopherWren.HartlibalsoexchangedscientificviewswithDr.Wilkins from 1649 on, and the first recorded use of the EnglishwordapiarywasbyJohnEvelynwritingtoHartlibin1650.The Reformed Commonwealth of Bees shows a belief in the economic

possibilities of the honeybee. An estimated $177,500 worth of honeycouldbemadeifhiveswereputintoeveryparishoftheland.Eyeswerecast towardFrance,where fineBordeauxhoney fetchedmore than tentimesthepriceEnglishhoneycouldcommand.ThesugarplantationsinBarbadoswerebecomingeconomicallysignificant,butHartlibshowedabias toward English produce; he also pondered the possibility ofextractingsweetnessfromhome-grownapples.So much for the theory. This group of seventeenth-century

intellectuals did have practical beekeeping experience—for example,JohnEvelynrecommendedinSylva,publishedin1664,particulartreesthatweregood forbees, suchas theoak, theblackcherry, thepoplar,thewillow,andthebuckthornwithits“honey-breathingblossom”—buthow successful, ultimately, were their hives? These new boxed hiveswerenotuniversallypopular.OneuserwrotetoHartlibin1658sayingitmade no difference to the amount of honey collected, and that plaincountrytraditionssuchasskepbeekeepingproducedmoreprofitforlesstrouble.Perhapstheseenlightenedbeekeeperssettoomuchstorebytherationalityofthebee.Insteadofcrawlingintothehiveandgoinguptothe top and building downward, the bees started their comb in thebottombox.Theholesbetweentheboxesdidnotallowalargenumberof insects to move easily into the upper layers. Furthermore, theelaborate, hexagonal wooden hive was too expensive and difficult toconstructtobeeconomicalforcommercialbeekeepers.For all their thoughts, inventions, and curiosity, these enlightened

Englishmenwere only at the beginning of the discovery of the bee. Itwasanothertwocenturiesbeforetheproblemthatpreoccupiedthem—howtoremovethehoneycleanly,withoutkillingthebees—wasfinallyresolved. Regarding the scientific study of bees, the early observationhiveshad just smallpanelsofglass,offeringonlyapartialviewof thecolony.Otherscientistsweretotakemattersmuchfurther.

ON THE CONTINENT, a young Dutch scientist devoted months to focusingentirely on the honeybee. By using observation hives and peeringthroughtheglasseyeofamicroscope,hewentfurtherthananyoneelsehadinunderstandingtheinsect’smysteries.JanSwammerdamwasbornin 1637. By the time he was thirty-two, he had written his HistoriaGeneralis Insectorum. It was one of three books published within twoyears that marked the beginnings of entomology—the others wereMarcelloMalpighi’sstudyofthesilkwormandFrancescoRedi’sbookoninsects. The young Dutch scientist went on to become one of thepioneeringstudentsofthehoneybee.Swammerdam grew up in Amsterdam. His father was a noted

collector,whokepta renownedcabinetof curiositiesondisplayathishome. New objects, from Chinese porcelain to fossils, would arrivethroughthecity’sport,at thecenterofworldtrade.Visitorsalsocameon the ships,making theirway to the house to study and admire thecollection.TheyoungSwammerdambegantocreateanaturalhistorycollection,

picking up insects and their eggs, food, and even their excrement onexpeditions both in Amsterdam and in the towns and countrysidebeyond. He searched the air, land, water, meadows, cornfields, sanddunes,rivers,wells,trees,caves,ruins,andevenpriviesinordertofindhisquarry.Hisfindingswerealsoputondisplay;bytheageoftwenty-fourhehadnofewerthantwelvehundreditemstoshow,anumberthatwouldeventuallymorethandouble.Therewerenowtwocollectors,ofdifferentgenerations, in the same

family, sharing the same house. Thismust have created tensions. Therelationship between father and son was to prove difficult on manylevels.Conflictmanifesteditself,atfirst,inJanSwammerdam’schoiceofprofession. His father, a pharmacist, wanted his son to go into thechurch.JanSwammerdam,althoughadeeplypiousman,didnotfeelhistemperament would suit a ministry. Following his own passionateinterest innature,hedecided tobecomeadoctor instead,andwent tostudy anatomy, surgery, and medicine at the celebrated University ofLeyden.The microscope was a new tool of discovery in the seventeenth

centuryandwasfirstusedtomakemagnifieddrawingsofthehoneybee

in 1625. These bees were presented as illustrations of the Barberinifamily crest, rather than specifically scientific diagrams. MaffeoBarberiniwasPopeUrbanVIII,andinapowerfulpositionto influencethe conflict between questioning scientists and the Roman CatholicChurch. The drawings, viewing the honeybee from above, below, andtheside,were thereforemeant to flatter,andanengravingof thebeeswas presented to the pope at Christmas as a “token of everlastingdevotion.” The magnified bees were, however, next published in aliterary work—a book of satires by Perseus—rather than an explicitlyscientific book. Later in the century, Robert Hooke’s Micrographia(1665), famousfor its illustrationofaflea, includedsomedrawingsbyChristopherWrenanddetailedimagesofthehoneybee’ssting.Jan Swammerdam, having studied human anatomy, turned hisattentiontothatofinsects,usingamicroscope.OnavisittoFrance,hemetMelchesedecThévenot, awealthy French gentleman anddiplomatwhotraveledtopursuehisinterestinothercountriesandscience.WhenSwammerdam came to stay at Thévenot’s estate near Paris, servantswentouttotheSeinetocollectinsectsfortheyoungDutchguest.ItwasThévenot who invited Swammerdam to participate in the augustgathering of the new Académie Royale des Sciences. Swammerdamdidn’t saymuchat thismeetingof scientificminds,butcontributedbydissecting insects to show their entrails. Thévenot later accompaniedPrinceCosimodeMedicitoAmsterdamtoseethecabinetsofbothfatherand son. On this occasion, Swammerdam cut up a caterpillar to showhow the butterfly could emerge from its larval anatomy. The princeoffered a large sum to the Dutch scientist if he would bring thecollectiontohiscourt.Swammerdam,adevoutProtestant,declinedtheCatholic’soffer.

Thefirstdrawingsofbees(1625)basedonobservationsthroughamicroscope.

Swammerdamwasbynowdeeplyimmersedinhisinsectexplorations.His drawings of the honeybee were made from 1669 to 1673. Formonthsofextraordinarydevotion,hewouldrisewiththelight,startingat6a.m.toworkforaslongaspossible.Heworkedwiththesunbeatingdown, peering at the bees through glass hives and hismicroscope. Bynoon,his strainingeyeswould start to fail.After that,heworkedwellinto the night recording his observations and drawing until he couldcontinueno longer.Despite these labors, Swammerdamstillwishedhe

hadayearofnever-endinglighttoworkharderstill.Bytheendofthesestudiesofbees,thesummitofhislife’swork,Swammerdam’sbodyandmindwerebattered;somethinkheneverrecovered.Swammerdam’s drawings show the exquisite dexterity of his

dissections.Heused instrumentsso tiny that theyhad tobesharpenedunderthemicroscope.Hisfavoritetoolsweretinyscissorswithwhichhecould separate out and cutminute parts of the bee’s anatomywithouttearing them.Hewouldput abristle into abee’s gut and inflate it byblowingdownatinyglasstubesohecouldinjectacoloredfluidandseetheanatomicalstructuremoreclearly.Theinsectswerepuncturedwithaneedletodraintheirfluids,dried,andanointedwithresinandoil topreservethem.WhenSwammerdamstartedhisobservationsofaninsect,hewouldfirstlookatitthroughaweakerlensandmoveprogressivelycloser and closer by turning to stronger and stronger lenses. Once hebecamefamiliarwiththeanimal’sgeneralform,hecouldputeachnewdetailincontextasheperceivedit.Usingthisapproach,hewasabletodiscovertheovariesofthequeenbee,anatomicallyprovingherroleasegglayer.

Swammerdam’sanatomicaldrawingofthehoneybee’ssting.

By this stage, the pressures of family life were impinging onSwammerdam’sdevotiontodiscovery.Hisfatherwantedhimtoearna

living as a doctor rather than wasting his time drawing insects.Financiallydependentonhisfather,SwammerdamhadtoturndownanofferfromhisoldfriendThévenottoliveandstudywithhiminFrance.Hisoptionsathomewere limited.He retired to thecountry,but therewassurroundedbytheinsectsofhisstudies.Thoughtsswarmedinfromevery direction. Swammerdam also became plagued by a dilemma ofvocation. He saw a conflict between his studies and his love of God.ShouldhestudyGodalone,orGod’sworks?Attimes,hehadreconciledhis studiesand religion,writing ina letter toThévenot: “Sir, IpresentyoutheomnipotentfingerofGodintheanatomyofthelouse.”Butfornowheturnedawayfromthenaturalworldandtowarditsmaker.He tried to sell his natural history collection and began a

correspondencewithAntoinetteBourignon,aguruknownasTheLightof theWorld. Shehadbeen left part of the islandofNordstrand, nearSchleswig,andlivedtheresurroundedbyacolytes.WhenSwammerdamwrote to Bourignon for advice about his conflicts between belief andscience, her reply allowed him to finish his study on bees but wasnonetheless stern.Give up “the amusements of Satan,” shewrote, andconcentrate on Jesus. Swammerdam left his unpublished bee studiesbehind,as ifcarelessly,no longerbelievingtheywerethewaytoGod,andtraveledtojoinMlle.Bourignon’scommunityinSeptember1675.The trip was not a success. There were problems both within the

groupandwiththecommunityoutside.Forawhile,Swammerdamactedas secretary and translator for Antoinette Bourignon, but ninemonthslater returned to Amsterdam to a less-than-conciliatory father. Stilldependent,thesonhadtolivewiththefatheronceagain,untilthelattergave up his house and went to live with his daughter, leavingSwammerdamevenmoreisolated.In1678,Swammerdam’sfatherdied.Althoughhisfinancialproblems

were eased,his sister tookmore thanher shareof their father’s estateandhisphysicalconditiondeterioratedfurther.Bytheendof1679,hewas very ill. Thévenot offered to sendmedicine to help his fever, andSwammerdam asked desperately for a palliative for his edema. But itwastoolate.TheobsessionalDutchscientistdiedinhisforty-thirdyear,destroyedbyfeverandmentalexhaustion:incessantstudy,anxiety,andillnesshadwornhimout.Hediedlikeaworkerbee,fallinginthefield,

all energy spent.At aposthumouspublic auction, the cabinetsofbothfather and son were sold together, though in lots, not as completecollections.But on his deathbed, Swammerdam returned to his work on the

honeybee. Bees displayedGod’swisdom and power in amathematicalmanner, he said; theirminute exquisitenessmade the glory ofGod allthegreater.Inhiswill,heaskedthathisworkbepublished,inDutchaswellasLatin, so itwouldbemoreaccessible.Evenhis final resolutionwasnotwithoutcomplications.Swammerdamhadlefttheownershipofhis unpublished engravings of bees to Thévenot; but he sent theengravings themselves to a publisher, who refused to relinquish themuntil forced todosoby legalaction.Thedrawingswerenotpublisheduntil1737,morethansixtyyearsaftertheyweremade,inabookwhosetitle, Biblia Naturae, or Bible of Nature, combined Swammerdam’sdevotiontoGodandhiscreations.Itbecamehismostcelebratedwork.Swammerdam’s legacy was to pioneer microscopic work on the

honeybee, and this helped to sweep away a blind belief in classicallearning. In 1880, a plaquewas put on Swammerdam’s house bearingthe words: “His study of nature remains an example for all times.”Observationalinquiry,ratherthantheuncriticalrepetitionoferudition,wasthescientificpathhehelpedestablish.

IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, observation hives became popularized by theFrenchscientistRenéRéaumur(1683–1757),who inhisMémoirespourserviràl’histoiredesinsectesreproduceddrawingsshowinghisownglasshive.Suchobjectsbecamesomethingofanexhibitandwere shown inpublic for a small fee as men and women studied bees for moral,technical,andphilosophicalenlightenment.It was another kind of observation hive, one that opened like the

pages of a book, known as a leaf hive, that was to yield the greatestsecretsof thebee todate; thehivehad twelve frames,12 incheshigh,eachcontainingasinglecomb.The frameswere joined togetherat theback,hingedasifonthespineofabooksothattheycouldbeopenedoutandexaminedonbothsides.Asmallpieceofcombwasput inthetopofeachframetohelpthebeesgetstarted.Thehivewasthenclosed

forthreedaystoencouragethemtobuildfurther.Afterthis,theframescouldbeopenedlikepagesand“read”bytheobserver:itprovedtobethebestmethodyetoflookingcloselyatbees.Most remarkable of all, the leaf hive’s Swiss inventor and reader,

FrançoisHuber,wasblind.Huberbegan to losehis sightwhenhewasfifteen.Despite this, he stillmanaged tomarry the girl he loved,whostuckwithhimagainsther father’swishes,andtocontinuehispassionfor nature. Huber was helped in his work by his servant, FrançoisBurnens, who read natural history texts, including those ofSwammerdam,tohismaster,andintheprocessbecameabsorbedinthesubject himself. “This is not the first example of amanwho,withouteducation,withoutwealth,andinthemostunfavourablecircumstances,wascalledbynaturealonetobecomeanaturalist,”wroteHuber.Using the leaf observation hive, Burnens began to follow Huber’s

instructions to conduct simple experiments on honeybees. At first thetwomen carried out experiments that had been performed by others,suchasRéaumur.Theysoughtfirsttovalidatehisfindings;andthen,byrepeatingthetestsseveraltimes,tochecktheirownmethodsandresults.Asthisworkprogressed,acoverttrialwasbeingcarriedoutbymasteron servant. Burnens conducted the simple experiments with skill andintelligence.Hethenwentontomorecomplexones,andhispassionforscience grew.At the same time,Huber’s belief in his servant’s powersbecamestrongerandstronger.ItgottothepointthattheblindnaturalisthadtotaltrustinBurnens:“Ihesitatednolongertogivehimmyentireconfidence, feeling sure to seewellwhen seeing throughhis eyes,” hewrote.

Réaumur’sglassobservationhives.

Bythisstage,therelationshiphadevolvedfrommasterandservanttothatofcolleagues.Testingtheirtheorieswithrepeatedexperiments—thebasisof the scientificmethod—the twomenadvanced together.Huberdescribed their work in his bookNew Observations on Bees, printed in1792. These two volumes are easy to understand today, even for thelayperson, because the prose is the sumof twopeople talking to eachother.Huber and Burnens made many discoveries, but the mystery that

absorbed themmost was themating of the queen. Swammerdam hadproved through his anatomical dissections that the queen was bothfemale and the mother of the hive. But how was she fertilized? TheDutchscientistbelievedthedronegaveoutastrongsmellandthatthiswas connected to how the queenwas fertilized, through some sort oftransference.AnEnglishnaturalist,deBraw,hadpreviouslyarguedthatmale bees fertilized eggs externally, like fishes or frogs. Réaumur hadalreadydismissedthefirst theorybyreasoning.Asforthesecondidea,Huberknewthateggswerehatchedwhendroneswerenolongerinthecolony,overthewinter.Theyneeded,however,toprovethatfertilizedeggswerelaidwithoutdronespresentinthehive.Burnensgotridofallthedrones,andforfourdayscheckedthroughaglasstubeatthehive’sentrancethatnonereturned.Wheneggscontinuedtohatch,theyknewthattheeggsthequeenlaidmustalreadybefertilizedwithinher.Whereandhow,then,wasthequeenfertilized?Thetwomenthought

itmustbeconnected to the time thedrones left thehive foramiddayflight.Thekeytothemysterywastoseewhathappenedwhenthequeenalsowentoutatthistime.OnJune29,1788,HuberandBurnensstationedthemselvesbeforethe

hiveateleveno’clock,whenthesunhadwarmedtheair.Theywatchedsomedrones fly out, and then the youngqueen come to the entrance.“We sawherpromenadingon the standof thehive fora few instants,brushingherbellywithherposteriorlegs:neitherthebeesnorthemalesthatemergedfromthehiveappearedtobestowanyattentionuponher,”wroteHuber,thefreshexactnessofhisreportagerelayinghowBurnens

musthavedescribedthescenetohim.Thequeentookflight,movinginhorizontalcircles12or15feetabovethe hive. Then she disappeared for seven minutes. Upon her return,Burnens picked up the queen, examined her abdomen, and found nosigns that she had mated. After fifteen minutes back in the hive, thequeen emerged again, took off, and flew out of sight. Twenty-sevenminuteslater,shereturned.“Wefoundhertheninaverydifferentstatefrom that inwhich shewas afterher first excursion,”Huber recorded.“Theposteriorpartofherbodywasfilledwithawhitishsubstance,thickandhard,theinterioredgesofhervulvawerecoveredwithit;thevulvaitselfwaspartlyopenandwecouldreadilyseethatitsinteriorwasfilledwiththesamesubstance.”This,HuberandBurnensreasoned,wasthe“fecundatingliquid”theyhad seen in the seminal vesicles of thedrones.When theyopened thehive two days later, the queen’s belly was enlarged and she had laidnearly a hundred eggs in theworker cells of the comb.They repeatedtheirvigilseveraltimes,withthesameresults.Theyhadprovedthatthequeenhadbeenfertilizedonwhatwenowcallthevirginflight.IntheintroductiontothefirstoftwovolumesofNewObservationsonBees,Huberpayshomagetohisfaithfulservant.TheextentofBurnens’sworkshowsadevotiontothesubject,aswellas tohismaster;hewasclearly compelled by the pursuit of knowledge. Nowhere is this moreevident than in the work he did with Huber observing the egg-layingworkers.

FrançoisHuber,blindexplorerofthehoneybee.

Ithadalreadybeendiscoveredthatworkerbeesaswellasthequeencouldlayeggs.Butweretheyjustsmallqueensmistakenforworkers,orweretherereally layingworkers?Andifso,whatsortofbeesdidtheyproduce?OnAugust5,1788,BurnensandHuberfoundeggsandlarvaeof drones in two hives that had been without queens for some time.Standingintentlyinfrontofthehive,Burnenstriedtospotbeeslaying,toseeifitwasworkersorasmallqueendoingso.Burnensspentelevendays,withscarcelyabreak,takingeverybeeoutofthehiveindividuallyandchecking to see if itwereaqueenor aworker.Heperformed thetaskwithwhatHubercalls inconceivabledexterity, taking“the strokesof the stings” as they came. When he actually saw a worker laying,Burnensseizedheranddiscoveredshehadovaries.Theyalsofoundthatsuch laying workers produced only drones. This, we now know, isbecause the eggswere unfertilized; an unfertilized queenwill also layonlydroneeggs,andthecolonywilldieout.For fifteen years, Burnens andHuberworked together on bees. TheyearafterthefirstvolumeofNewObservationsonBeeswasprinted,theyhadnofewerthansixty-threehivestoworkon.Bythetimethesecondvolume of the book was published, nineteen years later, Burnens hadleft.Hehadgone,asHuberput it, “tohisownpeople,”his rise in lifemarkedbythehonorofbecomingamagistrate.Huber’swife,Marie,andson,Pierre,anauthorityonants,helpedtakethe place of the servant. It was Pierre who encouraged his father tocontinue topublish.The secondpartofNewObservations explainshowwaxwasnotproducedfromthepollen,asmanybelieved,butwasmadebythebeesthemselves.AllHuber’sassistantshelpedhim,asheput it, to“pierce thedoubleveilwhich shrouds, forme, thenatural sciences,”but it ishardnot tonoticethathewasneversofulsomeinhispraiseofhislaterhelpersashehadbeenofBurnens.

SCIENTISTS, ARISTOCRATS, FARMERS, and philosophers of the Enlightenment: alladmired the insects for their rational, productiveways. Bees and theircolonieswereadoptedasasymbolfortheperfectsociety.Thegenderoftherulerbee,forexample,seemedtochangeaccordingtowhowason

the throne. In the court of Charles the Second, the royal beekeeperMoses Rusden argued that the ruling bee in the hivewas a king. Thefrontispiece of his book A Further Discovery of Bees (1679) shows acrowned bee, and he states that the “king bee” has the deadliest andmostdexterousstingofthehive.YetCharlesButlerhadalreadymadeitclearthathethoughtthebeewasaqueenbytheverytitleofhisbookTheFeminineMonarchie.Beeswererecruitedasasatiricalsymbolofasocietyinananonymoussixpenny pamphlet, first published in England in 1705, called TheGrumblingHive: or,KnavesTurn’dHonest. Thiswas the start ofwhat isnowknownasTheFableoftheBees,oneofthemostnotoriouspoemsoftheeighteenthcentury.ThepoemwaswrittenbyaDutchphysician,BernarddeMandeville,who had moved to London and worked as a specialist in nervousdiseases.Theworkisasatirebasedlooselyontheconceptoftheanimalfable. De Mandeville had cut his literary teeth by translating fables,includingthoseofLaFontaine.Fables,likeallegories,allowedthewritertoaddresshumansubjectsatanobliqueangle.InTheFableoftheBees,de Mandeville pictures human society as a hive. Instead of beingoccupiedbythemostsociableandcooperativeofcreatures,thebee,thehiveisfilledwithitsopposite,theantisocialhuman.The gist of the poem’s argument is revealed by its subtitle, “PrivateVices,PublickBenefits.”Vanity,luxury,pride,envy,andprodigalitymaybe examples of man’s failings, but they also, de Mandevillemischievouslypoints out, createwealth andprovide jobs.Crimekeepsmultitudes at work: lawyers, jailers, turnkeys, sergeants, bailiffs,locksmiths.Thereisadisastrousreversaloffortunewhenthebeesturnhonest: the hive is ruined. Those who had made money through thecorrupthabitsof societyhadnow lost their living. “[M]ostwritersarealwaysteachingmenwhattheyshouldbe,andhardlyevertroubletheirheadswithtellingthemwhattheyreallyare,”writesdeMandeville.Thepoemwasrepublishedin1714inalongeredition.In1723,itwasexpandedagain,andthefollowingyearpublishedinitsfinalformamidconsiderable controversy, with a new succession of elucidations andrebuttals included in the text.Thegrowthof thework, frompamphletpoem to a book of close argument and counterargument, shows the

ferment of debate that words produced at this time. Such books andpamphletswere relativelynew formsata timewhencensorshipof thewrittenwordhadbeenloosenedandthemindsoftheagewerepushingattheboundariesofdebate.The poem reads, as does thework of deMandeville’s contemporaryJonathan Swift, like a refreshing squirt of lemon to the intellect,challengingthereaderwiththesharpstingofitsargument.Dr.SamuelJohnson,anEnglishauthor,saidit“openedmyviewsintoreallifeverymuch.”ThereligiousleaderJohnWesleywroteinhisdiary:“TilnowIimagined there had never appeared in the world such a book as theworks of Macheavel. But de Mandeville goes far beyond it.” He wasconsequentlyseenbysomeasnothing less thanananti-Christ,andthecontroversysurroundingTheFablecontinuedfortherestofthecentury.Five years after its publication, ten books had come out attacking it.Thereweresermonspreachedagainstthepoem,andletterstothepressdenouncing its content. The Grand Jury of Middlesex put the bookforwardasapublicnuisance.ThecontroversyspreadasitwastranslatedintoFrenchandGerman.InFrancethebookwasorderedtobeburnedby the common hangman. Wherever the fable was read, the hive ofsocietybuzzedasifattackedbyanintruder.

BEES AND HIVES were also brought to an aristocratic audience throughshowmanship. Thomas Wildman (1734–1781) has been called theBarnumofBeekeepersforhisshow-stoppingdisplays,whichhetooktotheEnglish court andbeyond. Inhis insect spectaculars,WildmanwascarriedthroughLondononachaircoveredinbees;heenactedabattlebetweenbeesandthreemastiffs;hegotthebeestoflyfromoneplacetoanother, as if hewere a conductor leading tens of thousands of flyinghalfnotes;andhetrottedonahorse,followedbyswarmsthatsettledonhimasherode.These exuberant exhibitions were founded on a more seriousknowledge of how bees worked. Wildman’s methods for beekeepingwere laidout inhisbookATreatiseon theManagementofBees (1768).The book beginswith a list of five hundred subscribers, showing howWildmanpopularized thehoneybee fromKingGeorge III andhiswife,

Queen Charlotte, to whom the book is dedicated, to members of theRoyalSociety,dukes,and tradesmen.At theheartofhisworkwas thesame quest that still engaged the mind of many beekeepers: how tomanagethebeeswithoutkillingthem.“Werewetokillthehenforheregg,thecowforhermilk,orthesheepforthefleeceitbears,”hewrites,“everyonewouldinstantlyseehowmuchweshouldactcontrarytoourowninterests:andyetthisispractisedeveryyear, inourinhumanandimpoliticslaughterofthebees.”Thomas Wildman was born in Devon, one of England’s great

beekeepingcounties.Althoughhemadeandsoldwoodenhives,hismainmethodofbeekeepingwastousefourormoreflat-toppedskepspiledontop of each other for one colony. He could take off the top skep andextractthehoney,ratherasasuperisusedinamodernsystem,rotatingand removing the skeps in the tower as needed.He used some of thehoneytomakemead,whichhepreferreddry,fermentingthesweetnessrightouttoget“afine,racyflavour.”Wildmansoldhisbeeexpertisenot just throughhis showsandbook

butbygoingaroundthecountryvisitingpeopletoadvisethemontheirapiaries.He thought that thebees shouldbe “near themansion-house,onaccountoftheconvenienceofwatchingthem.”Wildman’snephewDanielwasoperatingatthesametimeinLondon,

and was a professional bee-equipment maker with a shop at 326Holborn.Hekeptbeesontopofhishouseand,inordertoseehowfarhis bees were flying to forage, he marked some with flour anddiscovered that theywere going right up toHampsteadHeath. DanielWildman, a good businessman like his uncle, alsowrote a beekeepingmanual,entitledAcompleatguideforthemanagementofbees,whichcameoutin1773andwentintomanyeditions,includingaFrenchtranslation.He traveled around the continent giving exhibitions, and there arerecords of his nightly exhibitions of bees at the Jubilee Gardens,Islington, from June 20, 1772. An interest in bees had clearly spreadfromthecourtandcountrysidetothegeneralurbanpublic.

ASWELLASBOOKSONBEES, theeighteenthcenturyhasleftusanearlypieceofwritingspecificallyonhoneybyaCoventGardenapothecary,SirJohn

Hill.Thisdelightfultractfrom1759beginswithathemethatholdstruetoday: “The slight regard at this time paid to themedicinal virtues ofHoney,”Hillwrites,“isaninstanceoftheneglectmenshewtocommonobjects,whateverbetheirvalue.”Inotherwords,welookdownonthatwhichisunderournose.Honeyisausefultreatmentformanyailments,he argues. It can, for example, help loosen tough phlegm, a commonnuisanceandeasilycured.Keephoneybyyourbedside,Hilladvises,andtake a spoonful last thing at night “letting it go gently down.” Use itagain the next day, too, and continue this regime until the symptomsimprove.Hebelievedhoneyrelievedhoarseness,coughs,asthma,andtosomedegree(lessplausibly)consumption,ifcaughtearlyenough.Hill is specific about thebesthoneys touse formedicinal problems:

forEnglishhoney, the springtimeharvest isbest, because thebeesaremost vigorous and capture the full force of the first flowers. He alsowritesofimportedFrench,Italian,andSwisshoneys,addingthathoneyssimilartothoseofHymettusandHyblacouldbefoundinEnglandwherethebeesareforaginginthesameplants.Forexample,hecitesadellontheleft-handsideoftheroadheadingfromDenhamtoRickmansworth,whichisfragrantintheeveningairbecauseofitswildthyme.Thehoneyfrom this source, he says, is “perfectly Hyblaean” in its delicatesweetnessandquality.

WITH ALL THE political turbulence of the seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies, it is remarkable how the honeybee continued to be seen assuch a positive symbol throughout the period. Its ruling queen andobedientservantssurvivedregicideandrevolution.Seenasanemblemofmonarchy, the honeybee became the sign of an emperor: NapoleonBonaparte took the Bourbons’ fleur-de-lis, turned it upside down, andtransposed it into a bee. His coronation robe was covered with theinsect. Marie Tussaud, the famous modeler, taught Louis XVI’s sisterElisabethtomoldbeeswax; laterTussaudmadethedeathmasksof theguillotinedkingandqueeninthesamematerial.Peoplehadtoadapttosurvive,asdidthebees—atleastasfarasthewaytheywereperceived.Asthenineteenthcenturybegan,thesymbolismanduseofthehoneybeewas set to change once more, to move onward with science into the

industrialage.

T

CHAPTERSEVEN

FRONTIERS

he honeybee is not indigenous to North America. When theseventeenth-century Puritan missionary John Eliot translated the

BibleintotheAlgonquianlanguage,hefoundnowordsforhoneybeeandhoney, and although Columbus mentions wax, this would have comefrom the stingless bees native to the Americas. The European settlersbroughtwiththemthedarkhoneybeeofnorthernEurope,andthiswasthefirstracetoinhabittheEastCoast.ColonieswereshippedacrosstheAtlantic, alongside the cattle and other livestock, to settle, reproduce,andfeedthepeoplenowdiggingintotheedgeofthisnewland.Thefirstsettlerbeeswereprobablynotonthemainlandbutoffshore.

In1609,TheSeaAdventurer,ashipoftheVirginiaCompanyofLondon,waswreckedoffthemostnortherlyislandoftheBermudasenroutetothe recent settlement of Jamestown in Virginia. (William Shakespearewas later touse thiswreckaspartof the inspiration forThe Tempest.)SubsequentcolonizersoftheBermudasbroughtplants,goats,cattle,andhoneybees. On May 25, 1617, the Earl of Warwick, patron of theVirginiaCompany,reportedtohisbrother,SirNathanielRich:“Thebeesthatyousentdoeprosperverywell.”ThefirstrecordofhoneybeesontheNorthAmericanmainlanddates

backto1622.Thepreviousyear,fourmastersoftheVirginiaCompanyhad been commissioned to convey settlers and goods to Virginia fromEngland. In return for this service, they were allowed to fish off thecoast,andtheyalsotradedforfur.ByMay1622,threeoftheshipshadamongthemdeliveredninetysettlers.Atleasttwooftheseshipsbroughtbeehives,alongsideseed,fruittrees,pigeons,andmastiffs.TheveryfirstEuropeansarrivingintheNewWorldhopedtofeedon

nativeplantsandsoonlearnedaboutsomeofthenativeAmericancrops,particularly corn, beans, and squash. Those Pilgrim Fathers whosurvived the grim and death-filledwinter of their arrival celebrated abumper crop of maize, and other bounty, with the first Thanksgiving

feast, eating with the Wampanoag Native Americans who had helpedthem. But settlers soon discovered that it was safer to provide forthemselves,andagriculturewastransplantedfromtheOldWorldtotheNew.Theygrewwheat,barley,andoatsandkepthoneybeesalongsidecattle,pigs,andsheep.TheNativeAmericansknewhowtoextract therisingsapofthemapleandboilitdowntoasweetsyrup,buttheearlysettlers imported their familiar OldWorld sweetness by bringing overhoneybees.Anumber of colonies of bees came alongwith the twenty thousandEnglishmen and -women who undertook the arduous voyage to animproved, new England in the 1630s. The town of Newbury,Massachusetts,foundedin1635,hadacommunalapiaryfiveyearslater,runbyabeekeepernamedEales.ANativeAmericanwatchingthebeesworking, having previously seen the arrival of the horse and the ox,wonderedatthewaythesettlersputtheiranimalstowork.AccordingtoFrankPelletinhis1938historyofAmericanbeekeeping,hecommented:“Huh! White man work, make horse work, make ox work, make flywork:thisInjungoaway.”Allthesame,beekeepingdoesnotappeartohave been a profitable trade for Eales. The town subsidized his hive-makingbuthestillwentontobecomethefirsttownpauper.A“stok”ofbees(thewordsstad,stok,stake,stall,orskepwereallusedforacolony)wasworththeequivalentoffifteendays’manuallaborinthe1640s,notincluding the trouble required to maintain it, so perhaps the price ofsweetnesswastoohigh.Theinsectfaredbetterelsewhere.GatheringresearchfromaroundtheworldforhisbookTheReformedCommonwealthofBees,SamuelHartlibin 1655 noted that “bees thrive very much in New England.” In theSwedish settlements in Pennsylvania, itwas reported that “bees thriveandmultiplyexceedingly…theSwedesoftengetgreatstoreoftheminthewoodwheretheyarefreefromanybody.”BeesbroughttoBostonin1670 were said to have “spread over the continent.” This was anexaggeration:itistruethatthehoneybeeeventuallycoveredAmerica—butfromvarioussources,andnotquiteyet.YetwildhoneywasrecordedasplentifulintheCarolinasintheearlyeighteenth century, and bees were common in the cypress swamps ofFloridain1765,wheregreatquantitiesofhoneyandwaxwereusedby

both Native Americans and settlers. By the time of the War ofIndependence ten years later, a British Army officer passing throughPennsylvaniacommentedthat“almosteveryfarmhousehas7or8hivesof bees.” One of the first banknotes issued by Congress at this timedepictedtwostrawskepsinashelter:itwasasymbolofthehardwork,thrift,andenterprisethatwereneededtomakethisyounglandgreat.So thehoneybeedidspread,bothby thenaturalmeansof swarmingandwithhumanhelp.Whenthebeesswarmed,theyfoundnewpatchestoforage,flyingatleastalittleaheadofthesettlers,andadvancingintothe territory occupied by native peoples. In his Notes on the State ofVirginia (1784),ThomasJeffersonwrote:“TheIndians…call themthewhiteman’sfly,andconsidertheirapproachasindicatingtheapproachofthesettlementsofthewhites.”Itwassaidthatasthebeeadvanced,theIndianandthebuffaloretired.Dr.EverettOertel,whomappedthemigrationofthehoneybeeacrossAmerica,calculatedthattheirnestsmovedalongtheMissouriRiveratarateof600milesperfourteenyearsinthe1800s.Theythrivedbestonland bordering both woods and prairies; when the trees stoppedflowering in thespringandsummer, the insectscould fly to theplantsonmoreopenground.Native Americans, highly skilled at tracking and hunting wild food,soonbecameadeptatharvesting thisnewsourceof sweetness.SettlersarrivinginWisconsininthe1820sfoundbeetreeswithladdersleftnexttothemsothenativescouldplunderthenests.Sometribesrenewedtheland by burning it periodically, encouraging the growth of grasses sothat deerwould come to feed in the area. This practice left burnt-outhollowtrees,whichcouldeasilybesettledbyswarms.OnelegacyoftheabundanceofhoneyconsequentlyfoundinWisconsinwasanunusuallylargenumberofbee-andhoney-relatednames,includingaHoneyIsland,three Honey Lakes, four Honey Creeks, Bee Bluff, Bee Hollow, and anumberofBeetowns.Once a nest was found, the honey hunters pacified the bees withsmoke,thencutoutthesectionoftreewithanest,eithertosetitupasasimpleloghiveclosertohome,ortoextractthehoneycombonthespot.In1847,onesuchWisconsintripwasdescribed:“PartiesgobeehuntingformonthstogetherinSummer,theytakewagonsandapairofOxen,an

axandcoffeepot,andthat’sallexceptbarrelsforthehoney.Whentheycometoaprairietheyturnoutthecattle,andiftheylocateabeetree,they chop itdown, smother thebeesand take thehoney,barrel itup,thendittoseveraltimesadayperhaps.Theyshootformeat,roastcorninafryingpanforcoffee,barterhoneyforflourfromsettlers,bakeitinapan,andsleepintheirwagonsatnight.”Themethodsusedtotrackdownthebeesinthewoodswerevarious

andoften ingenious.PaulDudley, inMassachusetts in1721, instructedhunters“tosetoutonaclearsun-shinyday,withpocketcompass,ruleandasheetofpaper.”Hisbook,anaccountofamethodfoundinNewEnglandfordiscoveringwherethebeeshiveinthewoodsinordertogettheirhoney,advisesputtinghoneyonaplateortrencherandreleasingabeethathasbeencaughtforaging.Markthe line it takesonapieceofpaper.Thengotoanotherspot,not faraway,andreleaseanotherbee.Thetwoanglesmarkedtogetherwillhelpthehunterfindthedirectionofthetree.

Howtotrackdownwildhoneybeesineighteenth-centuryAmerica.

On the other hand, Patrick Campbell, in his Travels in the InteriorInhabitedPartsofNorthAmericaintheyears1791and1792,recommendsputtingaflatstonewithsomewaxonitoverafire.Closebythewax,put somemorehoneyandvermilionpigment.Thebee isdrawnto thestonebythesmellofbeeswax,goestothehoney,andismarkedbythered.Ifyouwatchinwhichdirectionitfliesoffandtimeitsreturn,itispossibletoworkoutboththedirectionanddistanceofthehoneytree.To assist in their honey-hunting, people began to make bee boxes,

withonecompartmentfilledwithcombtoattractthebee,alittledoortotrap it, and another to release it, in order to see inwhich direction itflew.

SUCH METHODS OF honey-huntingwere later added tobyEuellGibbons, thewild foodguruwhosebookStalking theWildAsparagus (1962) inspiredtwentieth-century Americans to go back to the land. His readers mayhave been motivated by an earthy form of spirituality, but Gibbonshimselfdevelopedhiswild-foodskillsforamorepracticalreason:tostayalive.EuellGibbonslearnedaboutediblewildplantsasaboygrowingupin

the Red River Valley. When his family moved to New Mexico in theimpoverished1930s,andhisfatherwaslookingforworkwithlittleluck,the familypantryatonepointcontainedonlya fewpintobeansandasolitary egg. Gibbons took his knapsack, went out into the wild, andreturnedwithmushrooms,nuts,andthefruitofthepricklypeartofeedhismother,histhreesiblings,andhimself.Helatersaidthatwildfoodmeant different things to him at different times, but at that point itmeantthedifferencebetweenlifeanddeath.Whilestrugglingtobecomeawriter,Gibbonslivedonwildfoodforfiveyears;itwasonlywhenhecombined his subsistence skills with his writing that he had a hit.Stalking the Wild Asparagus recorded his foraging experiences, fromswamplandstodowntown,includingthefifteenspeciesofedibleplantshefoundonavacantlotinChicago.Thebookwasabest-sellerandhasbecomeaclassic.Gibbons starts his chapter on wild honey by describing his

grandfather’sexceptionalskillswithferalbees.Mostbeeraidersdressupin veils and other protective clothing; Gibbons’s grandfather wouldmerely open his shirt collar, roll up his sleeves, and get to work.Sometimes,hewenttothewoodsjusttocollectwildhoney;atothers,hebrought the bees back as well, and installed them in a hive closer tohome.Whenhe founda colonyofwildbees inahollow tree, theoldman

wouldfirstdrillaholeandstuffitwithburningrags,beforesplittingoffasectionofthewoodtoexposethenest.Hewouldtakeoutthecomb,

holdingituptothelighttodistinguishbetweenthelighthoneycellsandthosethatweredarkerwiththebroodandpollenstores.Gibbonsrecallsononeoccasionwatchinghisgrandfatheremerge froma fogof smokeandbees,movinginhisquiet,deliberatewaytobringhimapalepieceof honeycomb that the bees hadmade from cotton blossom; the beeswerecrawlingsodenselyovertheoldman’sglassesthathehadtolighthispipetokeepthemoffhisface.So itwas only amatter of time before Euell Gibbons tracked down

wildhoneyforhimself.Hefoundagreatdeal justbydiscoveringnestsbyaccident,orhearingaboutbees thathadcolonizedbuildings.Later,he decided to test a more “scientific” method of tracking them downwhileonacampingtrip.Althoughhehadreadabouttheelaboratebeeboxes that were used to trap bees, in the end he improvised with acobbled-together kit using an aluminum cake cover, an old piece ofhoneycomb,andsomebluecarpenter’schalk.First,Gibbonsfilledtheold,honeylesscombwithasugarsolutionthat

hadbeenscentedwithalittleaniseoil.Hethenputthecombonastone—andwentback tohis fishing.Halfanhour later,hereturned to findthebeeshaddesertedtheirflowersforthisattractivelyscentedfood.Hesaw the insects flyback toward their colony,watching for the flashoftheir wings in the sunlight for as long as possible, and noting thedirectiontheytook.Thiswasthebeelinethatwould,eventually,leadtothenest.Thenexttaskwastogaugethedistancetothenest.Withgreatcare,

Gibbonsdaubedaforagingbeewithalittleofhisbluecarpenter’schalk,which he had dissolved in a drop of water and put on the end of acamel-hair brush. He waited with baited breath until the same blue-bottomedbeereturnedsixminuteslater.Accordingtoanarticlehehadread by G. H. Edgell, “Bee Hunter,” published in Atlantic Monthly in1949,thismeantthecolonywaslessthanamileaway.Althoughbeestakeasdirectarouteaspossiblebetweentheirnestand

foragingsites,therewillbeobstaclestoavoidanddiversionstomake.Itwasnecessary,therefore,forGibbonstofollowtheminshortstages.Todo this,hecarefully trapped thebeeson thecombwith thealuminumcake cover. Walking along the beeline, Gibbons advanced with theinsects in the improvised box. Then he uncovered the comb to let the

beesflyoff.Buttheyzigzaggedanddouble-eightedandflewoffhelter-skelter:thelinewaslost.Gibbonsrefilledthecomb,putonsomemoreanisesolution,andwaitedfortenanxiousminutes.Fortunately,thebeescame back, and their line toward the nest was then tracked in threemore hops. When Gibbons noticed the insects were going back fromwhencehe’dcome,heknewthebee treehadbeenpassed.Lookingupforalikelysite,hespottedabeechtree;themereflashofabeewingonabough,reflecting the lightof thesettingsun, revealed thesiteof thestash.Thesearchwasover.Thenextday,Gibbonstooktwopailfulsofhoneyoutofthetree,intheprocessreceivingjustasinglesting—inhisbottomashebentovertocutoutthecomb.This trip turned out to be beginner’s luck, however. Euell Gibbonsusedhishomemadebeekitagain,withsomesuccess;buthewouldoftenlose the trail or the bees. Patience, he summarized, is what the beehuntermostneeds—and,clearly,bluecarpenter’schalk,oldhoneycomb,andanaluminumcakecovercancomeinhandy.

BYTHEEARLYnineteenthcentury,thehoneybeeinAmericahadspreadasfaras it could from its original landing points. When the insectsencountered the Appalachians and Allegheny mountains, their easyprogress was thwarted. But they continued by other means, carriedalong with human pioneers: as the new Americans went westward tofindfreedomandfortune,thehoneybeewenttoo.SomeoftheinsectsflewonwiththefollowersoftheChurchofJesusChristofLatter-daySaints,commonlyknownasMormons.Theirfaith’sfounder,JosephSmith,saidthatasafarmboyinupstateNewYorkhewas directed to inscribed golden plates by the angelMoroni, and in aseries of revelations translated their words. The textwas published in1830 as The Book of Mormon, which describes ancient Israelite tribeswho came over to America, centuries before Christ, and underwentexperiences similar to those found in the Old Testament. In languagereminiscentoftheKingJamesBible,thebookdescribeshowbeeswerepart of thebountybrought to this new land: “And theydid also carrywith them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thustheydidcarrywiththemswarmsofbees,andallmannerofthatwhich

wasuponthefaceoftheland,seedsofeverykind.”Deseret—asthehoneybeewasreferredtoinTheBookofMormon—wasimportant to Joseph Smith in otherways.Hehad a keen eye for howsymbolism could bring and bind people together. The bees’ orderedsociety was an example of cooperation and productivity; Mormonbusinesses were all cooperatives—unusual in the free-for-all of thefrontier.Thereproductivelifeofthehive,withitsrulermatedbyseveraldrones, perhaps also reinforced theMormons’ practice of polygamy—acustom thatwasamajor reason for the sect’sunpopularity in its earlydays. Joseph Smith was eventually lynched by a mob, such was theanimositytowardthegroup.Itwassaidhisgravewasprotectedbyhivesof bees, put there to prevent grave robbers from digging up anddesecratinghisbody.Inordertobuildtheirsocietyinaplacefreefrompersecution,some66,000 Mormons set out on their epic journey toward the Salt LakeBasin,followingtheirnewleader,BrighamYoung.TheMormonsarrivedin 1847 in what was to become Utah and Salt Lake City. Honeybeeswerefirsttransportedthereinthebackofacoveredwagonthefollowingyear,andby1851,severalhivesweresaidtoberespondingwelltolocalconditions. The landwaswon from theMexicans in 1848, and at thispointtheMormonscalledtheterritoryDeseret,afterthehoneybee.The1850territorialsealisbasedonabeehive,asasymboloforganization,unity,andproductivity.However,whentheterritorybecametheforty-fifth state in 1896, after the Mormons had renounced polygamy, thenameUtahwaspicked, instead, after theUteNativeAmericans of thearea.TheMormons’honeybeesymbolismcontinuedintheirchoiceofhousefortheleader.Thebuildinghasaroofbasedontheshapeofaskep,andwas called the Beehive. Brigham Young, the first governor of theterritoryofDeseret,livedherefrom1854untilhisdeathin1877.Itwasrestored in 1961 and can now be visited by the public. DeseretTelegraph Company connected all the Mormon settlements to theBeehivehouse; communicationwas again reinforcedby the symbolismof the honeybee, which is able to tell its fellow insects about nectarsourcesandotherbusinessofthehive.

TRANSPORTING HONEYBEES around the world was no easy matter. The earlyjourneys fromEngland toAmerica tookbetweenoneand twomonths,and as late as the nineteenth century, travels to New Zealand andAustralia could take five or sixmonths. To keep the bees alive duringsuchlongtrips,itwasimportanttokeepthemcool.Ifthebeeswereintheirwintercluster,theyhadagreaterchanceofsurviving.Thissloweddowntheirmetabolicrate,inwhichstatetheycouldmakethejourneyinaquiet,stablecondition.Oneof thepioneer beekeepers ofNewZealandwasWilliamCharles

Cotton, a Victorian whose adventures around the globe read like astorybook. From the start, Cotton’s imagination was unorthodox. As aboy,notcontentmerelytohearaboutthesupposedly“ox-born”beesinVirgil’sGeorgics,BookFour,hesetouttorepeattheexperimenthimself.Asyoumayrecall,thisinvolvesbludgeoninganoxtodeathinaclosedroom.“IsupposeIwasbornanexperimental-yst,”CottonlaterwroteinMy Bee Book (1842), “so I went out next morning with a fulldeterminationtotryagrandone.Ifoundashedwhichwoulddonicely,whichhadall thatVirgil requires. Ihadnopity for thepoorcow—no,not I—whena swarmofBeeswas tobe theglorious result: shewouldsurely, I thought, be happy in her death, as shewould give life to somanygloriouscreatures.”Fortunately,theexperimentwentnofurther—Cotton’sfathergotwindofhisson’sattempttoobtainacowbybribingafarmerwiththepromiseofhoney,andboughttheboyhisfirststockofbeesinstead.The anecdote indicates something of Cotton’s adult character, albeit

withthebloodthirstinessofboyhoodreplacedbykindertraits.Hisearlylife followed an apparently orthodox route—Eton, Christ Church, acareerinthechurch—but,aswiththeVirgilepisode,youoftensenseacertainexcitabilitybuzzinginthebackground.Histemperamentgreatlyconcerned his father, a governor of the Bank of England and a moresober citizen. Cotton senior certainly disapproved of his sonaccompanying his mentor, Dr. George August Selwyn, the newlyappointedbishopofNewZealand,tobecomechaplainandteacherofacollegiate-styleschool,St.John’s,near theBayof Islandson theNorthIsland.Despitehisfather’sunease,theyoungclericwasonboardtheTomatin

on Boxing Day 1841, when she set sail from Plymouth. Alongside “agoodlyfellowshipofemigrants,schoolmasters,deacons,andpriests,withaBishopattheirhead”thecargocontainedmanythousandsofbees.HowdidCotton intendtopackhisbees for this journeytotheothersideoftheworld?Writingbeforehisdeparture,heproudlydescribedhisplans.Hisinsectsweretobestoredbyfourmethods.Someskepswouldbeinhogsheads—recycled wine barrels—packed with ice. So far, so good;then the elaborations of the arrangements start to readmore like theplans of an inventive mind rather than the simple effectiveness of apractical one. Once they crossed the equator, Cotton was to let themeltedwateroutandmeasureittocalculatehowmuchicewouldbelefttokeepthebeescool.Thehogsheadshadbreathingholesforventilation,withthetubescoveredinperforatedzinctostopthebeesfromescaping.He planned to keep another hive cool by means of evaporation,surroundingtheskepwithrunningwater.Thishivewouldbemountedonspringssothemotionoftheshipwouldnotdisturbthebees.Forthesamereason,anotherhivewastobekeptonasetofgimbles,thedevicethatkeepsaship’scompasson the leveldespite themotionof thesea.Furthermore,Cottonwantedanobservationhiveinhiscabin.Thesebeeswouldbeactive,andhewouldfeedthemwithhoney.

WilliamCotton’sbarrelofbees,withtheskepskeptovericetokeeptheinsectssleepyandcalmastheyvoyagedtoNewZealand.

It is uncertain how, in fact, the bees were transported and, indeed,whether they arrived dead or alive. The Devon beekeeper Thomas

Woodbury, writing in 1858, says Cotton’s hives had been thrownoverboard—“to the indescribable grief and disappointment of theiramiableandenthusiasticowner”—by superstitious sailorswho thoughttheinsectsweretoblameforstormsandbadluckonthelatterpartofthe voyage. Cotton’s diaries do not describe this event, which issurprisingsinceherecordedotherpartsofhistripingleefuldetail.(Hetells, for example, of the sharkswho came tobite at the salt pork thesailorsweretowingoverthebowssoastowashoffsomeofitsbrine:hefelt a frisson of danger, since he had recently taken a refreshing dip,assuredthatsharksdidnotswimso farsouth.)Did thesailors toss thehives into the sea,ornot?PeterBarrett, theAustralianbeekeeperwhohaswrittentwometiculouslyresearchedvolumesabouttheintroductionofthehoneybeetoAustralasia,TheImmigrantBees,aswellasavolumespecificallyonCotton,hasunearthedreportedevidencesupportingbothoutcomes.What is certain is that once he arrived inNewZealand, Cottonwas

suppliedwith somebees fromAustralia.Honeybeeswere first taken toNew South Wales in 1822. Previously, the Aborigines had collectedhoney,butthiswasfromstinglessbees.Theywouldtrackdownanestbyfasteningaspeckofwhitedowntothebackofaninsectwithadotofgum,and follow it to thecolony.Theycalled thenewbee“thewhite-fellow’ssugarbag.”(Another,tangential,historicaldetail illustratesthetimes: in 1829, convict number 680 was a woman from Gloucester—transportedfortheoffenseofstealingbees’honey.)There were no native bees of any kind in New Zealand, but the

honeybee had already been imported by the time Cotton landed.Apismellifera was first brought to the North Island in 1839 by Miss MaryAnnaBumby,fromThirskinNorthYorkshire,whocameoverwithherbeestobecomehousekeepertohermissionarybrother.Sheputhertwostrawskepsofbeesinthemissionchurchyard,outofthewayofcuriousMaori.AswellasleadingaphysicallyactivelifeinNewZealand—swimming,

riding,sailing,andwalking—Cottonkepthisbelovedbeesandsuppliedhoneyto thecollege.Hehadsuchaconnectionwiththese insects thathewassaidtobeabletowalkaroundwithoneinhispocket.Asregardshis theories of beekeeping, he disapproved entirely of the method of

collecting honey by killing the bees, and writes on the subject withcharacteristic passion: “NEVER KILL YOUR BEES… every one of youmust feel some sorrowwhen youmurder by thousands in the autumnthosewhohaveworkedhardforyouall thesummer,andarereadytodosoagainnextyear.”HoneybeesflythroughtherestofCotton’slivelydiariesandtheletters

hewrotetohissistersinEngland.Thesemissivescontainmanycolorfulanecdotes of New World life, put in the envelopes alongside parrotfeathers and illustrations ofMaori tattoos. Cotton taught theMaori tokeep bees, introducing them to honey by dipping his finger into aplateful and offering them a taste. “The universal expression ofadmiration,”herecords,“isHemeaukawakaharahara‘averyexceedingsweet thing,’ the last word, the highest superlative, pronounced withgreatenergy.”ButalthoughCottonwasthelifeandsoulofthesettlercommunity,his

animation had a darker side. “Cheery and lively but an anxiety, fromtimeto time, truly,”was theheartfelt summationofSarahSelwyn, thewifeofCotton’sbishop.Hehad,shesaid,awantofballasttosteadyhiseccentricities.Despitehisgoodnessandinventiveenthusiasms,onewasuncertainwhathewoulddonext,shesaid.Alongside the delight Cotton took in his honeybees, they also

embodiedhismoredejectedmental states.His letters reveal theabjectpainofunrequitedlove,whenitemergedthatthewomanheloved,buthadleftbehindinEngland,wouldnotawaithisreturn.Hisfeelingswereexacerbated by his sheer physical distance from her. In a letter toPhoebe, his favorite sister and closest confidant, Cotton wrote: “MrsDudleykindlyplayedtomesometuneonMrsSelwyn’spiano…andbigsilent tears rolled down my face…. As an emblem I suppose of myblighted hopes—the swarm of bees with which I have been occupiedthatdaywouldnotstay,butflewoffandtookuptheirdwellinginthebush.”OnthedayofCotton’sdeparturefromNewZealand,sixyearsafterhis

arrival, three swarms of bees came out “as if to bid farewell.” Hereturned at his father’s behest. Cotton’s spirit did not fit in withVictorianEngland.IfhistriptotheNewWorldsoundslikealiberation,his return was the opposite. He brought his way of thinking and

behavingbacktoamoreformalworldwherehecouldnolongerridehishorse General, or sail across the Bay of Islands, or teach the Maoripeople abouthoney andbeekeeping. Instead, hehad themore somberrealitiesofawifelesslifeadministeringaparishinCheshire.Hisloveofbees continued, and he attended the first meeting of the BritishBeekeepers’ Association. But there were troubles, too. As well assuffering much mental turmoil, his finances ran amok—much to theanxietyofhisbankerfather—andthentherewasthedeathofhisdearestsister, Phoebe. Unable to function, Cotton died in Chiswick in 1879,aged sixty-six, in a humane Quaker-run asylum; he was buried in St.John’s,Leytonstone.William Cotton remains, for all his personal woes, one of the most

attractivecharactersinthehistoryofthebeekeepingworld,carryingthebreezeofaNewWorldfreedomthroughthepagesofhisjournal.Amonghisbooks,AManualforNewZealandBeekeepers(1848)and,inMaori,KoNgaPi(TreatiseonBees),printedbytheSt.John’sCollegePressinNewZealandin1849,werepioneeringworks.Cotton’sobituaryintheBritishBeeJournalinJanuary1880underlines

onelegacyofearlybeekeepinginNewZealandthatremainsimportanttothecountry’seconomyandhoneyproductioneventoday:“BeforetheintroductionofthehoneybeeintoNewZealand,theyhadtosendovertoEngland every year for thewhite clover seed as it did not seed freelythere,butbytheagencyofthebeestheyarenowabletoexportit.NewZealand is such a good country for bees, thatMrCotton toldme, onestockhadincreasedtotwenty-sixinoneyear.”Thislaststatisticsoundslikeafinalnoteofcharacteristicallyexcitableexaggeration.ButthehoneybeediddowellintheNewWorld;asthehoneyexpert

Dr. Eva Crane points out, it can do better there than in the countrieswhereithadevolved—CaliforniaandNewZealandarefamousfortheirhoneys.

L

CHAPTEREIGHT

FOLKLOREANDSCIENCE

et’s be fanciful for amoment and compare a colonyof bees to thequestinghumanmind.Ourwanderingthoughtsflyoffinathousand

directions; then thesewingednotionsreturn to thehiveof theheadtomakehoney.Thesweetandstrangestoriesofbeefolklorecontainnectarfrom someof thewilder flowers of the field; yet the large quantity ofsuchstoriesandbeliefsalsoreflectsourlongstandingpreoccupationwiththesemysteriousinsects.Thesetalesoftencontainanelementofsoundadvice,too.The same superstitions croppedup timeafter time in the eighteenth

and nineteenth centuries. All over Europe, itwas deemed bad luck tobuy a colony; rather, they should be acquired by bartering. In 1720,ThomasLupton’sThousandNotableThingsincludesthecomment:“IfyouhavenoStocksofBees,butmustbuythem,Iadviseyoufirst,nottogiveMoney for them, but some other Commodity; for though there can benothinginitbutasuperstitiousObservation,yetthingsoftendisheartenPeople that are apt to credit such Reports.” Country folk exchangedgoods such as wheat, barley, and oats for their bees, and in mid-nineteenth-centuryHampshire, a colonywaswortha smallpig.Beliefsaboutpaymentforbeescontinued, invariousforms, intothetwentiethcentury. In the first decade of the 1900s, in Sussex, it was reputedlyacceptabletousemoney—butonlygold;inDevonaslateasthe1930s,beekeeperswerewarnedagainstbeinggivenbeesratherthanbuyingorbartering for them;and in1948, inSurrey, onewomanurged: “If youbuy bees, youmust give silver for them.” Perhaps all this care aboutpaymentderivesfrompeasantthriftiness;inFrance,intheVosges,itwasconsideredbadluck—andpresumably,badjudgment—topaytoomuchforbees.Beliefs about bees often reflect the way they were seen as moral

creatures;anydisruptioninthehouseholdwouldprovokeareactioninthe colony. Bad language and quarreling would offend the bees: such

behavior could result in a stinging punishment from the reprovinginsects.Bedfordshirebeekeeperswouldsingpsalmsbeforetheirhivesifthebeeswerenotthriving.InFrance,itwasbelievedthatastingwasamessage froma relative languishing inPurgatory, a sharp reminder ofthe wages of sin. On a secular level—though no less fantastically—Central European peasants had a custom of giving their bees writtencontracts,promising to lookafter themthroughout theyear,hoping inturntoberepaidbyproductivity.Swarming bees were seen as an omen, presaging some importantevent.Iftheylandedonadeadbranchorahedgestake,adeathcouldbeimminent;iftheyflewintoahouse,astrangerwouldarrive;iftheylandedonaroof,good luckwason theway(perhaps in the formofalocal source of honey, if only some brave person took the chance ofcollectingit).Beeswerepartofthefamily,soimportanteventssuchasmarriageanddeathhad—ofcourse—tobereportedtothem,aritualknownas“tellingthebees.”ThiswasfirstrecordedinEnglandintheseventeenthcenturyand became more common from around 1800. The various customsincludedtappingthehivewithakey,whisperingthenewstotheinsects,and leaving an appropriate gift—a piece of wedding cake or funeralbiscuitsdippedinwine—atthehive’sentrance.Ifthebeeswerenotkeptinformed of events, they might fly away. This superstition has amodicumofsense:whenabeekeeperdied,hisskillswentwithhim;howtheinsectsweretreatedwouldperhapsindicatetheirfuturefortunes.

“Tellingthebees.”

Itwasalsothecustomtoturnhivesawayfromthebeekeeper’scoffinasitwascarriedoutofthehouse.IntheirDictionaryofSuperstitions,IonaOpieandMoiraTatemrelateonelate-eighteenth-centuryDevonfuneralwhenchaosensuedbecausethebeesweretreatedincorrectly:“[A]stheCorpsewasplacedintheHearse,andthehorsemen…weredrawnupinorder for the procession of the Funeral, a person called out, ‘turn theBees,’whenaServantwhohadnoknowledgeofsuchaCustom,insteadofturningtheHivesabout,liftedthemup,andlaidthemdownontheirsides.TheBees,thushastilyinvaded,instantlyattackedandfastenedontheHorsesandtheirRiders.Itwasinvaintheygallopedoff,theBeesasprecipitately followed [and] a general Confusion took place, attendedwithlossofHats,Wigs,&c.”Alongsidethecustomof“tellingthebees,”thehivesmightbedrapedinblackcrepe,orwithapieceofblackwool, followingadeath in thefamily. A newspaper article in 1925 related how one Worcestershirewoman would dress up—including gloves—to inform the bees ofimportant family news. After a death, she wore widow’s black; for awedding,“shedonnedhergayestdressandcarriedwhiteribbon”;forabirth, the ribbonwouldbepinkorblue. In an echoof ancientbeliefs,somesawthebeesastheembodimentofhumansouls.LincolnshireNotes

andQueries(1851)tellsthestoryoftwotravelingservantsfromthestartofthatcentury:“[They]laiddownbytheroad-sidetorest,andonefellasleep.Theother,seeingabeesettleonaneighbouringwallandgointoalittlehole,puttheendofhisstaffinthehole,andsoimprisonedthebee. Wishing to pursue his journey, he endeavoured to awaken hiscompanionbutwasunabletodoso,till,resuminghisstick,thebeeflewto the sleepingmanandwent intohisear.Hiscompanion thenawokehim,remarkinghowsoundlyhehadbeenasleepandaskedwhathehadbeendreamingof—‘Oh!’saidhe,‘Idreamtthatyoushutmeupinadarkcave,andIcouldnotawakeuntilyouletmeout.’”

AGAINST THE BACKDROP of such whimsy came the rising rationality of theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with scientists advocating proofover blind belief. Pioneering scientists, particularly the Swedishnaturalist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), began to classify insects as aseparatebranchofnaturalhistory;withsuchthinkingcametheriseoftheentomologist.Nonetheless,insectswerestillwidelyseenasacurioussubjectforscientificstudy.WhentheReverendWilliamKirby,aSuffolkvicar, listed three hundred species in his 1802monograph on Englishbees,heclearly faced somederision.While thebotanist isadmired forstudying mosses and lichen, he wrote the physical smallness of thesecreaturesmeant that“anEntomologist is synonymouswithevery thingfutileandchildish”—ineffect,theywereboyschasingbugs.InhislaterIntroduction to Entomology (1815) Kirby is at pains to champion thehoneybee:“Ofalltheinsectassociations,”hewrites,“therearenonethathave more excited the attention and admiration of mankind in everyage, or been more universally interesting, than the colonies of theselittle,usefulcreatures.”But by the time of the Victorians, insects were avidly collected.

Specialistgroupssprungup,mostnotablytheEntomologicalSocietyofLondon, of which Charles Darwin was a lifelong member. During thesummer months, working-class men would find rare species and sellthem to enthusiasts. The natural history writer David Elliston hassuggested this rise in interestwas perhaps a symbol of the newurbanmiddle classes’need fornature; trapped in theirnew townsandcities,

thesefledglingcitydwellersneededamemoryoffreedomandflight.Writersonbeestendedtodivideintothosewhowereabsorbedbythescience and those who were commercial beekeepers, who were oftendown-to-earthpeoplemakingalivinginaruraleconomy.Bothsideshadmuchto learn fromeachother in thisageof improvement:beekeepersfound applications for the scientific theories; and those exploring thescience—frequently clergymen—were beekeepers themselves andthereforepractical in bent, if not explicitly commercial. This crossoverbetween the science and practice was a key aspect of the nineteenthcentury, especially after the1850s,whenproduction shiftedup a gearandbeekeepingmovedfromcottageindustrytofactoryproduction.Thehoneybeebecamebusiness—andintheUnitedStates,bigbusiness.Atthestartofthenineteenthcentury,thechallengewastopromoteamorerationalformofbeekeeping.ANottinghamskeppist,RobertHuish,publishedhisforthrightviewsonbees,gatheredfromhisexperienceofkeeping up to a hundred hives, in the journal Gardener, Florist andApiculturist. He scorned superstitions such as the idea that a colonyboughtwithmoneywouldnotthrive.“ExceptingtheSpanish,”hewrote,“Iknowofnonationwhichentertains suchsuperstitiousprejudices, inregardtobees,astheEnglish.”Inhindsight,ofcourse, it iseasy tosee thisdebunkingauthor’sownmistakes.Huishthoughttheideathatbeesmatedintheairquiteabsurd,andbelievedthatwaxwascollectedfromplants,likepollenandnectar,rather thanmadeby thebee.He thoughtbees tendedbywomenwerebad tempered, and blamed the poor state of the bees he saw in oneSussex village on the gender of their keepers. But whatever hismisconceptions, Huish was genuinely trying to get rid of some of themorewide-and-waywardideas.Thepushwasontoconvincemorecottagerstokeepbees.TheEnglishradicalWilliamCobbetttriedtoeducatethecommonman,woman,andchildtoliveproductivelyatafrugallevel,tomake,byskillandgraft,adecent lifeandlivingthatcouldhelpthefamilymaketheslow,steadyascentupthesocialscale.Cobbettwasapropagandistforthepractical,andhisCottageEconomy (1822)adds themusclesofexhortation to thebonesofinstruction.ThehoneybeefittedCobbett’spurposesadmirably.Hesawaneducationalandmoralpurposeinmaintaininglivestocksuch

asbees;butaboveallitofferedthecottagerthechance,fornocostotherthan his own labor, tomake something from nothing. “Hemust be astupidcountrymanindeedwhocannotmakeabeehive;anda lazyoneindeedifhewillnot,ifhecan,”hewrote.“Inshortthereisnothingbutcare demanded and there are very few situations in the country,especially in the south of England,where our labouringmanmay nothavehalfadozenstallsofbeestotakeeveryyear.”To kill or not to kill the bees? This question continued to vex

beekeepers. We know William Cotton’s vehement opposition to thepractice;beforehedepartedforNewZealand,hespecificallyaddressedcottagerswith this advice.Cobbett, however, thought sparing thebeeswhenthehoneywascollectedwasmerewhimsy;individualbeeswouldinanycaseperishfromage,andthelessstrongcolonieswoulddieoverwinter.Anotherapiaristauthor,RichardSmith,alsoscornedtheideaofnotkillingbees,warning that apatch couldbeoverstockedwithbees,justaspasturecouldwithcattle.Another controversy hinged on the skep versus the wooden hive.

Many early-nineteenth-century beekeepers preferred straw hives towoodenboxes.Theythoughtstrawprovidedbetterinsulationandmoreprotectionfromdroughtandrain;theywerealsocheaperthanwoodenhives,sobettersuitedtothecottager.Thebesthives,saidCobbett,weremade from rye straw, topped with thatch to keep out the rain. Eachswarmattheoutsetshouldbehousedinanewhive,becauseusedonescouldharbormothsandotherproblemsanddiseases.One British author with advanced ideas on this subject was Dr.

Edward Bevan. His delightful 1827 book, The Honeybee, its NaturalHistory,Physiology,andManagement(thesecondeditionwasdedicatedtothe current “queen bee,”Victoria), successfully combined the practicalwiththehistoricalandscientific.Hekeptonlyhalfadozenhives,mostlyforobservation,buthesawhowbeescouldbebothaprofitablepartofcottageeconomyandasourceof“pleasingandrational”amusementforthemanof leisure.Thebee, he said, “tends to enlarge andharmonizethemind, and to elevate it intoworthy conceptions of Nature and itsAuthor.”Hisownwritingtransportsyouwiththebeestowardplants;hewritesevocatively,forexample,oftheloudhummingintheivy-mantledtowerofanoldcastle.

Inthedebateaboutstrawskepsversuswoodenhives,Dr.Bevancamedownonthesideofwood.Thesystemofbuildinguplayersofboxes,or“storyfying,” so that thehoneycouldbe removedwithout takingawayallthebees,workedbetterinwoodenhives.“Ithinkwoodenboxeshavea great superiority over straw hives; they are more firm and steady,bettersuitedforobservingtheoperationsof thebees throughtheglasswindows in the backs and sides, and less liable to harbour moths,spiders,andotherinsects,”hewrote.Withina fewyears, themanufacturedwoodenhivebegan toreplace

the homemade straw skep, and this led to large increases in honeyyields. The drive to produce more honey, through the application ofscience,wastobethestoryofthebeekeepingcentury.

THEWORLDSHRANKinthenineteenthcentury.NewinventionsinAmericasoonmade theirway to theOldWorld, andother innovationshurriedbackacross the Atlantic. Industrialization brought affordable goods to thepeople; mass-produced books filled homes and libraries, spreadingknowledge like pollen. Entomology grew as a subject in the UnitedStates,justasitdidinEurope.ThomasJefferson,inhisNotesontheStateofVirginia,hadcalledonAmericanstobecomeacquaintedwiththefloraandfaunaoftheircountry,achallengetakenupbyinsecthunterswhentheywentintothefieldarmedwithnetsandcollectingbaskets.InPhiladelphia,ayoungboynamedLorenzoLangstroth,bornin1810,

grew up so fascinated by insects that he wore out the knees of histrousers studying ants on the ground. He put down crumbs, pieces ofmeat,anddead flies toattract insects sohecouldwatch thematclosequarters, and roved around one of the city’s parks observing themetamorphoses of cicadas. A teacher chastised the six-year-old fordevotingtoomuchtimetotrappingfliesinpapercages;whenshetoreup one such homemade prison, releasing its captives, the boy criedhimself to sleep in the dark cupboard where she had sent him as apunishment.Langstroth left behind bugs to study at Yale, graduating with

distinction in 1831; he was later ordained and took on a ministry inAndover, Massachusetts. It was only in his late twenties that his

childhoodpassionfor insectswasreignited.Inthesummerof1838,heencountered a large glass sphere full of honey on a table in a friend’sparlor(suchjarswereattachedtosomehivesforthebeestobuildtheircombsinthem).ThisbeautifulsightledLangstrothupstairstotheatticroomwherehisfriend’sbeeswerekept;“theenthusiasmsofmyboyishdays seemed, likeapent-up fire, toburstout into full flame,”he laterrecalled. Immediately—on his way home—he bought two colonies ofbees.Langstrothbegantostudybeesinearnest.Herememberedsittingonhisfather’skneeashelistenedtohimreadVirgil’sGeorgics,BookFour;now he absorbed the works of other such classic writers asSwammerdamandHuber,andalsobecameadevoteeoftheBritishDr.Edward Bevan. In 1848, Langstroth moved back to Philadelphia andstarted up a larger-scale apiary. It was here that he was to make adiscoverythatwouldrevolutionizebeekeepingallovertheworld.MostAmericanbeeswerekept in simple,hollowed-out logsorplainboxhives.All suchdesigns shared the skep’s fatal flaw: to remove thehoneycomb,youhadtocutitawayfromthesurroundingwalls.Thebeeswouldfillanyspacebetweenthecombandhivewall,eitherwithmorecomb or, in the case of narrower gaps,with propolis, the sticky resingatheredfromtrees.Americanbeeshadatthattimebeenstrickenbythewaxmoth,whoselarvaedestroy thehoneybee’s combandbrood.Probablybrought overfromEuropeatthestartofthecentury,themothhaddevastatedmanyhives; in 1808, it was estimated that four-fifths of the colonies in theBostonareahadbeenabandonedbecauseof it.Thiswasanother issuethatabetterhivecouldaddress.It was Langstroth’s refinement of the basic box hive that was toconfront both problems. His influence was to extend far beyond theUnitedStates:somethree-quartersoftheworld’shivestodayincorporatethediscoveryhewasabouttomake.Hissimpledeductionwouldchangeeverything.Langstrothhadexperimentedonhiveswith framesofcombattachedtotopbarsthatslottedintothehive’sbody.Heleftaslightgapbetweenthe bars and the hive cover,making the combs theoretically easier to

move;butthebeesinsistedonattachingtheframesofcombtothesidesofthehive.OnOctober30,1851,Langstrothsuddenlyrealizedthatthisgaphadtosurroundtheentireframe.Hesawthatthebeesinstinctivelyleft a corridor, between and around the combs, that only just allowedtwobeestopasseachother;theyfilledinanythinglarger,asbeeshatebothdraftsandwastedspace.Thiscorridor,around3/8inchwide,hascometobeknownasthebeespace.Ifheleftthisexactdistancearoundtheframesofcomb,theycouldberemovedeasily—bothtoharvestthehoney and to examine the comb for diseases such as the wax moth.Langstroth’s discovery was a “eureka” moment; at that instant, hewantedtorundownthestreetslikeArchimedes.Tantalizingly,itwastoolateinthebeekeepingseasontoputthenewprincipleintopractice.Allthesame,LangstrothappliedforapatentforhisnewhiveinJanuary1852,quithisjobataschoolforyoungladies,andmadeonehundredhivesincorporatingthebeespace.Thiswasthefirst moveable-frame hive: the piece of equipment that is the basis ofmodernbeekeeping.

Langstroth’smoveable-framehive:arevolutioninbeekeeping.

Langstroth’s patent defined the bee space, giving him—at least intheory—rightsovereveryhiveinwhichhismodificationwasused.Thediscoveryhadmajorcommercialpotential.Improvementstotheoldboxhives,throughgreatercontroloverthecombs,wouldresultinhealthiercoloniesandhigheryields. “Youhavemadenot just adiscoverybuta

revolution,”afriendtoldhim.ItwasatthistimeofhighexcitementthatLangstroth’smentalhealth

collapsed.Hehad long suffered, intermittently, from severedepression—“headtrouble,”ashecalledit.Nowhisproblemstruckagain,inforce.Leavinghiswife and children inPhiladelphia, he took refugewithhisbrother-in-law.Here,hemanagedtowritehisclassicbookTheHiveandtheHoneyBee (1853), butwasmuch debilitated. Trying to describe hissevere sufferings, Langstrothquoted the seventeenth-century clericandpoetGeorgeHerbert:

Mythoughtsareallacaseofknives

WoundingmyheartWith

scatter’dsmart.

In a particularly painful manifestation of his illness, what formerlygave him the most pleasure—his bees—instead caused the most pain,stinginghismindwith“scatter’dsmart.”Hewouldsitontheothersideof the house from the hives, hide his bee books, and even, whenescapingintootherliterature,findthecapitalletterBpainfulbecauseitremindedhimoftheinsect.Relieffromsuchprofoundmelancholywasonlytobefoundintheimpersonalfieldofthechessboard:hewouldlieawakeatnight,movinghismindthroughchessproblems.InsteadofbringingLangstrothriches,thepatentedinventionbrought

strife andmisery: thiswas a classic example of anunworldly inventorcoming into conflictwith hard-faced businessmen.An idea as good asthiswas bound to spread likewildfire—and it did, irrespective of therightsofitsinventor.AtfirstLangstroth,sufferingfromhis“headtrouble”andhavinglittle

businessacumen,triedtogetotherstocapitalizeontheinventiononhisbehalf. Meanwhile, others with a sharper approach just took the ideaand ran, often making hives of slightly different designs, but stillincorporatingtheconceptofthebeespace.Langstrothteamedupwithabusinessman named R. C. Otis, who bought the patent right for themoveable-framehiveinthewesternstatesandterritories.Indefenseofthepatentright,OtisandLangstrothgearedupforalawsuitagainstanalleged infringer, Homer King. This New York-based businessman had

contracted in 1867 to pay a royalty to Langstroth; he reneged on thisthree years later, saying he had changed the design and no longerneededtopay.Thebattlelinesweredrawnforacourtcase.Meanwhile,Americanbeekeepingwasburgeoning,andorganizations

began to proliferate. In 1870, the first national convention ofbeekeepers,theNorthAmericanBeeAssociation,metinMichigan,withLangstroth as president. The following year, the NortheasternBeekeepers’Associationgrewintoarivalnationalgroup, theAmericanBeekeepers’ Association—and its members also elected Langstroth astheirpresident.Thegroup’sleader,HomerKing,doubtlesstryingtoputon a good show in front of thebeekeeping community, thenproposedthata fundof$5,000be raised to support thebee-space inventorwhohad been unable to capitalize on his discovery (due, of course, to themaneuvers of men like himself). What was more, promised King, hewould lead the fund-raising with a donation of $50. Langstroth’scolleague Otis stood up and denounced King, saying the bee masterdeserved justice, not charity—and he’d give $500 to start a fightingfund.King repliedhe’dgive the inventor$1,000—anddraw the checkimmediately!OtiscalledforKingtobeprosecuted.Therowmadeitintothenewspapers,whichgleefullyreportedthistestyquarrelbetweenbeemen.Asisoftenthecase,therowbeganwithastandoffandendedwitha

whimper.After the deaths of hiswife andhis backerOtis, Langstroth,stillinpoorhealth,feltunabletopressthelawsuit;itwasdropped,andKingandmanyotherscontinuedtomaketheirnewhiveswithoutpayinghima cent. InhisHistory ofAmericanBeekeeping (1938), Frank Pellettremarksthat itwouldhavebeenbetterforLangstrothifhehadsimplygivenhisideatotheworld,insteadoftryingtodefendhispatent.Beekeepers managed to unite when the two national organizations

merged in 1871 to become the North American Beekeepers’ Society.Ladiescouldjoinforfree;menpaida$1membershipfee.Nobodycouldspeak for more than five minutes at the meetings—apart fromLangstroth,whowashonoredwiththerighttotalkatanytime,andforaslongasheliked.Hehadbythistimegainedtherespectofbeekeeperswhohadpreviouslychallengedhisrighttoaroyaltyoneachnewhive,andwasfastbeingrecognizedasthefatherofAmericanbeekeeping.

A photograph of Langstroth, aged eighty, shows a kindly face thatradiatesgoodness:atfirstglance,hehastheairofajollyclericlookingbenevolentlyoverhisglasses; thenyounoticeaclean innocence tohisbrow.Butthelongeryoulook,themoreyouperceiveasettohismouthandjawthatisthemarkofthesurvivor,andseealightinhiseyesthatcarries both sorrow and hope. With an unshowy intensity, it is amesmerizingface;inthephotograph,hestillappearstobethinking.Lorenzo Langstroth died in 1895, collapsing in church at the age of

eighty-five, and many memoirs and obituaries were published in thespecialist bee press. Much was made of his kindness in words andactions.Anargumentwithhim(aboutbees,naturally)wouldrapidlybefollowed by a dignified and humane apology; conversations with himwererichwithanecdoteandlearning.“Timealwaystookflightwhenhebecame a companion,” wrote Albert John Cook, a friend who was abiologyprofessor.Anotheradmirer,theeminentAmericanbeekeeperA.I. Root, called Langstroth “one of the most genial, good-natured,benevolentmentheworldhaseverproduced.”Heclearlyhadhisquirks,however. Researchers are still mystified by the secret scribbles in hisdiaries:thereismoretoLangstroththantheeulogieswouldimply.

LorenzoLangstroth,thefatherofmodernbeekeeping.

FURTHERBEEKEEPINGinnovationsfollowedthickandfastinthesecondhalfof

thenineteenthcentury.In1865,MajorFranzvonHruschka,anAustrianlivingnearVenice,gavehissonapieceofhoneycombinabasket.Theboyswungthebasketaroundhishead—arecklessgestureofplayfulness—and his father noticed how honey was thrown out of the comb bycentrifugal force. This principle was used to create extractors thatremoved thehoneymoreeasily fromthecomb;previously ithadbeensqueezedoutanddrippedlaboriouslythroughabag.Other major advances were made on the age-old practice of using

smoketopacifythebees.Youpuffawayonapipeandblowthetobaccosmoke toward the bees, but this homespun method was not entirelyeffective.AtthefirstBritishbeekeepingshowinCrystalPalacein1874,aprizewasofferedforthebest“bee-subduing”device.Oneentrywasabriarpipewitharubbertubetoblowthesmokethrough;another,TheBeeQuieter,enteredbyaReverendBlight,hadaburnerattached toasmall pair of bellows with a wooden nozzle at the end to direct thesmoke.ThebestdesignonthisprinciplecamefromAmerica.Here,oneof the foremost proponents of commercial beekeeping, Langstroth’sfriendA.I.Root,hadadaptedatinusedforpoppingcorn,fillingitwithrotten wood and burning coals that he extinguished before himselfblowing the smoke into the hives. Root decided, in the end, that he’dratherbestungthansmokedoutbythisHeathRobinsondevice.Thenin1873,anotherprominentAmericanbeekeeper,MosesQuinby,improvedthebellowsmethodsothesmokercouldbeusedwithonehand.Itisthisdesign,withafurtherrefinementpatentedbyTF.Bingham,thatisstillusedtoday.Beekeepers using Langstroth’s moveable-frame hives wanted to take

honeyoutoftheframesaseasilyaspossible,andtodothis,thecombsneededtobefreeofbrood.The“queen-excluder”wasaperforatedsheet,placedabove thebroodchamber,whichkept thequeen fromgoingupintothehoneycombandlayingeggsbecauseherwiderabdomencouldnotfitthroughtheholes.Primitiveversionsofthisdevicehadbeenusedat the start of the century; improved, mass-produced excluders werecommon at its end. By now, beekeepers also employed “bee escapes,”mechanismsusedatharvesttimepermittingthebeestoleavethesupersbutnotreenter.One of the greatest advances of this time was the introduction of

sheetsofpre-preparedwaxfoundation,whichformedabasewithinthemoveable frameandgave thebees ahead start onbuilding the comb,savingvitalenergy.Foundation sheetswereoften reinforcedwithwiretoenablethecombtowithstandcentrifugalforcesothehoneycouldbespunoutofthecombinthenewextractors.All these inventions fed off each other, with ideas and designs

constantlysucceedingoneanother;inthemeantime,humansorganizedlikeinsectsasspecialistpublicationsandbeekeepingassociationsspreadandstrengthenedonbothsidesoftheAtlantic.AmericanBeeJournalwasfoundedin1861bySamuelWagner,abankcashierwhosepassioninlifewas the honeybee. Wagner had learned German to enable him totranslate the writings of the Reverend Johann Dzierzon, a German-speakingPoleworkinginSilesiawhowasalsoworkingontheconceptofmoveable frames. When he came across Langstroth, Wagnerconcentrated insteadonpromotinghis fellow-American’s revolutionaryidea.AnotherprominentjournalwasGleaningsinBeeCulture,publishedand

editedbyA.I.Root,whogatheredtogethermanypracticalideas,some“gleaned”fromsuchspecialistpublicationsasAmericanBeeJournal,BeeWorld, Prairie Farmer, and Rural New Yorker. Initially planned as aquarterly,themagazineimmediatelybecameamonthlypublicationafterthesuccessof its firstedition inJanuary1873.Roothadfallen in lovewithbeeswhenhefirstsawaswarm.Hequestionedeveryonehecouldabouthis “strangenewacquaintances,” searchedhighand low forbeebooks, and eventually met the famous Langstroth. Root became abeekeeping evangelist, and his journal spread the word. At first, heemployedaprintingpressoperatedbyatreadle.Windpowerwasaddedtofootpowerwhenheattachedawindmilltothemachine,notentirelysuccessfully—subscribersunhappyabouttheprintingqualityofsomeofthe pages were told the vagaries of the wind were to blame. Rootsubsequently used the more reliable method of a steam engine toproduce Gleanings. The subscription list grew year after year: fivehundred, thenmore thaneighthundred,andnearlydouble thisby theendofthethirdyear.

THEINVENTIONSbeingchurnedoutandpublicizedinthenewspecialistpressweresnappedupbybeekeeperswho, thanks toLangstroth’smoveable-framehives,werenowproducinglargequantitiesofhoney.Thiswasthestartofmassproduction.ThemanwhodidmosttobuildupthehoneyindustryintheUnitedStates—thedollartitanofthissweetcapitalist gold—was John Harbison, The Bee King of California.Originally fromPennsylvania,Harbison firstcamewestprospecting forrealgoldinCavalerasCounty.HesoonturnedtogrowingfruittreesinSacramento,anditwastherethathesawthepotentialofthehoneybee.Bythemidcentury,EastCoastbeeshadswarmednaturallyuptothemountainbarriers,withtheexceptionofthosebroughttotheSaltLakearea by the Mormons in 1848. To bring a large number farther westwould be an epic task, andwas first undertaken by a botanist namedChristopherShelton.OnlyoneofShelton’stwelvecoloniessurvived,andhehimselfdiedwhena steamboathewas traveling in caught fire andsank.A certainMr.Grindley didmanage to bring four colonies acrosstheplainsinthebackofhiswagonfromMichigan,stoppingoccasionallyto let thebeesout fora feed,but it ishardto imaginethismethodonany scale; other effortswere also only successful in transporting smallnumbers.Harbison, though, was a man who thought big. The number ofcolonies he broughtwest was soon in the hundreds and hismeans oftravelwasbysea.On his first successful journey, the hives left the family apiary inPennsylvania onNovember 15, 1857, to be loaded on board a ship inNewYorkCity.Thebeeswerereleased,once,forabreather,thentheyjourneyedon,crossingtheisthmusofPanamabylandandcontinuingbyseatoSanFrancisco—finallyreachingSacramentoonyetanotherboat.Inall,thebeeshadtravelednearlysixthousandmilesinforty-fivedays.Itwas a successful trip, not least because it proved itwas possible tobring over a reasonable number of colonies. The original sixty-sevencolonieshadbeenreducedtofifty,butthesesoonmultiplied,andtherewere plenty of people prepared to pay for this rare commodity. Thejourney cost Harbison around $800; he made more than $12,000 inprofit.

Furtherjourneysproducedtheirtrialsaswellastheirrewards.Oftheone thousandcoloniesofbeesHarbisonbroughtwestbetweenOctober1858andApril1859,poorhandlingmeantjusttwohundredsurvivedbyMay. Among the six thousand colonies shipped over in the winter of1859-60 was the dreaded American foulbrood. This bacterial disease,which kills the larvae, began to attack the bees in the West. In adownbeatendingtohisaccountofbringingbeestoCalifornia,Harbisonadmits that some lost money, others their reputation: “The result hasbeen bad for all concerned.” These early steps and setbacks show thefragile origins of the honey business, surprisingly so, considering howphenomenallysuccessfulitwasshortlytobecome.Californianhoneyproductioncontinuedtogrowapace.WhenpeopleheardrumorsthatHarbisonhadmade$30,000fromhis1859trading,itsparkedsomethingofabeerush,or“bee-fever”astheheadlinesputit.Thefollowingyear,anestimatedtenthousandcoloniestraveledwestbythis sea-and-isthmus route. By the end of the 1860s,Harbison himselfhad two thousand colonies,most of themalong theSacramentoRiver,south of Sutterville. During the 1870s, he was the biggest honeyproducerintheworld.The Langstroth bee-space discoverywas by thenmaking an impact,thoughhispatentedhivedidnotsolveallofHarbison’sproblems,asfirsthe’d hoped. Harbison found that Langstroth’s patented hive was toosmall and flat to suit the conditions in Californiawith itsmagnificentnectarflow.Hisownmajoradvancewastoinventahivethatproducedsmallsquaresofhoneycombthatcouldbetakenstraightoutofthehiveandsoldto thepublic.These2-poundcombswerepacked inpailsandsoldasapackageofpuregoodness.Therebeganthe“honeycombera.”Amajor load of Californian honey—ten railcars packed full of combs—arrivedinNewYorkCityfromSanDiegoin1876,causinganenormousstir.Duringthe1870sand1880s,SanDiegoCountywasaregionofsageandbuckwheat—bothexcellenthoneyplants.Thiswaspioneerland;oneofthebestareasforsmallapiarieswastheback-country,inlandfromthecoast up to the Volcan, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains. Here,smallholders would subsist on a homestead with vegetables andlivestock,includingarowofbeehives.

AgloomycommentcamefromHarbison,whosaidpioneersettlementand clearing was destroying the bee industry by damaging its forageplants.Adebateraninthebeepressaboutwhichplantsyoucouldgrowto boost nectar supply. There was still plenty to go around, however.Moreandmorecitrusandotherfruittreeswerebeingplantedeachyear,forexample,providingexcellentfoodforthebees.By1884,Californianapiaristsachievedanannualproductionweighingmorethantwomillionpounds.Curiously,giventhathoneybeeshelppollinatetrees,therewassomeconflict between fruit growers andbeekeepers;Harbisonwrote alettertotheAmericanBeeJournal in1893sayinghehadlostsome350hives to arson in just one year due to this. But despite such tussles,California became the leading honey-producing state in the UnitedStates.

IN THE LATTERHALFofthenineteenthcentury,thereemergedsomethingofacult followingforwhatbecameknownastheItalianbee.Apismelliferaligustica is still much admired today for its attractive yellow coloring,productivity, and docility. During the NapoleonicWars a Captain vonBaldenstein served in northern Italy, where he admired these pretty,usefulbees.HereturnedtoliveinhiscastleintheTessinValley,anareaofSwitzerlandthatbordersItaly,andlatersentmentofetchsomeoftheinsects; the bees arrived in September 1843. JohannDzierzon broughtthem to Vienna ten years later, and his writings continued to spreadenthusiasmfortheItalianbeearoundEuropeandoverinAmerica.An early attempt, in 1855, to bring Italian bees across the Atlanticfailed because a ship’s officer stole some honey and the bees starved.Samuel Wagner, of the American Bee Journal, with support fromLangstroth, again imported some in 1859, but there were questionsabouttheirgeneticpurity.TherewereattemptstogettheU.S.governmenttosupporttheproject,withforecastsofspectaculardividendsfromthisfabledhoneyproducer.Thenabotanist,S.B.Parsons,undertookthejourneyhimself.Heboughtsomebees fromH.C.Hermann, aGermanbeekeeperwhose bookTheItalianalp-bee,or, the goldmineofhusbandry (1859)haddonemuch topopularizethevariety.Thebeeswerepackedincigarboxesfilledwith

honeycomb;inall,twentycoloniesweresentofftotheStates.Parsonshadpackagedthebeesintothreebatches;athirdfortheU.S.government, a third for the beekeeper P. J. Mahan, and a third forhimself. On April 18, 1860, when the Arago steamer docked in NewYork, their Italianqueenswere finallyunloaded in theUnitedStates—alive,butonlyjust.Thecombshadloosenedintheirboxes,andmanyoftheinsectswerecrushed.Nonesurvivedinthegovernment’sbatch;noneinMahan’s; of all the bees that set out, at a cost of $1,200, only twoItalianqueenshadmadeit.Oncelanded,thispairstillfacedaprecariousfuture. AW. Cart of Coleraine,Massachusetts, took one queen and anAustrian beekeeper, Bodmer, the other. The Austrian failed with hisqueen; luckily, Cart had more success. He created a large apiary ofItalians for Parsons, and these were the genesis of the Italian beeindustry in the States. A total of 111 of these queens were taken toCalifornia,mostarrivingingoodcondition.

ITALIAN QUEENS arrived in England before the United States, imported byThomas Woodbury (1818-1870). Woodbury was one of the mostimportantBritishbeekeepersof themodern“scientific”era.Hestudiedthegreatbeewritersand,afterbecomingfascinatedbythepossibilityofotherracesofApismellifera,importedonethousandItalianbeesfromH.C. Hermann. They arrived by train in a box: you can imagine hisexcitementwhen,backhomenearExeter,heshookthebeesout,huntingforthequeen.Heplacedhercarefullyinawineglassandcarriedhertoaskepwhere shewas put among other bees.A fortnight later,whenhespotted workers carrying plenty of pollen into the hive to feed newbrood,Woodburyknewthatthecolonyanditsnewqueenwerethriving.Woodburywas quick to adopt the principle of the bee space and iscreditedasbeingthe firstperson inBritain tousemoveable frames, in1860. He also developed his own hive, incorporating Langstroth’sinnovation.Withatypicalinventiveness,hewasplanningahivesuitableforthegianteasternbeeApisdorsata,whenhedied,suddenly,attheageoffifty-two.Another interesting aspect of Woodbury’s life was that hecorrespondedwithCharlesDarwin.After formulatinghis earth-shaking

theoryof evolution,Darwin continued to live in thequiet seclusionofDown House in Kent, carrying on an extensive correspondence andtaking dailywalks in his gardenwhere hewould peer into the flowerbeds, minutely observing the behavior of insects. He now consultedpigeonfanciersandbeekeeperssuchasWoodburyaboutnativespecies.Hewasmost intriguedwhenWoodbury senthima sampleof thenewcombfoundation in the1860s,andalsowroteabouthowbees tend tovisitonesortoffloweratatime,remarkinghowimportantthisistothecross-fertilizationofplantsofthesamespecies.“Humble[Bumble]andhive-bees are good botanists,” he commented, “for they know thatvarietiesmaydifferwidelyinthecolouroftheirflowersandyetbelongtothesamespecies.”

SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES and the development of beekeeping groups led to thegrowth of a specialist press in Britain as in America. The British BeeJournal, launchedin1874,cameoutmonthly,thenweekly,andsettleddown as a fortnightly paper. Events such as the first bee and honeyexhibition at Crystal Palace in 1874 helped to spread ideas andinventions. This was set up by the newly formed British Beekeepers’Association, which aimed for “the encouragement, improvement andadvancement of bee-culture in the United Kingdom, particularly as ameansofbetteringtheconditionofcottagers.”Sincethestartofthecentury,beekeepinghadbecomeanincreasingly

useful part of the rural economy. In 1870, a professional gardenernamed A. Pettigrew wrote his Handy Book of Bees (1870), with anattractively plain-speaking tone—not unlike William Cobbett’s in the1820s, but with an even more businesslike perspective. Pettigrew’sfatherhadbeenalaboringmanandbeekeeperinLanarkshire.Hissonshelped lookafter thebees,andwhenthe futurebeeauthorbecameanapprentice, then journeyman-gardener inMiddlesex,hewouldkeephisownbees in addition tomanaginghis employers’ bees.Moneywas animportantincentive:“Stingsdonotseemhalfsopainful,”hewrote,“tothemanwhoseannualproceedsofbeekeepingamountto£10,or£20,or£50.” He also praised the occupation for its productive, moral natureand recommended that swarmsbegivenasgifts todeserving servants:

“Who has not seen hundreds of working men blessed and charmedbeyonddescriptioninattendingtotheirbeesandcow?”heasked.“Suchmenaresuperiortothelowvulgaritiesofthepublic-house,andsuperiorineverysensetothosewhowastetheirtimeandstrengthindrinking.”He hadn’t much time for Italian bees, asserting that a gulliblesusceptibility to the newwas the greatestweakness of anEnglishman,and he also found straw skeps infinitely preferable to the newfangledwoodenhives.ButLangstroth’sadvancesandagenerallymorescientificapproachto

beekeeping were spreading. At the end of the century, a Sussexbeekeeper, Samuel Simmins,wrote a book promoting beekeeping as aprofitablepursuit.Hispredictionofthemarketshowshowperspectiveshad shifted toward industrialization. He talked of how bees, throughpollination,helpedalongfruitbeinggrownforjam,oneofmanyfoodsthat were now mass-produced. Simmins saw that, with the aid ofmodernextractors,liquidhoneywasthefuturenow,notcomb:“Honeyinthecombwilleverremainaluxury,”hewrote,“butthatintheliquidform is destined ere long to be found in general use in almost everyfamily.”Itwasapredictionthathasproventruetothisday.

A

CHAPTERNINE

CREATIVEBEE

t the start of the twentieth century, The Life of the Bee by thesymbolist playwright and essayist Maurice Maeterlinck became a

best-seller. This Belgian, who went on to win the Nobel Prize forLiterature, wrote his account of the honeybee in an explicitly literarystyle, which appealed to the general public and not just a beekeeperreadership. My copy is a small, moss green hardback, embossed withgold flowers, with fin de siècle tendrils swooping elegantly across theendpapersandspine.Thebookaccompaniedmeontrains,parkbenches,andbusseats,slippinginandoutofmycoatpocketforamonthorso.Thiswastheedition’sseventeenthprinting;Ibecameintriguedbywhatdrewsomanypeopletobeesatthattime.The volume had belonged to my great-aunt Isobel and sat on her

bookshelvesalongsideW.B.Yeats,Tennyson,andRupertBrooke.Beeswereamotifintheworkofallthesepoets.Yeatsdreamedofa“bee-loudglade”ontheIsleofInnisfree;Tennysondreamtof“themoanofdovesin immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees.” “And istherehoneystillfortea?”askedRupertBrooke,alineever-glowingwithnostalgia. Bees represented an old-fashioned idyll as factories churnedandcitiesspread.Maeterlinck’s book starts on a similar note, with the storybook

accountofhis firstmeetingwithanapiarist.Thisoldmanlived in theDutchcountryside,aplaceoflittletreesmarshaledalongcanalbanks,ofpolished clocks and the musical voice of the perfumed, sunlit beegarden. He had retreated from human affairs, and kept twelve strawskepspaintedpink,yellow,andbluetoattractthebees.Inthisbeautifulplace,Maeterlinckwrites,“thehiveslentanewmeaningtotheflowersandthesilence,thebalmoftheairandtheraysofthesun.”At timesMaeterlinck’s descriptionsof bees are anthropomorphic.He

pondersonthevirginqueen’sflight,wonderingifsheisa“voluptuary”whoenjoysmating in theair.Thebig-eyedmatingdrone is adoomed

romantic hero whose unique kiss will lead to his death. The duelsbetween the virgin queens, stinging fights to the death, are vicious asonlyadramatistcouldmakethem.ButwhileMaeterlinckwaxedlyrical,healsohadabackgroundinthecraft:hehadbeenabeekeeperfortwentyyearsandkeptanobservationhive inhis study inParis.Hisbook follows the lifeof thebee throughthelifeoftheyear,fromspringawakening,toswarming,tothebuildingof a new colony and its fillingwith honey. Hewatches events unfoldwithasenseofawe.Fightingqueenswillholdbackifitlooksasiftheyareabout to sting eachother todeath, leaving thenest leaderless: thecentral mystery of the hive, for him, was the way the individual beeworksforthegoodofthecolony.Whydidtheydothis?Inthepre-Darwinianworld,itwouldhavebeenseenasduetoGod’sdivinedesign.ButTheLifeoftheBeeisdisturbedbythe shock waves of Darwin; this was now a world in which humanscouldbedescendedfromapes.Maeterlinckistentativeaboutthetheoryof evolution, perhaps because he saw its implications.His language isstillreligiousintimbre;themysticallifeforceheseesinahiveofbeesissimilartotheHolySpirit.Yetmeaninghasslippedfrom“God”to“Life”:a mysterious force of nature. The meaning of life, for the bees, issurvival.“TheGodofthebeesisthefuture,”heconcluded.

THESYMBOLISMofthehivefoundanovelexpressioninthebuildinginParisknownasLaRuche(TheBeehive).Thiscollectionofstudios,offpassagede Dantzig near Montparnasse, was used by such artists as Chagall,Leger,Modigliani,andSoutine.Originallyawinepavilionforthe1900UniversalExhibition,LaRuchewasdesignedbytheengineerAlexandreEiffel, famous forhis tower. Itwasdismantledandtakento itscurrentsite three years later by the philanthropic sculptor Alfred Boucher.Boucher,apopularartist,spentsomeofhisearningsonapieceofland,whereherebuiltthepaviliontoattractartistsandwriters,leasingoutitsstudiosforasmallrent.Boucherexplicitlycomparedhisartists’colonytoabeehiveandcalledtheinhabitantshisbees.Therewereeightystudiosinitscentral,skeplikerotunda. The insects’ communal life set an example of artistic

productivity: out of the hive comes honey; the studios brought forthsculpture,painting,andliterature.The building is still in use today, after a campaign in 1969 haltedplanstoturnthesiteintoapartmentsandaparkinggarage.Thepresentoccupantsenterbetweentwojauntilytoplessfemalestatues,asifatthehive entrance; theypass one another in thehall as theypickupmail,greetoneanother,lookatpostersforexhibitions,swapgossip.Theflooris covered with brown tiles in a honeycomb pattern and the centralstairwaygoesupthe“hivebody,”tothreetwelve-sidedlandingswhereeachwallhasadoorleadingtoastudio“cell.”Thebuildingoffersbothprivacy and company: it is easy to imagine how a “bee” in need of abreakwouldhearadooropen,orsomeoneclatteringupthestairs,anddart out to meet up on the landing. Artists and writers work largelyalone,andyettheirantennaeneedtocatchtheelectricityintheair:LaRuche provides both solitude and social contact, showing howarchitecturehelpspeopleleadtheirlivesbetter.

FIVE MINUTES’ WALK from La Ruche is Parc Georges Brassens, one of thoseParisian parks that is calm, civilized, and well planted. Having beenswept out of La Ruche as a gate-crashing tourist by a classicallyformidableconcierge,Ineededtorecoverandfollowedawindingpaththat led quietly away from the growling of the city toward trees andflowers.Linesofvinesetchedoneslope,andabankofbloomsbouncedlightlywithbees; these signaled theedgeof a cityapiarywith sixteenhives. Paris is a city that encourages beekeeping; several of its parkshavesuchsites.Relaxed by this urban idyll, I turned around and suddenly saw itsbackdrop:vast,loomingtowerblocksthatweretheoppositeinscaleandintimacy to La Ruche. These brutish buildings made people andneighboringplacesinsignificant.Afterward,wanderingaroundthequarter,Iwasstruckbyhowmanyhousesfromthenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturiesweredecoratedwith small, natural details: a home adorned with ironwork marigoldspaintedorangeandgreen, theglidingmetal fernshingingaplate-glassdoor.Evenifthecountrysidewasfadingtothedistance,peoplestillfelt

instinctivelyclosetonature,andwanteditintheirurbansurroundings,justastheywantedtoreadMaeterlinck’sbookonthehoneybee.

THE HONEYBEE continued as a positive symbol; but now thiswas partly inreaction to the disjunctions of an era of world wars and grindingindustrialization.Oneradical thinker fascinatedbybees for this reasonwastheeducationalistAustrianRudolfSteiner.Steiner(1861-1925)wasbornintoafamilythathadworkedtheland

forgenerations.His fatherwasagamekeeperonanaristocratic estate,until he became a stationmaster and telegraphist forAustrianImperialRailways, just one ofmany countrymenwhose life was shaken out ofrhythmbythe“marchofprogress.”Theeducatorthoughthisownschoollessonswereoveranalytical;for

Steiner, the trend toward specialization, which modern sciencerepresented,tookawaythemeaning—thespirit—ofthewhole.“Throughthemicroscope and other instrumentswe have come to know a greatdeal,”hesaidinalecturehegavein1922.“Butitneverleadsusnearertotheetheric[spiritual]body,onlyfartherfromit.”Insteadoffollowingthe mainstream, he developed his concept of anthroposophy fromanthropos (humankind) and sophia (wisdom), a holistic philosophy ofeducationthatremainsinfluentialtoday.Havinglostthelandandallitrepresented,Steinerwantedus to findourwaybacktoamorenaturaland“connected”wayofliving.Steiner admiredhoneybees’ collective life andused their example to

illustratehisideasabouttheworld.In1923,hegaveaseriesoflecturesabout bees to an audience of Swiss constructionworkers in which hepraised the unconsciouswisdomof bees, the love in their community,andhoweachindividualbeeispartofawhole.Muchtotheconsternationofabeekeeperwhowasintheaudience,he

questionedsomeofthedisruptivepracticesthathadarisenwiththenew“rational” beekeeping, such as breeding queens artificially in order toimprove anddisseminate such stock as the fashionable Italianbees. Inthe past, beekeepers treated their insects in a “personal and proper”manner;now,hepointedout,humanscouldmakeprofoundchanges—

such as using wooden hives instead of straw skeps—without reallyconsideringtheeffectitwouldhaveontheselivingcreatures.Wehavelostourinstinctiveknowledgeofnature,hesaid,andthiswasboundtohavemajorconsequences.

STEINER COMPARED thehivetoahumanbeing,withthebeescirculating likethe blood cells in a body. This powerful image was to influence thepioneeringavant-gardeGermanartistJosephBeuys.Beuys (1921-1986) first read Steiner as a soldier, then as an artstudentafter thewar.By the timehedied,hehadamassedmore than120volumesofSteiner’swritings,around30of themscoreddarkwithunderlining.HeacknowledgedtheAustrian’s influence,writinghowhealsowantedtosweepawaythealienationanddistrustpeoplefelttowardthespiritualworld.Asayoungman,BeuyswasshotdownoverthesnowywildernessoftheCrimeawhileservingasaparatrooperintheSecondWorldWar.Hewas found frozen and close to death by nomadic Tartars; as he layunconsciousforeightdays,theybroughthimbacktolife,wrappinghimin felt blankets and salving his wounds with animal fat. This life-or-death experience lay behind the artist’s later use of felt and fat in hiswork; for him, such materials had a metaphorical meaning. PartlyinspiredbySteiner,Beuysalsousedhoneyandbeeswax.For Beuys, there were clear links between bees and creativity: theproduction of wax, from within the bees’ own bodies, was itself a“primary sculptural process.” Temperature was as important as spaceand form in sculpture, he believed, and honey and wax were bothnaturalexpressionsofwarmth.Hecomparedhoneyandblood,pointingoutthattheywereofasimilartemperature(manypeoplecommentonthe heat of honey fresh from the hive). In an interview in a Germanbeekeepingjournal,Beuysspokeofhownectar,“theflower’sownformof honey,” flowed under the hot sun; he talked also of how beeswaxmeltedtoaliquidwhenheated.Suchconversionsrepresentedchange;Beuyswantedhisarttoprovoketransformation. There is an urgency in his work—a feeling that it

matters—that is lacking in the installationsofmanyof theartistswhofollowedhim.Hebelieved inperformanceart,withapoliticalsubtext,ratherthanpermanentcreation;itwascalledsocialsculpture.Inhis1977installationHoneyPumpattheWorkPlace,Beuyspumped

honeyintransparentpipesaroundtheMuseumFridericianuminKassel,Germany.Here,duringthehundreddaysoftheartwork,peoplefromallover the world and frommany walks of life—economists, communityworkers, musicians, lawyers, actors, trade unionists—discussed issuessuchasnuclearenergy,urbandecay,andhumanrights.ThiswasBeuys’sFreeInternationalUniversity,anditwasaboutchangingtheworld:theideas being discussed should pump through society just as the honeycirculatedthebuilding.Themeaningof such“actions” reliedon the ideasbehind them,and

the pieces later displayed in museums—photographs, blackboards ofscribbles spray-fixed for posterity—are remnants of almost shamanisticevents. In this sense, they are similar to the geometric patterns leftbehindbythehoney-huntingrockartists.BeuyswantedtotapintothesamesourceofpowerasourStoneAgeancestors. Inthesemechanistictimes,hebelievedanimalshadthespiritualenergythathumansocietyneeded;thehoneybeewaspartofthelifeforcewehadlost.

THEMANYWAYSinwhichbeesandtheircommunallifehaveinspiredartistsandarchitectsarebrilliantlyexplored inTheBeehiveMetaphorbyJuanAntonio Ramírez, published in 1998. Ramírez, a Spanish art historyprofessor,hasapersonal connection tobees;his father, LucioRamírezde la Morena, was a dreamer with visions of making money frommodernbeekeeping.Thetheoryranthateachspring,acolonyproducedat least one swarm, which could then be hived; an apiary should, intheory,doubleinsizeeachyear,generatingendlesslygrowingprofits.Inthe1940s,SeñorRamírezbegantopromotescientifichivesbystartinganational beekeeping service, converting old-fashioned hives into themodern moveable-frame version, selling them speculatively andinstructingbeekeepers in thenewmethods.Alas, his optimismwas letdownbypractice.Theventurefailedandhishiveswereimpounded.Meanwhile,JuanRamírez,whohadkeptacertainskepticaldistance

fromall these schemes, had taken to reading in thenew local library,heading off on his eventual path as an academic. But when he laterlooked again at one of the hives, he became more interested. Hesuddenlyrealizedthathisfatherhaddesigneda“building”forbees,witha roof, awindow, and commodious spaces inwhich they could dwell.The parallels between the bee house and human architecture had thepower of ametaphor. This thought grew into his remarkable book onhowbeeshaveinfluencedartistsinthetwentiethcentury.

ARCHITECTS, the practical artists of society, design buildings for constant,communal use; many have been inspired by the well-designed nestsmadebysocialcreaturessuchashoneybees.Thisunderlying influence can clearlybe seen—if you look for it—in

the work of the Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926). Gaudíspentlongstretchesofhischildhoodinthecountrysideandlatercalledthepureandpleasingpartsofnaturehisconstantmistress.Theorganicformsofthenaturalworldareobviousinhisbuildings.OneofGaudí’smostdistinctiveinventionswastheparabolicarch,whichrisesandfallsin a single, seamless loop. He disliked the interruptions of traditionalcolumns and arches: this was his sublime solution. What was hisinspiration?Ramírezbelievesitwashoneycomb.The firstofGaudí’sparabolicarcheswas in thebleaching roomof a

cooperativetextilefactoryinMataró,builtaround1883.Hestartedthecommission shortly after the sudden death of his elder brother,Francisco, a scientistwhoseonlypublishedarticlewas aboutbees; thesubjectmaywellhavebeenonGaudí’smind.Thearchesthatformthebody of the building, asRamírez has pointed out, echo the pendulouscurvesofwildcombandthehangingchainofbees thatstarts tobuildthe comb. More explicitly, a drawing Gaudí made for the projectreplacesbuilderswithbees,andthecrestofthecooperativewasalsoabee,madetohisdesign.The parabolic archwent on to feature inmany of this idiosyncratic

architect’sbuildings,includingthePalacioGüellinBarcelona,designedasahomeforGaudí’spatron,EusebioGüell.Themainentranceto thebuilding,onastreetofftheport-endoftheRamblas,iscomposedoftwo

ofthesebeautifulsingle-linearches.Thecentralcupolaofthebuildingissupported on four further arches and the roof itself is covered in ahoneycomb of hexagons, some of which illuminate the dome withgeometric stars of daylight. Bee imagery appears elsewhere in Gaudí’swork; the Sagrada Familia has a SacredHeart carved onto the façade,surrounded by the insects, symbolizing how souls are insects sippingfromGod’snectarinthebloodofhisson.

OTHER ARCHITECTS working in the first half of the twentieth century wereobliquelyandexplicitlyinfluencedbybees.In1921,MiesvanderRohe(1886–1969)enteredacompetitionforahigh-risebuildinginBerlin.Hissubmission, calledHoneycomb, had the radical idea of using glass forthe external walls. If the outside of a building was no longer load-bearing, why not use this structural freedom? This is the modernskyscraper. Juan Ramírez believes Mies van der Rohe’s “honeycomb”designhaselementsofaflatobservationhive,whichholdsasinglelayerof comb behind two sheets of glass. Traditional architecture hid itsengineering;theseglasswallsshowedofftheessentialstructureofbothbuildingandhoneycomb.Frank LloydWright (1867–1959) designedbuildings thatweremoreobviously influenced by the honeybee. He described his work asanalogoustowhathappenedinthenaturalworld:“Buildingontheearthisasnaturalformanasitisforotheranimals,birds,orinsects.Andasthe difference between man and animals grew, so his buildings wereconverted into what we call architecture.” He incorporated thehexagonalsfoundinhoneycombinhisbuildingsfromthe1920sonward.The designs for a summer camp building on Lake Tahoe, in westernAmerica, is based on six-sided rooms; in the Jiyu Gakuen school inTokyo,theschoolroomisfullofthisgeometry,downtodetailssuchasthe backs of chairs; and in his thirtiesHoneycombHouse in Stanford,California, 120-degree angles—like those of comb—replace theconventional right angles not just in walls and windows but also incushions,afireplace,andfurniture.Itwasthehoneybee’spracticeofcollectivelivingthatmostinfluencedthe Swiss architect and town planner Charles Jeanneret, known as Le

Corbusier (1887–1965).Thesonofanenamelist,LeCorbusierenrolledathislocalartschoolduringadecadewhenArtNouveauwasprevalent.ButtheideasbehindModernismwerestartingtostir;hewasencouragedto look at the forms underlying nature, and not just their surface,decorativevalue.Oneofhisearliestdesignswasawatchcasecombiningageometricpatternwithabeeonaflower.LeCorbusiercontinuedhiseducation in Paris at a time when La Ruche was alive with artisticendeavor.Itismorethanlikelythatheknewthisfamousartists’colony;helaterwentontodesignabuildingforoneof its former inhabitants,his contemporary and compatriot, the avant-garde writer BlaiseCendrars.Le Corbusier subsequently lived in Berlin at the same time as bothMiesvanderRoheandFrankLloydWright.Evenmorethanthesetwoarchitects, Le Corbusier seems to have been inspired by the internaldynamics of the hive. His vision of the city was a place wheremanypeople could live in collective harmony and modernity; he wantedhomes,notjustbusinesses,tobeintowerblocks,andcameupwithsuchconceptsasbuildingswith“precisebreathing,”whichkept the internaltemperature at a constant level usingmethods of insulation similar tothoseinahive.Hisblocksofflats-on-columnsechobeehivesplacedonstands.

AFTERTHESECONDWORLDWAR,LeCorbusier’sreferencestocollectivelivingweremoremuted;communismandfascismhadmademassmovementsmoresuspect.JuanRamírezpointsouthowtheideaoflivinginabeehiveisavision of hellish urban living to us today: overcrowded, rootless, andimpersonal. In our individualistic, consumer society, we have becomeincreasinglyuncomfortablewiththenotionofcloseassociation,suchasthatofclusteringsocialinsects;andmeanwhile,theidealsofthetowerblocks of Le Corbusier have been discredited throughmany inner-cityfailures.A greater ambivalence crept into the way bees were portrayedartistically. Spirit of the Beehive, a masterpiece by the Spanish filmdirector Victor Erice, is set in the 1940s, after the end of the SpanishCivil War, and was shot in 1973, during the last gasp of Franco: the

deadenedatmosphereof the filmconveys two layersof repression, thetenseaftermathofwarandthestiflingfearofadictatorship.InableakCastilianlandscape,scouredbywind,Ericeshowsusafamilyinwhichthe adults drag through their muted lives, the husband morbidlyobsessed by his bees while his wife dreams hopelessly of romanticescape. The torpid frustration of the couple is compared to the alive,imaginativeworldof theirdaughterAna; the inneremotionalworldofthechildoffersredemption.In the film, the bees’world is cruelly impersonal;watching them in

the observation hive is no longer a matter of fascination andenlightenment.Theman’sthoughtsabouthisinsectsdonotleadhimoutofhisdespair,onlyfurtherin.Thefamily’svillageseetheswithdistrust,betrayal, andviolence; the scurrying insectsareno longera symbolofunity but of the pitiless universe. The honeybee reflects the eye of itsbeholder;communallifeisnotamodelbutathreat.

IN THE 1960s, the poet Sylvia Plath incorporated her experiences ofkeeping bees and meeting beekeepers into her intense form ofautobiographicalart.Thisaspectofherworkhasafurtherpersonallayerbecauseherfatherwasabeeexpert.OttoPlathwroteathesisonbumblebeesthatwaspublishedasabook

in 1934. His sweet tooth first led him to bees—as a child, he wouldfollow them to theirnests andusea straw to suckoutwildhoney;hewouldalsocatchinsectsandkeepthemincigarboxestoexaminethem.Aftergrowingup inPolandwithGermanparents,heemigrated to livewithhisgrandparentsonafarminWisconsin.TheplanwasforhimtojoinaLutheranministry.However,thecreationistseminaryforbadeoneofhisfavoriteauthors,Darwin;Ottowentinsteadintoteaching,causingan irrevocable split with his family. Hemarried Sylvia Plath’smotherrelativelylateinlifeanddied,whentheirdaughterwasjusteight,fromcomplicationsarisingfromdiabetes.OneofPlath’sbiographers,thepoetAnne Stevenson, has pointed out that this condition could have beenlinkedtohissweettooth.WhenSylviaPlathtouchedonthetraumaticsubjectofherfather,she

wouldsometimesturntobeeimagery.Whenhedied,shesaiditwasas

ifshehadgoneintothegroundlikeahibernatingbee.Ottocouldcatchabeeinhishandandputitinhisear,likeatrickofnaturalmagic;hisdaughterwroteofamanwhocouldclenchbeesinhisfist.In1959,shewrote a poem after seeing her father’s grave for the first time. Itwascalled“TheBeekeeper’sDaughter.”In the summerof 1962, SylviaPlath andherhusband, thepoetTed

Hughes,startedtokeephoneybees.HerdiarydescribesattendingaJunemeetingofbeekeeperslocaltothemid-Devonvillagewheretheyhadahouse. Plathwas considering a novel based on the lives of the peoplearoundherinthissecludedpartofEngland:thesewerenotesthatcouldbeworkedupintoliterature.ThehumorandreportageinPlath’soutsiderviewonvillagelifemake

a contrast to the dark drama in her poetry. Writing about thisbeekeepingmeeting,shegoes intogreatdetailaboutwhateachpersonwears, describing the veiled hats and, particularly, the atmospheresurrounding the rector. At first there is respectful silence around him;thenhesurprisesPlathbytuckingherbeeveilintohercollar—asudden,curiously intimate moment. The beekeepers, as if licensed by theprotectionoftheirwhitesuits,starttoteasehimaboutthebeesbuzzingaroundhisdarktrousers(beesaresaidtodislikesuchcolorsandleavelighteronesalone),sayingtheywerehisnewcongregation.Thesamediaryentrycontainsaprecise,evocativedescriptionofwhat

it is like to encounter bees as a novice. After seeing the villagers dontheirhats,Plathfeels increasinglynaked,highlightingthevulnerabilityandanticipationyoufeelapproachingahive.Thereistheoddsightofaframe of honeycomb crusted with bees, and the prickles, itches, andtension she feels, now standing in claustrophobic bee clothes in thisstrangesituation.Plath’ssenseofunrealityisheightenedwhentheDevonianshavelost

alltheirhomelyquirksandhavechanged,withtheirgarb,intouniformcreatureswithidenticalveiledfaces.Thevillagers’unfamiliaractionsareoddly ceremonial, and she prays to the spirit of her dead father forprotection.Thebeesflyaroundasifonpiecesoflongelastic,abrilliantdescription of how their free flight is connected to a cohesive whole.Thenthemeetingendsonaprosaicnote,withthesecretarysellingraffleticketsforahoneyshow,orasPlathputsit,“chancesforabee-festival.”

CharliePollard,alocalbeeman,laterbroughtaboxofItalian-hybridbees to the Hugheses’ and the colony was settled in a hive in theorchard,away fromthehouse.WhenPlathvisited the insects, shewasdelightedtoseethementeringthehivewithpollenontheirlegs.

INOCTOBERTHATYEAR,SylviaPlathroseatfivea.m.whenthesleepingpillsshewastakingworeoff,drankcoffee,andbeganwhatwastobeaseriesoffivepoemsaboutbees,writtenoveroneweek.ShewasseparatedfromherhusbandandlivingwithhertwosmallchildreninaflatinLondon.Justoverfourmonthslater,shewouldbedead.Theexperiences in the journalbecame literature: “TheBeeMeeting”

expressesherthrummingfearandthewaythevillagerstransformedinto“knights” and “surgeons” in their strange garb. She is led toward thehiveasifinsomesortofinitiationrite.“TheArrivaloftheBeeBox”hastheterroroftheinsectmob;evenasshestandsamidthebucolicsettingof the garden with its pretty cherry trees, she sees power andpowerlessness.In“Stings,”shewritesofthesweetnessoftheflowersshehadpaintedon thehive;but themood turnsuglyas she thinksof thebees as female: the old, raggedqueen, and thedrudgingworkerswiththeir domestic tasks.Another oblique figure—wenowknow this to beHughes—isgone.Plathwantstorecover,tobeaqueen,toflyacrosstheskylikeared,soaringcomet.Thelifeofthehiveisanimpersonalenginethathasdestroyedher,yetshefliesinsometerribleresurrection.In“TheSwarm,”written the next day, she expands the destructive element ofbees to the stageofEuropeanwar; she findsdeath, power, anddefeatwithintheirlives.Two days later came the last and best poem of the sequence,

“Wintering.” The honey has been collected, extracted from the combs,andput in jars inthecellar.Plathfinds fear intheblackof thisroom;butinthedarknessofthehive,thebeesarenowquietlymovingintheirslowwinterstate.Thecountrysidearoundispurewhitewithsnow.Thefemalebeeshavegottenridofthemaledronesandhaveenteredatimeofmeditativewaiting.Thereisaquiet,still,sereneformofanticipationinthepoem,quitedifferentfromtheexcitementPlathfeltattheinitialbeemeeting.

Whenthebeesflyagain,theytastethespring.Plathwantedthistobethe lastpoem inhernewcollection; thishopeful reference to thenewyearwouldhavebeenitsfinishingline.In the end, the beekeeping poemswere published posthumously, as

Ariel,andreordered,withoutthisfinalnoteofoptimism.Oneofthelastletters shewrote refers to her plans to resume her beekeeping; itwasdeliveredafterherdeath.

T

CHAPTERTEN

DISCOVERY

he tradition of the beekeeping cleric continued, following suchexamplesasCharlesButler,LorenzoLangstroth,andWilliamCotton,

butinEnglandthemonasticconnectiondwindledaftertheReformation.BrotherAdam, themost famousbeekeepingmonkofall,however,wasbased at Buckfast Abbey in Devon for most of the twentieth century;fromthisquietbase,hemadegloballyimportantdiscoveriesinhisquesttofindandbreedthebestbeesintheworld.BrotherAdamwasbornCarlKehrlein1898insouthGermany.Atthat

time there was a connection between Germany and the BenedictineOrder,whoweretryingtoreestablishacommunityatBuckfastinsouthDevon,firstfoundedin1018.Themonksofferedtheboystheyrecruitedaneducationandtheopportunitytojointhecommunitywhentheyweresixteen.Inreturn,theyhelpedoutatthemonastery.TheyoungCarlwasaskedbyhismotherifhewishedtogotoEngland“tobuildanabbeyinpraise ofGod.”He began a journey, aged twelve, by train, steamship,and horse-drawn taxi to a new life on the edge of the heathy hulk ofDartmoor.Themonksharvestedhoneyasapartof their self-sufficient life,and

the frail German lad was thought of less as a builder and more as asuitable assistant to the main beekeeper, Brother Columban. He wassoon absorbed in his task. Bees captivate people, Brother Adam laterwrote;hewasendlesslyfascinatedbytheirprecision,order,andabilitytoadapttotheirenvironment.Brother Columban had moved with the times by shifting up from

straw skeps to the modern frame hives. But there was trouble in theBuckfastapiary,asintherestofthecountry.In1904,reportsbeganinthesoutheastcorneroftheIsleofWightofadisease,probablycausedbyinbreeding.Itblockedtheinsects’breathingtubes,causinghavocinthecolony;itcorruptedtheirwingssotheycouldnotfly.Todayweknowitwascausedbythetrachealmite,butthenpeopledidnotunderstandits

origin:perhapsthenewhivesweretoblame?Theproblemreachedthemainlandby1908,thenspreadonward.Manycountrydwellersacenturyagokeptbeesaspartoftheircottageeconomy; the Isle ofWight disease, as it became known, was a ruralcatastrophe.Intheterribleseasonof1917,Devonvillagersbroughttheirdying colonies to the abbey forhelp, but tonoavail.Of the forty-fiveBuckfast colonies, only sixteen survived, and thesewere theoneswithItalian-crossedqueens.BrotherAdam’ssubsequentworksprangfromtheideathatbreedingcouldbethekeytobeatingdisease.TheBritish native bee, known as the British Black, sufferedmost intheoutbreak;somethinkitspurestrainwasdestroyed.Thissubspecies,inanycase,wasfarfromflawless,withatendencytowardtestinessandswarming.BrotherAdamwouldspreadhiscassockaroundhimwhenheknelt at their hives to stop the irascible creatures crawlinguphis legsand stinging him. He began to cross his remaining colonies with theimportedqueensofotherbreeds.AswellastheItalianbees,otherkindswere being used by breeders to improve their stock, such as theCarniolan bees, from the Austrian alps, which were famed for theirgentleness.AtBuckfast, itwas the Italian andCarniolanbees thathadmatedwith thenativeblackbee,which foughtoff thedisease.BrotherAdam’sideawastobuildupstrongcoloniesthatcoulddevelopanaturalresistance. His work enabled him to send healthy queens around thecountry; thanks to him, British beekeepers could restock and recoverfromthisdevastatingdisease,whichhadkilledanestimated90percentoftheircolonies.BrotherAdamwas influencedby the ideas ofGregorMendel (1822-1884),theAustrianmonkwhodiscoveredthelawsofheredity.Mendelhad tried to apply his theories to breeding insects, but he knewmoreaboutpeasthanhedidaboutbees.Hishiveshadbeenkeptside-by-sidein the old-fashioned bee sheds that are still in use in Germany today;Brother Adam, with his practical apiarian knowledge, knew that thebreedsshouldhavebeenkeptseparateinordertoensurepurestrains.In1925,heestablishedtheisolatedSherbertonapiaryinashelteredvalleytucked into the high ground of Dartmoor. This collection of hives onpoleslookedlikeaforestofpostboxesamongthegranitebouldersofthemoor.Thelocalbeekeepersagreedtokeeptheirhivesatadistancewhen

theybroughtthemtotheheatherinsummer.BrotherAdamwastryingtocombineallthebestcharacteristics:docilebeesthatbuiltupgoodcolonies,producedplentyofhoney,andresisteddisease.Artificialinseminationtechniqueswouldhelphisefforts.InTheMonk,andtheHoneybee,theBBCtelevisionprogramof1988thatwidelypublicizedBrotherAdam and hiswork, PeterDonovan (his right-handman for thirty years) picks up a drone and squeezes semen from hisabdomen.Hedrawsthefluidupintoapipette.Thequeenisblownintoatubesoherabdomenpokesoutoftheopenend.Twotinyhookspullopen her egg-laying duct. In this unregal position, she receives thesemen.Shereturnstoherhive,startslaying,andthecontrolledbreedingprogramprogresses.Thequeeniscrucialtothenatureofthecolony;shepasses her genes onto her offspring and reinforces her dominance bypassingoutchemicalsignalstotherestofthehive.

BrotherAdam,thebeekeepingmonkwhoseextensivetravelsproducedtheBuckfast“superbee.”

This is why she is the “queen bee.” Brother Adam’s ambition was todevelopthequeenofqueens.

THESECONDWORLDWARwasnotaparticularlyeasytimeforamonasterywithGermanconnections;totheendofhis life,BrotherAdamspokewithastrongaccent.ThewhitehivesonDartmoorwereshotatbypatrolsandwildrumorsspreadthattheyhadbeenplacedinaparticularformationtoguidetheLuftwaffetoPlymouth. Inoneunfortunateencounterwith

the Dartmoor Home Guard, two of the monks forgot to bring theiridentitycardstotheisolationapiaryandweretemporarilyimprisonedinapubinnearbyPostbridge.WhenBrotherAdamwasdiagnosedwithhearttrouble,hewastoldheshouldneverworkagain.Butduringhis convalescence,he rejectedallideasofretirementanddecidedinsteadonaseriesoflongandstrenuousjourneys. Hismissionwas to continue his search for the best races ofbees,andhewoulddosobytravelingtocollectthemhimself,betheyonmountainsorislands,invalleysordeserts.TheplanwastoincorporatethesebeesintotheBuckfastbreedingprogram.Timewasoftheessence;moderntravelmeantthatthepurityofhoneybeestrainswouldnotlastmuch longer. In order to get uncrossed stock, he would have to visitsomeofthemostremoteplacesinEuropeandAfrica.In1950,BrotherAdamsetoffinhisAustincarontravelsthatwould,over the next twenty-six years, take him more than 120,000 miles.DuringhistravelshewenttoProvence,followinguphisinterestintheFrenchqueenshehadalreadyimported;totheSwissAlpsandGermany;toNorthAfrica and theMiddle East; to theMediterranean and otherspartsofsouthernEurope,includingGreeceandtheIberianpeninsula.HemadeittothemountainousnativeterritoryofthealpineCarniolanbee, at one point winding around no fewer than seventy-two hairpinbendstoreachthebees’isolatedfasthold.InNorthAfrica,hewascaughtup in a sandstormmore vicious and disorientating than any attack bybees.HewenttoCyprus,wherearuleagainstimportingbeeshadkeptthenativestrainpure.HewenttoCrete,fabledinmythasthebirthplaceof bees; a beehe foundhere,whichhad a peppery temperament,waslaternamedafterhim,Apismelliferaadami.He survived a car crash inTurkey,andhewenttoMountAthos,apartofGreececontrolledbytheGreekOrthodoxChurch,wherethereweretwelvemonasteries,scatteredhermits,andnofemales—apartfromthebees.Onallthesetrips,queensweresentbacktoBuckfasttocontinuethebreedingprogram.Five varieties of honeybee, in particular, had characteristics hedesired.OneoftheFrenchbeeswasagoodhoneyproducer;aGreekonewas good tempered; anEgyptianone, calm.The twobest beeswere aSaharanbee fromMorocco,whichproved tobeprolific,andaTurkishbee,whichwasagoodhoneygathererandconsumedlittleinthewinter,

helpingtoconservestocksandbuildupthecolony.From all these trips and all these varieties, the Buckfast honeybee

emerged. Itbecameabest-seller inBritainandbeyond,especiallyaftertests by the University of Minnesota in 1979 and 1980 proved itssuperioritytoothercommerciallyavailablequeens.IfabeecouldsurviveindampDartmoor,itcouldprosperanywhere.

Thosewho liked theBuckfast breed said thebeeswere so calm that acolony could be stroked like a pet; thosewho didn’t like the Buckfastsaiditmustbegeneticallyunstablebecausesomanydifferentbeeshadgone into its breeding. While it is true that the queens need to beproducedbyartificialinseminationinordertokeepthestockpure,theBuckfast proved popular with beekeepers all over the world (andcontinuestobeso).Thebeesevenattractedthieves;whensomeinsectswere rustled from the monastery in 1982, Brother Adam gave thefollowing description to the police: the victims, he said, were “three-quartersofaninchinlength,withdarkbrownanddarkgraystripes.”

IN 1987, BROTHER ADAM had one last major foreign expedition to undertake.AccompaniedbyGermanandBritishbeekeepers,andwiththefilmcrewthatproducedTheMonk,and theHoneybee,hewanted togoupMountKilimanjaro in search of the elusive African black bee, Apis melliferamonticola.Didthisbeestillexist in itspurestrain?Ithadbeenrecordedin the

nineteenth century, when it was said to be docile—certainly more sothan the fierce yellow African bee, Apis mellifera scutellata. TheTanzanians at the bee research station at Arushawere skeptical aboutthegeneticpurityofanyblackbeesleft.Theyellowbeeswerecertainlypresent, and displaying their traits: when Brother Adam opened onehive, the colony sent out attack signals. Lesley Bill, a member of theexpeditionandBrotherAdam’sbiographer,reportedthatthebeeswerestillhoveringreadytoattackanhourandahalflateroutsidethehousewheretheywenttoshelter,aquarterofamilefromthehives.BrotherAdamsaidtheywerethemostaggressivebeeshe’dcomeacrossinallhistravels.

Iftheblackbeedidexist,itwouldbeatanaltitudeabove8,200feet;the bees in this remote area were so isolated they would not haveneededtodevelopdefensemechanismstodealwithhumansandotheranimalassailants.Iftheycouldsurviveatthisheight,chancesweretheycouldprobablysurviveanorthernwinter.The firstmountain thegroupclimbedwasMountMeru inTanzania.

Brother Adam, now aged eighty-nine, had been injured in a fall but,undeterred,wascarriedbytwoofthebeekeepersontheexpedition.Thesight of the slightmonk being borne up themountainwas one of themostmemorableimagesofthefilm.Above 8,200 feet, the team started to look in log hives that

cooperating local beekeepers had hung from the trees to stop ant andotherinsectinvasions.Unsureofwhetherthebeeswouldbeaggressiveor not, they kitted up. Even Brother Adam,who eschewed a bee suit,woreaveil;butherefusedgloves,asisoftenthewaywithexperiencedbeekeepers,wholiketohaveamoredelicatetouchonthehives.Thesebees turnedout tobe relativelygood tempered—perhapsbecause theycontained the prized black bee as well as themore aggressive yellowones.Thequeenwascapturedandputinabalsawoodcontainer,alongwitharetinueofworkers.The climax of the trip came on the ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro,

Africa’shighestmountainandagoodhuntinggroundforapurestrain—ifoneexisted—oftheAfricanblackbee.BrotherAdamdidnotcontinueallthewayupwiththerestoftheexpedition,buttheotherswentontofind more log hives, which they smoked by setting light to acombinationofdrygrassandelephantdung. Inoneof thehives, therewere numerous crawling black bees, their abdomens banded black onblack.Thiswasnot,evenso,apurecolony.ButBrotherAdam,whenhesawwhat theyhad found,waspragmatic: let’sputher in thebreedingapiary and see what happens, he said. The television program endedwiththistantalizingpossibility.Sadly,thequeenssentbacktoBuckfastAbbeyallarriveddead.BrotherAdam’sbreedingprogramwassuspendedwhenthemonastery

decided that its efforts should concentrate on honey production;however, genetic work has resumed and continues today. Thebeekeepingmonkdiedin1996;athisfuneral,abellwastolledforeach

yearofhislife,andontheninety-eighthstroke,thecoffinwasloweredinto the ground. His memory is treasured by beekeepers for manyreasons.There’sthesuperbheatherhoneymeadhewouldoffertoguestsforamidmorningdrink,eitherat theabbeyor fromabottlecooled inthe stream at the breeding apiary; there are the stories of his sudden,old-agedeafness—quiteasselectiveashisbreedingprogram—inthefaceofbothersomequestions.Aboveall,BrotherAdamisrememberedforhispioneering inquiries into different bee races. Itwas ceaselesswork; hetoiled as hard as his insects. He popularized ideas about honeybeebreedingamongbeekeepersandthepublicat large,throughhisbooks,talks,andbroadcasting.“EveryoneisfamiliarwiththeguidingprincipleofStBenedict—oraetlabora[prayandwork],”hewrote.“Butthosewhoknowhiswritingsbetterwill soonsee thata furtherobligationderivesfrom this teaching,namely thatofpassingon toothers the experiencegainedinone’slifeandwork.”

WHILE BROTHERADAMwasshufflingthehoneybee’sgenes,abrilliantAustrianzoologist, Karl von Frisch (1886-1982), was starting to unravel themysteryofhowtheycommunicate.Theideathattheycandothisatallstill has revolutionary implications: the fact that bees pass oninformationshowstheyhavesomeformofintelligence.Abeemayhavea minuscule brain, but its behavior demonstrates significant cognitiveability; in short, it “thinks.” Von Frisch’sworkwas so outstanding, sogroundbreaking, that it caused an enormous stir—many didn’t believethat a “mere” insect could be intelligent. He had discovered that thehoneybee’s powers of learning and communication rival those ofmammals.This scientist’s elegant work is accessible to the layperson; hisexperiments can be understood by the general reader interested inunderstanding theobservableworld. Insteadof thehighermysteriesofthe laboratory, these involved colored cards, boxes imbued with thescentofItalianoranges,andwatchingbeesflytoflowers.To beginwith, von Frischwanted to seewhether a honeybee coulddistinguish between plants of different colors. At the time, manyscientists did not believe invertebrates were capable of this feat. He

believedotherwise.Toprove this, vonFrischput a small glass dishofhoneyonabluecardtoattractthebees.Whenhereplacedthehoneyedcard with a blue, unsweetened one, the bees continued to visit: theyseemedtobeabletoseethecolorandconnectitwithareward.Whenhetriedputtingshadesofgrayalongsidetheblue,tofindoutifthebeessaw tone rather than color, they continued to fly to the blue. Theexperimentwasrepeatedsuccessfullywithdifferenthues.Therewasonenotableexception.Theinsectsseemedtobecolor-blindto red. This is interesting because native scarlet flowers are relativelyrareinEurope;thisisconnectedtothefactthatmanyoftheinsectstheycoevolved with—with the exception of butterflies—cannot distinguishred;someofournativeredflowersactuallycontainacertainamountofpurple, a color that can be perceived by bees. In addition, other redflowers,suchaspoppies,reflectultravioletlightwhichthebeescanalsosee.ThemanyscarletflowersnativetocontinentssuchasNorthAmericaandAfricaevolvedtobepollinatedbybirdsandbeetles,notbybees.How keen was a honeybee’s sense of color? Von Frisch then putsquaresofdifferentcolorsalltogetherandfoundthebeesconfusedbluewithvioletandpurple.Thebeeshetrainedtoflytoyellowalsowenttoorangeandgreen.Their senseofcolorwasclearlydifferent fromours,basedonasystemofvisualreceptorsmostsensitivetoultraviolet,blue,andgreen.Although color is a visual beckon to bees, this is not all they see;shape,too,turnsouttobeimportant.VonFrischputsugarsolutioninaboxandpasteda radiatingpatternonto the front, training thebees toassociate the formwithsweetness.Heplaced itamongotherpatternedboxesand found they coulddistinguish the rightone.He repeated theexperimentwith solidgeometric shapes,but found theywerebetter atrecognizingbrokenpatterns,suchasthosefoundinnatureintheformofpetals.

VONFRISCHTHOUGHTtheremustbeotherwaysinwhichbeescoulddistinguishone plant from another, and decided to experiment on their sense ofsmell.Whenhefirstbeganhistrials,itwasn’tknownwhetherbeescouldsmellatall.Butsinceflowershavedifferent,specificscentsthathumans

canpickup,itseemedlikelythatthebeescoulddosotoo.First,thescientistputoutrowsofcardboardboxes,eachwithasmall

hole in the front. One box had a dish of sugar water and, for eachexperiment, eithera fewdropsof anessentialoil ora fragrant flower.Thiswas the“foodbox.” Itspositionwaschangedfrequently toensurethat the bees returned because of the scent and not because theyremembered the location. The bees flew around the boxes, pausing attheholes;theyenteredonlytheboxscentedwiththesmelltheythoughtmeantfood.Next,vonFrischwantedtosee if thebeescoulddistinguishbetween

different smells.He trained the bees to fly to a sugar solution scentedwithanessentialoilmadeof the skinsof Italianoranges.Thenheputthis scent among forty-six others. The greatest number of bees flew totheboxcontainingthefoodscent;theywerealsoattractedtotwoothers—essencesofcedratandbergamot—which,liketheoriginalscent,bothcamefromoranges.Byexperimentingwithdifferentstrengthsofessentialoils,vonFrisch

discovered the insect’s alertness to different intensities of smell to beroughly the same as a human’s; if you wander around a garden,following your nose, you are in someways reactingmore or less as ahoneybee.Beescantaste,too,andthissensehasanelementofcalculation;they

suckuponlynectarofasufficientsweetnesstobeworthwhileintermsofenergy.Likethatofhumans,theirsenseoftasteislesssubtleandalertthantheirsenseofsmell.Thereisagoodreasonforthis:scentcanalertustoapproachingenemies,whereastastehappens,forhumansandbees,onlywhenitisfartoolatetofleefromdanger.

VONFRISCH’Smostfamousdiscoveriesrelatetohowtheinsectorientatesandcommunicates; it was he who cracked the “language” of bees. Hisexplorations on this subject started with a simple observation. Whenhoneywassmearedonapieceofpaper,henoticeditmighttakehoursorevendaysforabeetofindit;butonceonecame,asmanyasseveralhundredcouldarrivesoonafterward.Itseemedthescoutbeehadpassed

ongoodnewstotherestofthehive.Todiscoverhowthishadhappened,vonFrischcarriedoutaseriesof

revealing experiments.He set up a single-honeycombobservation hiveanddabbedthebeeswithdifferentcolorsindifferentpartsofthethoraxandabdomeninanimprovisedcodesothathecoulddistinguishuptosixhundredindividuals.Whenaparticularbeecametoasugardish,hecouldthenfollowhertothehiveandobservewhatshedidnext.Stationed in front of his hive, von Frisch saw the scout beemake a

seriesofcircularmovementsonthesurfaceofthehoneycomb;hecalledthistherounddance.Themovementcouldcontinueforthirtysecondsormore in the same place. Meanwhile, the surrounding bees becameexcited,touchingthedancerbeewiththeirantennaeandfollowinghermotions. The agitated insects then flew out of the hive; shortlyafterward,theyturnedupatthesugarsolution.Theinsectsalsoseemedtodetectthesmellofparticularflowersonthe

dancingbee.InthebotanicalgardeninMunichinmid-July,vonFrischcounted seven hundred different kinds of flowers in bloom. In thisheaven of nectar, he picked on one small plant with silver foliage,HelichrysumlanatumDC,whichwaspresentinjustonebed.Accordingtobotanists, this flowerwasnotnormallyvisitedbyhoneybees.Butoncethe numbered bees had been fed sugar syrup in a dish surrounded bythisflower,manycamespecificallytoit.Fromthehundredsofbloomson offer, thiswas now the chosen one: a scentedmessage had passedthroughthehive.Nectar is often located at the base of a flower; to gather it, the bee

mayhavetocrawlright in,and in theprocessbecomessaturatedwiththeplant’ssmell.Whenthebeehascollectednectarfromsomewayoff,theflower’sscentmayhavebeenlost fromitsbody,but isstillcarriedwith the nectar in its honey sac; smell can be transported from somedistance.Von Frisch noticed more facets of the “language.” The sweeter the

nectar source, the more vigorous the dance; the bees werecommunicating the quality of the haul. He also discovered that therewas not just one movement. Bees passing on information about foodfrom farther away from the hive performed a different one. In this

seconddance, the reportingbee rana shortdistance ina straight line,wagging its abdomen vigorously. It did a semicircle in one direction,then the wagging motion, and then another semicircle in the otherdirection;whendrawn,thislookslikeafatfigureeightwitha“waggled”center. Von Frisch had noticed this distinctive dance before; manyobservers of bees have also commented on it. He now suspected themovementmustbeconnectedtoinformationaboutfood.Theexistenceandlengthofthewaggle-lineturnedouttoindicatethe

distanceof thehive to thenectar. Ifabeehad tomakeadetour fromtheir“beeline”—overaclifforaroundatree,say—itcomputedthisintoitsdance.Theycouldalsotakeaccountofsuchfactorsascrosswinds.Allthiswasimportantsothatthebeescouldknowhowmuchhoneytoeattosustainthemtoandfromtheforagepatch.Themovementcommunicatedyetmore.Theangleofthewaggle-line

onthefaceoftheverticalcombtoldthebeesinwhichdirectiontoflyonce theyhad left thehive; itcorrespondedto theangle theymust flybetweenthehiveandthesun.Infacthediscoveredthesystemoperatedevenwhentheskywasovercast,sinceultravioletlightcanpenetratetheclouds. The language of bees could indicate nectar source, direction,distance,quality,andquantity:notbadfor“just”aninsect.

“Beebeards”showhowthecolonyworksasawhole;heretheinsectsclusteraroundaqueen,usuallykeptinacageintheperson’smouth.

VonFrischwassoamazedbyhisresultsthatatonepointhewonderedifhiscodedbeeshaddevelopedsomesortof scientific senseandwerebehaving not as nature intended, but as the scientist wanted. “Thelanguage of bees is truly perfect,” he said, “and their method ofindicating the direction of food sources is one of themost remarkablemysteriesoftheirsocialorganization.”The discovery that these tiny creatures could perform such complex

mentalfeatswasacompletesurprisetomany,andopenedhumaneyestothecapabilitiesoftheanimalworld.In1973,CarlJungsaidthathepreviouslybelieved insects tohavemerelyautomatic reflexes, but thathisviewshadbeenchallengedbyvonFrisch’srevelationthatbeescouldtelleachotherwheretofindfood.“Thiskindofmessageisnodifferent

inprinciplefrominformationconveyedbyahumanbeing,”saidJung.InanintroductiontoabookofvonFrisch’slectures,thedistinguished

American zoologist Donald Griffin pointed out that the Austrianscientist’sworkclearedawaysomeofthe“melodrama”attachedtobees—theelaboratedstoriesthathadbeensoprevalent intheirhistory: forhim,thetruthwasstrangerthanfiction.

UPUNTIL THEmid-twentieth century, thehoneybeewas largely seen in thepublic imagination as a benevolent, if mysterious, part of nature; thiswasabouttochangewiththedawnofthe“killerbee.”The origins of this frightening-sounding creature were innocuous

enough. Just as in the seventeenth century, colonizers brought thenorthern European honeybee toNorthAmerica; different races ofApismellifera now circled the globe, as beekeepers such as Brother Adamexperimentedwithcross-breedingtocreatethebestpossiblebee.In the1950s,Brazilianscientists,hearingreportsof legendaryhoney

cropsfromAfricanbees—abountyof565poundswasreportedfromoneSouthAfricancolony—decided tobring someover to see if theycouldimprovedomesticyields.AgeneticistnamedWarwickKerrmadeatripto eastern and southernAfrica, gathering bees, including the fearsomeApis mellifera scutellata, the African yellow bee that later so botheredBrotherAdam.OfthemanyAfricanqueenshesentbackhome,onlyonesurvivedof the forty-one fromEastAfrica,andfifty-foursurvived fromthe south. Nevertheless, these were enough to unleash a chain ofdramaticevents.Thequeenswereputintoabreedingprogramandcarefullykeptina

eucalyptuswoodinthestateofSãoPaulo.Queentrapswereputontheentrances to the hives to ensure they didn’t escape into the wild.Unfortunately,avisitingbeekeeper,intriguedbythenewbees,cametohavealook.Hesawpollenwasgettingcaughtinthehiveentrancesandhelpfullyremovedthetraps:the“killerqueens”wereunleashed.Humans can fiddlewith nature, but then can’t control it. Bees from

twenty-sixhivesflewoutintothewild,wheretheybredwithEuropeanbees,andtheirprogenyspread.TheAfricanizedbeestraveled186to310

milesayear;bythe1990stherewereanestimatedtrillionsuchbeesinLatin America, with an average of fifteen colonies per square mile—thoughinsomeplacesscientistsdiscoveredmorethanahundredinthisarea. Wherever they went, they displaced the more docile Europeanbees. The invading insects spread on and on, and they were headingtowardNorthAmerica.The Africanized bees moved so rapidly because of how they hadevolved in their native territory. In temperate regions such as Europe,thehoneybeesneedtorearlargecoloniesthatproduceplentyofhoney;inwinter, theycluster togetherandsurviveon thesestores. In tropicalclimates the bees evolved different solutions to different problems.Instead of the fluctuating temperatures of a European summer andwinter,dryandwetseasonssignalchangesinnectarproduction.Moreofthebees’energyisspentonproducingbroodandfrequentswarming,orabsconding—leaving the nest site altogether—than in making andstoringhoney.WhenEuropeanbeesswarm,theycanflyonlyacertaindistancebefore runningout of fuel;Africanizedbees can loadupwithdoubletheamountoffoodandwillflyupto100milesbeforetheyhavetosettleinanewnestingsite.TheAfricanizedbeesflewon,andastheydid,theirreputationgrew.Anearlyalarmbellranginalow-keyreportinBeeWorld,thejournalofEva Crane’s International Bee Research Association. “The Spread of aFierceAfricanBeeinBrazil”rantheheadlinein1964.Thearticletoldofincidentsofstinging,swarming,andabsconding,andrecommendedthatnomorebeimported.Butitwastoolate.By now, people were frightened by one particular trait of theseinvadinginsects.Africanbeesarerelativelyaggressivetowardintrudersduetothelargernumberofpredators,suchasantsandhoneybadgers,ontheirnativecontinent.TheyarefarmoretouchythanEuropeanbees;withinsecondsofanalarm,thousandscanexplodefromahivetobeatoff a potential danger. In one savage incident, a botany student fromMiamiUniversitywastrappedinarockcreviceafterdisturbinganest.He was bombarded by bees. Rescuers were fought off by the insects.Eight thousand stingswere later counted in the student’s lifelessbody,aroundsevenper0.16squareinch.The story was a gift to the media. Despite the fact that killer-bee

deaths were statistically comparable to fatal lightning strikes, theheadlinesscreamedoutthenews.In1978,aB-moviecalledTheSwarmwas released, starring a vast colony attacking nothing less than theUnited States. One journalist came up with a commercial angle bymarketing “killer bee honey,”which sold for nearly $1 an ounce. Theheadlines crescendoed: these “mean” insects could unleash a “viciousfrenzy” of stings. “And now, they are heading yourway” boomed thePhiladelphiaInquirerin1989.Thekillerbees,althoughdangerousenoughonoccasion,hadnothinglike the impactonthepublic that theseheadlines threatened.But theygreatly affected beekeeping. Instead of increasing honey yields, asoriginally hoped, the new insects had a devastating effect; they weremore interested in swarming and spreading than inbuildinguphoneystocks. It transformedday-to-daybeekeeping.Beesnowhad tobekeptawayfromlivestockandhumans,whichwasablowto the traditional,amateurbackyardbeekeeper,andapiaristsapproachingsuchinsectshadtodressinthickerprotectiveclothingandwereadvisedtoworkinpairs.In North America, colonies were taken around the country bymigratory beekeepers, sometimes called the last real cowboys, whoroved from state to state with their insect “herds.” These wanderingapiarists took thebees to the southern states forgoodwinter foraging.But such movements meant more European-evolved bees would matewiththeAfricanizedonesandperhapsaidthespreadofthekillerbees.AneradicationprogramwasintroducedinCalifornia,withAfricanizedswarmsidentifiedanddestroyed.Itwaslargelyfutile.Beekeepersknewthegeniewasoutofthebottle;alltheycoulddowaslearnhowtolivewith these new residents. After all, people lived happily enoughalongsidethevarietyinAfrica.Infact,perhapsbeekeepers’greatestfearwashowthepublicwouldreact tothe inevitabledeadly, ifoccasional,incident.WhenIrecentlyaskedsomeAmericanapiaristsaboutthecurrentstateof play, they said the bees had reached Texas but seemed to havestopped at Louisiana, perhaps due to the different environment. Theyspokewithatouchoftrepidation;nobodywantedmoreluridheadlines.Manythinktherewillbeanorthernboundarytothebees’spread,sincetheydonotclusterandsurvivethecoldaseffectivelyasEuropeanbees.

Whetherthiswillprovethecaseisyettobeseen.

T

CHAPTERELEVEN

REDISCOVERY

hebeehasbeenusedinhealingforatleastfourthousandyears.TheoldestreferencetoitsmedicinaluseisfromaSumerianclaytabletof

around2000bc, recommending riverdustkneadedwithwater,honey,and oil, probably as a cure for a skin problem.Other apianmaterials,such as propolis, were also favored by ancient civilizations; theEgyptians,Romans,Greeks,Chinese, Indians,andArabsallbelieved intheir powers. The Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 460-377 bc), forexample,thoughthoneycleaned,softened,andhealedulcersandsores.Suchremediescontinuedas“folk”medicineevenaftertheadventofthemodernscientificage,butinaquieterway.Doctorsinsistonlaboratoryresults,notjusthearsay,andmanufacturedpillshavelargelytakenoverfromsuchhomespunnaturalremedies.In the 1950s, the world price of honey dropped due to an over-

suppliedmarket,andbeekeepersturnedtootherproductstosupplementtheirincome.Pollen,propolis,royaljelly,andevenbeevenombegantobesuppliedtothegrowingalternativehealthmarket.Therewasatermfor this trend:apitherapy. Themovement grewgradually and since the1990s it has taken off as people have turned back to traditionalmedicines.On my mantelpiece, I keep a little bottle of tincture made from

propolisharvestedfromabeehive.Thismorning,becausemythroathadacreeping,scratchytickle,Iputsixdropsofthedark-brownliquidintoasmall glass ofwater,where it fizzed like ademonpotion.The slightlyalmondyflavorisjuststrangeenoughtotasteeffective.Ibegantotakeitafterhearingsomanybeekeeperspraiseitsusefulness;theyscrapeabitof propolis off a hive to chew whenever there are colds in the air.Propolis is a resin exuded by plants to fill in their own “wounds.” Itprotects the bees’ colony, too, seeming to combat disease. The insectsgather it topluggaps in thehive, smoothing the inside to stop insectssuchaswaxmothslayingtheireggs.

Overthe1970sand1980s, theDanishnaturalistDr.K.LundAagardinvestigatedthebenefitsofpropolis,havingcuredhisinfectedthroatbygargling it mixed with hot water; in France, another researcher, Dr.Rémy Chauvin, concluded that it raised the body’s resistance bystimulating the immune system.Dentists, in particular, have turned topropolis. For example, Dr. Philip Wander, a Manchester, England,practitioner,usespropolisonmouthulcersandtoclearinfections,healcuts,andstoppain.

NEXTTOMYBOTTLEoftinctureisapotofpollen.WhenIneedtofeelfortified,Isprinklesomeonmyporridgeorwhizaspoonfulinablenderwithabanana, some yogurt, and honey for a smoothie. The small, naturalpollen pellets have a slightly earthy taste. Their colors vary with theflowers fromwhich they come; I like to look at them in the pot andimaginetheirorigins.Bees gather pollen as plant dust and knead it into these little balls,which they carry back to the hive on their hind legs and store in thecomb. Sometimes known as bee-bread, this form of pollen is a highlynutritioussubstance,richinprotein,vitamins,andminerals.Itissuchacompletefoodthat,inoneexperiment,carriedoutbyRobertDelpereeoftheRoyalSocietyofNaturalistsofBelgiumandFrance,ratsfedonjustbee-collectedpollenandwaterremainedhealthyandfertile forseveralgenerations.Honeybees,afterall,useittofeedtheirdevelopingyoung,helping them to grow strong and healthy. Muhammad Ali, theheavyweight champion boxer, aimed to “sting like a bee”; he ate likeone,too,boostinghisdietwithpollen.AbrahamLincolnlikedthehoneyonhisbread tobemixedwithpollen.Nowadays,nutritionists claim italsohelpsbothfemaleandmalefertility.There isplentyof anecdotal evidence for theeffectivenessofpollen.One story, of anAmerican army officerwho escaped from a JapaneseprisoncampinChinainthe1940s,recallshowtheofficerwasfoundbythelocalpeopleclosetodeathinthejungleandwasfedfruitmixedwiththeplantdust.Thelocalsalsodressedhiswoundedfeetwithhoneyandpollen.Allthis,hebelieves,savedhislife.

THETWOSTRANGESTPRODUCTSofthebeehivearevenomandroyaljelly.Howoneartharetheseharvested?Itisonethinghaulingframesofcomboutofahive,quiteanothermilkingabeeof itspoison,orextractingthetinyquantitiesofroyaljellyfoundinthequeencellsofthehive.Royaljellyisthemilkywhitegelatinoussubstancefedtobothworkersandqueenbeesastheydevelop;afterthreedays,theworker’sbrooddietischangedtopollenandhoney;thedevelopinginsectinthequeencell,however,continuestobefedentirelyonthegel,andthisenableshertogrow to her magnificent size. The queen may live for several years,while in thesummerrushaworkerbeedieswithinamatterofweeks;for this reason, royal jelly is perceived as a longevity supplement,especiallyinChinaandJapan.Theroyaljellyyieldofahiveisaquarterounce,anditscollectionishighlylaborintensive,whichiswhyitissoexpensive. French beekeepers in the 1950s pioneered the commercialuse of royal jelly by creating artificial queen cells and sucking outminutequantitiesofjellyusingapump.Beevenomisusedtotreatarthritisandotherinflammatoryconditionssuchasmultiplesclerosis,ontheprinciplethatitstimulatesthereleaseoftheanti-inflammatoryhormonecortisone.TicknerEdwards,aSussexbeekeeper writing at the start of the twentieth century, described a“patient”arrivingatthehomeofanold-fashionedapiaristforhisregularstinging.Thetherapyisstillinusetoday,withuptoeightybeesusedinasinglesession.Theinsectisheldovertheinflamedareawithtweezersandgentlysqueezeduntilitstings.Beevenomisalsocollectedsoitcanbeinjectedbyneedleratherthansting. The toxic fluid was probably first milked at the end of thenineteenthcenturybyJ.Langerat theUniversityofPrague.Hewouldsqueeze each insect’s abdomen and collect its drop of venom in acapillarytube.Hehadtouse25,000beestoprovideenoughforjustonemicrograminitspurified,crystallineform.Inthe1930s,aGermanfirmcalledMackstartedproducingbeevenomcommercially. Originally, the long-suffering employees were made towaitinfrontofthehives,carefullypickingupeachbeeasitcameoutofthe entrance, and squeezing it so that it stung a piece of fabric thatwouldabsorbtheliquid.Mack’sinventorsthenworkedouthowthebeescould be boxed and given amild electric shock tomake them sting a

pieceofpaperindefense;aCzechcompanyinthe1960simprovedthesystem further by making the material so thin that the bees couldwithdraw their lancets and live to sting again. By suchmethods, beescouldbemadetoinjectthepapertentimesinaquarterofanhour.Thosewhobelieveinbeevenomsayitisanaturalremedythatavoids

thesideeffectsofchemicallyproduceddrugs.Themedicalestablishmentis, by and large, more skeptical. Experts in rheumatism say there areothermore effective, scientifically testedpalliatives.However, the firstclinical trial of the effect of bee venom on humans has recently beenstarted atGeorgetownUniversity inWashington,D.C. The attitudes ofsomemedicstowardapitherapyarestartingtochange,especiallywherehoneyisconcerned.MuchofthecreditforthisshiftisduetoascientistinNewZealand.

PARTSOFNEWZEALANDareanagribusinessversionofthebiblical“landofmilkandhoney.”Thecows feedonclover; theclover ispollinatedbybees;the farmerscollect themilkand theapiarists thehoney.NewZealand,while a place of great natural beauty, is not quite as untouched as itsimage suggests; whole areas have been manipulated by large-scalefarming. Swathes of native bushwere destroyed by the colonials whomadegreatfortunesfromsheepfarminginthenineteenthcentury,andsomeof this landwas later givenover to commercial forestry.DrivingthroughtheNorthIsland,Icouldseehowthehillsideshadbeenscarredanddenuded,orswathedwithprofitablewoodland.Onthewaytotheworld’s largestmainland gannet colony inHawke’s Bay I saw acres ofplanted conifers on one side of the track; on the other were featherybushes that produce white flowers. These turned out to be the nativeplantbehindthecurrentrevivalofhoneyasahealthproduct:manuka.Farmersseemanukaasaweed,andletitgrowonlyonlandtoosteep

and poor to farm; environmentalists are more keen. It is part of theislands’originalecosystemandoncemature,otherindigenoustreestendtogerminateinitsshadow;anareaofmanukasignalsarevivalofnativebush. Beekeepers used to dislike the plant; its nectar produces honeywith sucha strong flavor that somewouldbury their crop rather thanattempttosellit.Allthishaschanged;apotofmanukacanfetchmore

thanthreetimesthatofeventhebestmonofloralandmultifloralhoneys.Manukaisnowadaysusedforanumberofailments,fromlegulcerstostomach complaints. Its packaging suggests it ismedicinal; so does itsalmostantiseptictaste—evenifyoulikedarkhoneys;thisisnotthesortofpotthattemptsyoutostickinaspoonforalick.Havingwatchedtherapid rise in popularity of manuka in health food shops, I wanted tomeetthemanbehinditssuccess.Dr.PeterMolan,abiochemistattheUniversityofWaikato,hasspenttwenty years exploring the therapeutic uses of honey. His work hasdemonstratedandquantifieditsantibacterialproperties.Hestillneedstopinpointexactlywhyitworkssowell,butsaysthatheandhisteamare“gettingclose.”Hisresearchhasspearheadeditsscientificrevival;here,atlast,wasproofofhoney’sefficacy.Dr.Molancametothedoorofhishousewithhisfatbeagle,Jess,whoclearly looks up, successfully, to her soft-hearted master at bun time.AftergrowingupinWales,Dr.Molanwantedtofindworkinasunny,politically stable, uncrowded corner of the globe and ended up inWaikatointhemiddleofNewZealand’sNorthIsland.Hehasdonemostof his research here on a shoestring, partly thanks to help from theuniversity’s international residents, who have translated papers andhelped out for free. Honey does inspire goodwill. Is it due to sweetchildhoodmemoriesofhoneysandwiches?Dr.Molanwas investigating the health properties ofwine-yeast andmilkwhenafriendwhowasakeenamateurbeekeeperpersuadedhimtotakealookathoney.A1976editorialinArchivesofInternalMedicinehaddismissedittothecategoryof“worthlessbutharmlesssubstances.”Was there more to honey than that? His first task was to search theexistingliterature,toseewhatinvestigationswerealreadyrolling,ratherthantryingtoreinventthewheel.Long-standinghoneyfolkcuresturnedouttohaveacertainamountofscientific backing. Sometimes buried in obscure journals, Dr. Molanfound references in more than one hundred published papers thatsuggestedthathoneywasactivelybeneficial.First and foremost, honey is antimicrobial.Rich in sugar, it destroysbacteriapartlybyosmoticforce,andalsopartlythroughitsacidity;but

this is not all. The explanation for honey’s further antibacterialpropertieswasdiscoveredinthe1960s. Itcontainsanenzyme,glucoseoxidase, which catalyzes a reaction that produces hydrogen peroxide,whichkillsbacteria.Thisenzyme isdestroyedbyheat;honeyused forhealth reasons isbestprocessed traditionally,without theheatused inmodern,industrializedmethods.Furthermore, Dr. Molan found out that, around the world, certain

honeyswerefavoredfortherapeuticuse.Togivetwoexamples,inIndialotus honey is used for eye conditions, and in Sardinia that of thestrawberry tree is also regardedasparticularlyhealthful. It seems thatphytochemicals in such plants come through into the nectar. Becausemanukawasconsidered tobeagoodNewZealandhoney forcutsandabrasions,Dr.Molandecidedtotestitsproperties.“I’magreatbelieverthat ifsomethingis traditional, thenitworks,”hesays.“Theremaybenorationalexplanation,butthat’sbecausewehaven’tfoundit.”

INTHEUNIVERSITY’Slaboratories,Dr.Molanandhisassistantstestedmanuka’sefficacy on petri dishes of agar, a nutrient jelly for growingmicrobes.Whenbacteriamultiplyinit,thesubstanceturnsmurkywhite.Whenahole is punched in the center, and a honey solution is put into it, thesurroundingagarbecomesclear,indicatingthebacteriahavedied.Usingtests like this, he discoveredmanuka to be particularly effective on awiderangeofbacteria.Togiveanindicationofahoney’santibacterialstrength,thescientisthadtheideaofaUMFgrading—a“uniquemanukafactor”: the higher the number, the greater the protection, like thegrading of sunscreen. The jelly-bush honeys from Australia are alsobeinginvestigated;theseplantsarefromthesameLeptospermumspeciesasmanuka.Thelong-standingpracticeofpackinghoneyintowounddressingsthat

had fallen from favor is undergoing a revival. Dr. Molan successfullytested a DIY version on his wife’s boil using a makeup removal paddaubedwithhoney;nowthereareclinicalproductsusingahoneygel.Honey protectswounds and sores from infectionwhile soothing the

areawithitsanti-inflammatoryproperties.Itdoesnotsticktotheflesh,so a dressing can be easily removed. Another advantage is its sweet

smell—a bonus when dealing with stinking skin conditions. Honey-dressed wounds have been shown to heal more quickly and with lessscarringthanthosetreatedbyothermethods.Insomecases,ulcersandsoresthathavesuppuratedandfesteredformonthshaveclearedupinamatterofweeks. Inboth laboratory tests andclinical cases,honeyhasevenbeen shown to be effective againstMRSA, the antibiotic-resistant“superbug”thatisofsuchconcerntoday.Withscientificproofnowsupportingthem,honeydressingsaremore

widelyavailableandareundergoingfurthertrialsinhospitalsofseveralcountries, includingGreatBritain, theUnited States, andSouthAfrica.WhenDr.Molanpresentedalltheevidenceforhoneytosevenhundredspecialist wound-care nurses at a conference in Australia, he won astanding ovation from professionals who understood the potentialimportanceofthisancientcure.

BEFORE MY DEPARTURE, I asked Peter Molan to introduce me to other NewZealand honeys. His cupboard was full of treats, some morebutterscotchythanothersIhadtried;itwasanewchapterinmyhoneyeducation.Manyofthemcomefromplantsthatevolvedtobepollinatedby birds, before the honeybee was introduced by Europeans in thenineteenth century; to feed the birds, the nectar can gush out, andbeekeeperswithhivesintherightplacecangetabounty.Goldentawarihoneywasespeciallysweet,ratawasfragrantwithahintofspearmint,andpohutukawaisaspecial,whitehoneyfromatreethatgrowsonthecoastline.Wasitmyimagination,orcouldIdetectalittlesaltinit?Allthese came from native plants; my sweet tooth had led me into theislands’ecology.

TAKING“ACHEWOFCOMB”isawell-knownfolkremedyforhayfever;thepollensin local honey are supposed to immunize you against those in thesurrounding air. Many people mentioned this cure to me; one personevensaidyouhadtofindapotfromyourbirthplace(perhapsthisisanexampleofalternative-healthone-upmanship).Therenewalofinterestinlocalhoneyhashappenedforotherreasons,too.

Shop shelves are stackedwithhoneys fromall over theworld—fair-tradeZambianrainforest,NewZealandclover,Spanishorangeblossom,Italianchestnut.Allthisoffersaformofglobalshoppingthatmakeslifemore interesting; honey transportswell andhas an enormous rangeofflavorstooffer.Butglobalizationcanalsomeanfewer,blanderbrands,whichgaindominancebecausetheyhaveeconomiesofscale;theycostless,but theyare lessdistinctive.Tocounterbalanceglobalanonymity,wealsoturntolocalfoodandshops.Specialist shops can distribute for small-scale enterprises, includingthoseintheirarea;theyhelptheintricate,alternativewebofproducersto survive. Such operations have received a helping hand from thethriving health and beautymarkets. James Hamill, who runs a honeyshop in Clapham, south London, is an actor-turned-beekeeper andsculptor.Hiscombinationoftradeshelpshimshowcasethebee,andhebuiltanobservationhiveinonewallsothathiscustomerscanwatchtheinsects come and go. The apitherapy products have proved popular—frombodybuildersandsportytypesseekingthepollentootherswantingtheroyaljelly,whichJameslaboriouslycollectsbyhandhimself.Like all good beekeepers, James is a purist about how his honey isproduced, refusing to blast it with heat, and so keeping its uniqueproperties. He sells monofloral and polyfloral honeys from an eclecticarray of sources.When supplies come through, there are honeys fromtheWestIndies,includingthefruityvarietyfrombeesinmangogroves.His own hives are scattered around such places as an old-fashionedorchardinSurrey,ontheheathermoorsoftheIsleofPurbeckinDorset(hisall-timefavoriteisthelingheatherhoneyfromhere),andinLondongardens, where the ever-changing garden flowers provide a rich andvariednectarflow.James is froma familyofbeekeepers andwas taught the craft fromtheageoffivebyhisgrandfather,whowaspartofthegreatCalifornianapiarianmovement,keepinghishivesneartheorangegrovesinIrvine.Hisgrandmotherhadapreciousbookfullofscrapsofpaperandbitsofadvice,whichwas eventually given to her grandson. Every one of the250recipesandremediesusehoneyandotherhiveproducts.Jameshasrevived some for the shop. There is a cough syrup using honey,glycerine, propolis, and lemon juice—he cannot call it a cure because

this simple remedy has not undergone the expensive process ofcertification—aswell asmoisturizing cream, lip balms, and a propolislotion fornappy rash.Not all of James’s grandmother’s formulasworkcommercially,suchastherosemaryhoneyshampooforbrunettes,whichwouldneedapreservativetohaveanyshelflife,butmanyareuptothetask.

AS BUSINESSES GET LARGER, their head offices farther away, and health scaresintroducefeartoourkitchens,weincreasinglywanttoknowwhereourfood comes from. After all, you put food into your body; eating is anintimate activity. This desire for knowledge is behind the success offarmers’ markets, where you can meet producers face-to-face, askquestions, and get a sense ofwho they are, in theprocess discoveringwhatisonyourdoorstep.Local knowledge satisfies another need: nosiness. I discovered twobeekeepersworking inmypartof theworldwhosoldtheirproduce inlocalshops.Talkingtothemwaslikejumpingonthebackofabeeandflyingaroundmysurroundings,overthetownandthecountrysideofthesweeping South Downs, into gardens and buildings and orchardsaccessibletoinsects,butnotnormallytome.Ifollowedapotbacktoitssource:PatriciaGilbert,itsaidonthelabel,withhertelephonenumber.Irangit.Patriciaturnedouttobeadirect,livelyCanadian,nowfinishedwithtrainingnursesbutunretiredineveryothersense.ShegrewuponafarminOntariowherebeespollinatedthecloverandhoneywasspreadonthefamily’shomemadebread.Whenacousin asked Patricia to help hive a swarm, she realized she was notafraid.DecadeslateraswarmlandedonherfenceinLewes;shecalledina localbeekeeper,StephenKelly.Hiscalm,methodical,easymanner—heisalsoanelementaryschoolteacher—encouragedhertotakeuphisofferofequipment.Everyonesaysbeekeeping takesyououtofyournormal life to focusonthemoment.“Itisslightlydangerous,soitmakesyouconcentrate,”ishow StephenKelly puts it. Patricia thinks youmust be observant. Shelearnedtowatchanimalsacutelyasachild;hergrandfatherwouldgether to spot which cow in the herd was limping, and her blind

grandmothersometimesusedherashereyes.Youhavetopayattentiontobees;Patricia is evencarefulhow she looksat them; if thebeesarerattled, theywill react to themere flicker of your eye. “You learn tokeepyoureyesstillanduseyourperipheralvision,”shesays.Asanamateurpilot,Patriciaparticularlylikeswatchingtheinsectsin

the air. “Their flying is justmagnificent,” she says. “We have nothingcomparedtothegraceofabee.”Shewatchesthemland,flaringslightly,likeaplane,togetacushionofairundertheirwingstoslowthemup.Theyleavethehive,seemtosnifftheair,andtakeoff,navigatingwiththeir inborn knowledge of flight and air currents. They aren’t alwaysprecise;shehasseenthemstumbleontheboardatthebaseofthehivewhentheycomeintoland,loadedwithpollen.Butmostlytheymakeusandourmachineslookclumsy.Whenthebeesswarm,sheisfascinatedbyhowtheydon’tbumpintooneanother.ItwasaswarmthatpromptedPatriciatosellherhoney.Thebeeshad

settledtemporarilyonawillowtreebyalocalshopwhileitsowner,Mr.Patel, was outside having a smoke; they got talking about bees; heofferedtostockherhoney.People buying Patricia’s pots were getting nectar from their own

flowers. Lewes is an old town full of established gardens behind highstonewalls; the bees soar and sipwhere they please. But someof herneighborswerenervous,andeventuallyshestoppedhousingtheinsectsin her garden. Urban and suburban beekeepers are under pressure;James Hamill received a complaint—in Surrey—that his bees haddefecatedon somegarden furniture. Sometimes toomuch contactwithyourneighborsisthedownsideoflocallife.ButtherewereotherplacesforPatricia’sbees.Ivisitedherallotment,

where fellow gardeners, savvy to the benefits of pollination, weregenerally pro-bee. We stood among pollen-laden hollyhocks andflourishesofyellowfennelflowers,borageandreddessertgooseberriesandwhitecurrantsandapples,leeksgoingtoseedwiththeirbigroundheadslikepompomsonexoticbirds.Itwasapatchworkofplantsratherthanserried,regimentalranksofotherplotsandthechairstheremadeitaplacetobe,notjusttowork.Wetalkedhoney.Howitsuseinwounddressingshadbeencommon

knowledgewhenPatriciawentintonursinginthe1950s.Howthebeescouldfillahiveinamatterofdaysfromafieldofoilseedrape.Howthelocal Newick Park Hotel had summoned her hives to their floweringchestnuts, so theycould serve theirownhoneyatbreakfast.HowbeeshumatmiddleC,thepitchrisingunderthreat.Apparently, swarms can come out of some of Lewes’s historic

buildings; the house once owned by Anne of Cleves, near Patricia’shome,hadbeesinitsoldgables.Perhapstheyhadbeentheresincethesixteenthcentury,perhapsthey’dflownovertheheadoftheherooftheAmericanRevolution,TomPaine,whenheworkedasanexciseofficerinLewesintheeighteenthcentury.Mythoughtsflewbackintimewiththebees.ThenIwenttoseeStephenKelly,thebeekeeperwhohadfirsthelped

Patricia.Hetoldmeyarnsof localssuchasSidLancaster,whoworkedtheOusevalley,andwhosefathertookwagonloadsbyhorsetomarketinCoventGarden.Hehadthreetofourhundredhivesinthearea,andnevertoldanyonewheretheywere;foryearspeoplewouldfindoldonesabandoned inodd copses aroundSussex. “I don’t think evenSidknewwherehalfhishiveswerewhenhedied,”saidStephen.Stephenusedtobeabeewhisperer,calledouttotaketroubledbeesto

anisolatedapiaryinaforesttosortthemout.(Sometimeshewasmoreofabeeshouter;peoplesayyoumustbecalmwithbees,butwhentheywereinatemper,thissteadymanfoundagoodshakecouldstartlethemintosubmission.)Asanexpert,heisoftenaskedtocollectswarms;somepeoplenowthinkheshouldpayfor“their”bees;infact,theretendstobe a charge for their removal. Times change. Stephen has seenfluctuationsofinterestinbeekeepingovertheyears.Thereareperiods—suchasthepresent—whenpeopletakeitup,likeallotmentgardening,togetbacktotheland.ButtherewerenowfarfewerbeekeepersinLewesthanthereoncewere;infact,sincePatricialefttoliveinFrance,Ihavenotfoundanothersourceoftownhoney.Stephen’s honey, from the surrounding countryside, is sold by my

local greengrocer as well as at Stephen’s own door. It is completelydifferent fromgenerichoneys, thoseblendsofwhatever is cheapestonthe world market, which are flash-heated and micro-filtered to makethemstayrunnyinthepot,unfortunatelyintheprocessremovingsome

ofthegoodtasteandhealthyproperties.Smallproducerstendtoleavehoney as it is. Stephen simply warms his honey gently to let it runthroughacoarse filter, removingpiecesofwaxandso forth.Thepot Ihaveofhis tastesofSussex summer.Healso sells sethoney,aprocesswhichoccursnaturally,atdifferentratesindifferenthoneysaccordingtothenectartype.Settingcanbehastenedby“seeding”runnyhoneywithalittleofthesolidtype,whichhardenstheliquidasthecrystalsspread.The rediscovery of local foods is not about pretending to live in a

long-gone past, a time when people were more limited to the foodproducedintheirarea.Icurrentlyhavethirty-twohoneysonmyshelves,stickycolumnsofpotsindifferentshadesofgold.Theytakemenearandfar as I travel on a spoon. The exotic and British honeys bring backmemories, but Stephen’s, in particular, holds such close and constantassociations that itwillalwaysbea favorite:eating localhoneymakesyourbackyardricher.

NOW THAT WE HAVE reached a technological, postindustrial age, there is areevaluationof thenaturalworld, reflected in theworkof artists. TheBritishartistDamienHirstusedhoneybeesinatelevisiontitlesequenceforshortpiecesofmusicbyBach.Onalargerscale,thesculptorRobertBradfordmadeahugebumblebeeat theCornishenvironmentalvisitorattraction, the Eden Project. Backing up the center’s theme ofbiodiversity,thebeeclimbsabankofflowersthatexistsonlybecauseofthebee’spowersofpollination.Whileworkingonhissculpture,Robertbecameinterestedintheinsects’complexbiology,includingitsabilitytocommunicateandthesexualrelationshipbetweenbeesandblooms.Asafigurative artist, he looks to nature to discover different kinds of formand surface—hisbee’shairs aremade from thenylon filamentused tomakebrooms—and,likeanyonewhostartstonoticebees,hewasstruckbyhowwecanmisstheseamazingcreaturessimplybecausetheyaresosmallinrelationshiptous:sohemadethebeebig—about16by26feet.Theproject’sbuildingscontainanotherlarge-scalestructurethatmay

relatetobees.Eden’svastpolymerbubblesarecomposedofhexagonals,like honeycomb. The architects, Grimshaw and Partners, are part of amovementthatisinspiredbynature;honeycomb,liketheegg,isaprime

exampleofanevolved,efficientform.Inanewtwistonthe“traditionalversus modern” debate, such organic shapes are possible thanks tocomputerscapableofaccuratespecificationsforhightechmaterialsandengineering.

THECANADIANSCULPTORAganethaDyckhasworkedwithhoneybeesforthepastfourteen years during their short, northern season of July andAugust.Her fascinationhas ledher right to theheart of the colony.Herworkbegan by placing objects, such as jewelry and even a life-size glasswedding dress, into hives, to explore the sculptural possibilities ofbeeswax.Thebees—her“collaborators”—builtcombonthemanditwasnot until themoment of removing the object that Aganetha sawwhathadhappened.Thehiddennatureofherwork,createdinthedarknessofthehive,wasgivenafurthermetaphoricallayerinWorking in theDark(1999–2000).Inthiswork,apoemcomposedbythepoetDiBrandtwasputintoBrailleandplacedwithinthebeehive.Beeswaxitselfisstartedfroma single, anchoringdot;when the fifty-four lineswere takenout,thebeeshadmadeanewlanguageinthisworkof“translation.”I asked Aganetha what it was like to work with bees. Like Rudolf

SteinerandJosephBeuys,sherespondstotheirenergy;toher,theheatofthehiveispartofitsmysteriouspower.Afterremovingaframe,shehovers her hands carefully over the hundreds of bees on the comb,listening to the hum, smelling the scent, and feeling their movement.“It’s just themostamazingthing, tohavethisconnectiontothiswarmcreaturethatmassagesyourhandsandmakesyoufeelalive,”shesays.“Especiallyifyouareinthesunandit’sverybeautifulandtheflowersarebloomingandyouthinktheworld’sokay.”Thewarmthofthehiveremainsinhermemorylongaftershehaslefttheapiary.Shelistens,too,firsttothesoundofthebeestoseeiftheyarehappy

orangryassheapproachesahive.Thecontentsoundsarequiethums,hardly audibleuntil sheputsher ear to thehive andhears this gentlebreezeofacalmcolony.Theoppositeistheloudandirritablesoundofadisturbedhive,whenguardbeesdartingaroundoutsidethehivemakeshort bursts of noise—zziiittt zziiittt. Working with her son, RichardDyck, a multimedia computer artist, Aganetha is recording the noises

within. One day they listened to two hives communicating with eachother—oratleastthatwaswhatitsoundedlike—andheardalow,longmoan.Bothlistened,mystified,tothismasscryofbees.“Iamcapturedbythebees,”saysAganetha.“Iwanttogetasclosetothemaspossible.”Theirsizebeliestheirgreatimportance;sheisabsorbedby“thepowerofthesmall.”

I

CHAPTERTWELVE

DOBEESDREAM?

magineaParisiennebee,foroncetakingthelongwayhome.Shefliesaround the Bastille, up, up, up through cliffs of city buildings; over

blue-gray mansard roofs; past ironwork balconies sprouting pottedplants;throughthenarrowmedievalstreetsoftheMaraiswheretheskyhasbeensnippedbythebuildingsintolong,slantedstrips;overpeoplesettlingtolunchatboulevardtables.Ourbeecrossestheriver,dipspastthepoplarsontheprowoftheÎleSt.Louis,peersatsunbathersusingthequayasabeach,andpassesontotheJardindesPlanteswithitsartfulcolors and beds of vegetables. She swings south to the 13thArrondissement, a district with knots of streets and tree-lined grandsboulevards, and here she pauses before a small shop in the pretty rueButteauxCailles.Istop,too,andenter.ItisLesAbeilles,oneoftwohoneyspecialistsinParis.Alongcabinet

lining one side of the room displays the owner’s private collection ofsome twohundredhoneys fromall over theworld. For sale aremanyFrenchvarieties—an intensewildheatherhoney from theVar; a light,localonefromtheBoisdeBoulogne;rhododendronfromthePyrenees;clover from the Massif Central—and jars from farther afield: almondhoney from Spain, mimosa from the Yucatán in Mexico, tupelo fromAmerica, pine from Turkey. Bottles of honey lemonade and a fresh-tastingmead sit next to three types of honey sweets doled outwith ayellowPerspex spade.Customers come in to stock up on their regularsuppliesorsplurgeona treat.Manyarecharmed.Anold ladypulls inherfriendtolookatthehoneyextractorinthewindow,andreminisceaboutheryouth;honeyseemstocallupsuchanimatednostalgia.Jean-JacquesSchakmundes,theshop’sowner,isinhissixties,witha

proudhoneytummy;herefusessugar,callingitachemicalproduct,andeatshoneyinstead.Amanwhochangesdirectioninhisworkeverytenyears, for the past decade he has run this shop and a society for citybeekeepers, L’Abeille Parisienne (The Parisian Bee). His manifesto for

urban bees is clear and passionate. These days, the insects are moreprotectedinthecitythaninthecountryside,hebelieves.Thisisbecausetheirfoodissafer.Pesticidescannowcoatseedstogointoallpartsofsuchplantsassunflowerandmaize,andbeekeepersbelievetheirimpacton the bees to be disastrous. They think the insects’ immune systemssuffer,theirlearningabilitiesdecline,andtheybecomedisorientated.Alost bee is adeadbee.Many thousandsof colonies—billionsof bees—havedied,mysteriously,inrecentyears.In the city, the bees have the pick of the parks and the trees thatdapple the light andblossom the spring: acacias, limes, chestnuts, andhorse chestnuts; rooftop gardens, flowers in courtyards. The urban,hothouseclimateprovidesanearlyandlongbountyofblooms.Ifpeopletalkfearfullyaboutstings,Jean-Jacquespointsoutthattheriskisverylow,plusthereisasimpleandimportantequationthatmatterstomost:nobees,noflowers;honeyis,heargues,aby-productofpollination.Withtheurbanbeesociety,Jean-Jacquessetupanapiaryoftenhivesin the local Parc Kellerman. The group has given the honey to theelderlyof thequarter,and toprisoners inoneof the suburbs.The sitewas visited by schoolchildren. Jean-Jacques would ask them why thebeesmakehoney.“Tofeedus,”they’dreply.Thisistherealitygap,hesays.Wehaveaproblemuntilweseethatwecameafterthebees,thatwebelong tonature,not theotherwayaround. Sometimespeople seebeesasintruders,hesays.“Absolutelywrong.Wearetheintruders.”Ignoranceisonething;cruelty,another.LastJuly,theparkapiarywastorchedbyanarsonistarmedwithaMolotovcocktail.Allthatremainedwerecharredhivesandheapsofdeadbees—thepatheticdevastationofsodden,burnt-outremains.Despitesuchanimosity,anumberofParisianskeepbeesinthecity,orkeepthemoutsideandvisitonweekends.“Abeeisnotacow,”asJean-Jacquessays.“Itdoesnotneedtobemilkedeveryday.”TherearenowsomethreehundredhivesinParisitself,ingardens,onmooredbarges,onbalconiesandrooftops,includingtheParisOperaHouse.TheFrenchadmirationforthehoneybeeisreflectedincivilizedstatutes.AParislawpassedin1895statesthatthehivesmaybe16feetfromyourneighbors,exceptwherethereisawallorfence,inwhichcasetheycanbenearer;and 328 feet from a school. The annual insurance premium for

beekeepersalloverFranceisjustoneeuroperhive.

INTHEJARDINDULUXEMBOURG,amateurscometothebeekeepingschooltotakeacourse that guides them through the year, from feeding the bees inwinter to the late-summer collection of the combs. I arrived, on theirannualopendayat theendofSeptember, to findaroundthirtypeoplewaiting for the doors to open. When they did, a jumble-sale scrumpushed toward a tablewhere the year’s crop of potswas on sale. Therush felt exhilarating, rather thanunseemly,because thisexcited senseofharvestissorareinacity.The beekeeper, Monsieur Le Baron, had a trim white beard and asteady,gravedemeanor. I joinedhimbefore themetal-toppedhives inthe teaching garden, and an informal group gathered, discussing theperils for bees in the twenty-first century.Monsieur Le Baron thoughtthat countryside beekeeping was finished. Why should anyone bothermuch about theplight of poisonedbees?Whatwere a fewbeekeeperscompared to the might of agribusiness? When we moved on togeneticallymodifiedcrops,theconversationsuddenlybecametense.I’dasked about the future of bees, and thiswas a future thatwas loadedwithuncertainty.Asweweretalking,amanfromChicagocameupandrecountedhowhe’dkeptbeesinhisyouth;whenworkingwithhisinsects,hehadfeltasif he were a part of their colony. These are happy bees, he said,watching the gold dots, flyingwithout hasty pressure in long, relaxedloops and circles before the park trees in the late-September shadows.We passed ten minutes or so, discussing how the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture had classified light honeys above darkhoneys,despite their rich flavors;about thegenderpoliticsof thehive(“allwomen love thebitabout thedronesbeingexpelled,”hequippedruefully); about the eucalyptus honey of California and the blueberryhoneyofMaine.Itwasanencounterthatwaspartoftheserendipityofthecity,andofthesubject.

THECITYistheplacewherehumansgatherandhum;thecityiswherewe

flytogetthepickofthecropfromshops.LaMaisonduMiel,intherueVignon, just north of the haute couture near the Madeleine, is thelongest established honey shop in Paris, opened in 1905, with theoriginalmosaicbeesstillonthefloor.Theshopstartedasacooperativeofbeekeeperswhowantedtogettheirproducesoldinthecapital.Itisstillrunbythesamefamily;theynowbuyotherhoneysandhavesevenhundredhivesoftheirown,whichtheymovearoundthecountrysidetothe best nectar sources. Four pale green drums dispense honey inquantity (acacia,mountain honey, pine, and one other)—some peopleeven heave home 11-pound pails—and there are also forty-five or sootherhoneystochoosefrom,labeledbyvarietyorregion.

OneofthemosaicbeesonthefloorofLaMaisonduMiel(TheHouseofHoney)inParis.

It is here that I really came to gripswith the different character ofhoneys and their specific colors, textures, scents, and tastes. Tryingdozensinonesittingwasadizzyingtask,butvariousthemesemerged,as I staggered from pot to pot. There were those with a metallic,herbaceous kick, such as eucalyptus, sage, and mint; the distinctivelyfruityones,likethemangohoneythatcamefromBrazil;theflorallimetree and orange blossom; the colorful sunflower and dandelion; theparticularsweetnessofcarrothoney.Thentherewerethosethathada

special combinationofqualities, for example, the limpidbeautyof theacaciahoney,withitsgentletaste,emollienttexture,andclearglow.The darker honeys, such as the chestnut, could have the burntintensity of caramel; the oak honey tasted like wooden fruit, and thepinewasaquieterbutterscotch.Themimosahadanalmostoilytextureandalicoricetang.Buckwheat,inthiscase,wasatangtoofarforme.Nappies(thatmeans“diapers”)itsaysinmytastingnotes(thoughIhavetasteditelsewherewithgreaterpleasure).The regional honeys conveyed the character of their land, andcontrastswere interesting; thehoneyfromtheAlpshadanacidickick,while that fromthePyreneeswassmoother,with the fruitinessofwildraspberries.IfIknewtheplace,oritsstories,thisaddedtomysenseofthe honey’s character; the rosemary honey fromNarbonne,whichwasprizedbygourmetsoftheclassicalworld,mademethinkofthehoneytradersofthepast.Printed lists at La Maison du Miel recommend the honeys forparticular medical conditions and physical states. Thyme honey istermeda“generalantiseptic,”whichalsostimulatesdigestion;sunflowerhoneyisadvisedforfever;lavenderissaidtobegoodfortherespiratorytractandcoughs; limeblossomis recommended for sleepandchestnuttoacceleratebloodcirculation. Is thiscredible?Someof thecustomersarealmostasoldastheshop,soitclearlymustdosomethingforthem.But recently such goodness has flowed less richly. Some of theproblems have been due to bad weather. The year 2003 had beendisastrousforthehoneyharvest,explainedMonsieurGalland,theshop’scurrentproprietor.Therewasadrought,whichwasbadfornectar,thensoaring temperatures hadmeant the bees ate up their honey stores togive them the energy to flap their wings and ventilate the hive. Thehoneyharvesthadbeendown60percent in someplaces; the chestnuttrees, for example, bloomed for only ten days. Besides, there was theongoingproblemofpesticides.Hewasgloomy.TherearestilleightythousandbeekeepersinFrance,butonlyabout2or3percentoftheseareprofessional;andtheymustgetgoodpricesfortheir honey in order to keep going. Perhaps honey will become,increasingly,aspecializedproduct.Perhaps,oneday,weshalllookback

withastonishmentthatwetookitforgrantedasacheappottopullofftheshelfinanyoldsupermarket.

IENCOUNTEREDsomespecialurbanhoneyinSaint-Denis,justnorthofParis.Thehivesarekeptontheroofofthetownhall,rightnexttothegothicBasiliquedeSaint-Denis.Todayamodernobservationhive, ina jauntybluemetal casing, hadbeenputnext to the church. From theback, itlooked like a cross between a public information kiosk and a metalPunch-and-Judystall,withafunnelatthetopandbeesflyinginandoutlike random smoke. The front had two observation windows, onedisplayingacombfullon;theothersideways,showingthehive’slayersofactivity.Somepeoplereclinedondeckchairsaroundittowatchtheshow,whileotherspeeredcloselythroughthehive’swindows.Thesunreflectedgoldonthecombs,andbeyondwasthehoney-coloredstoneofthechurch.

OlivierDarné’s“urbanbountyhunter”hiveoutsidetheBasiliquedeSaint-Denis,nearParis.

The basilica’s doors were suddenly given an impatient rattle. Outjumped Olivier Darné, the beekeeper—or hive installation artist, youmight call him—a darting figure in sneakers, with big brown eyesbeneath a black-and-yellow skullcap. He settled and flew, settled andflew,jumpinguptophotographacoachpartypeeringathisbees,thengivingme fivepotsof successivehoneys fromthisyear’sharvest, fromhives he had placed on the townhall. The honeys progressed throughtheslightlywoody,delicatelyperfumed freshnessof spring, to lusciousearlysummer,toaharshinterludeinJuly,andthenontorich,mellowlatesummer.Thevariationintasteswasastonishing;theearlyharvestswereparticularlydeliciousandcomplex.Olivierisayounggraphicdesignerwhohaskeptbeesforsevenyears,

firstonhis roof inSaint-Denisandnow inothercity spots.ThewordsButineur urbain are written across his blue bee kiosks; “urban bountyhunter” is a rough translation. The honey itself he callsmiel de béton(concrete honey). Olivier is playful in that French way, with anunderlying purpose. With wit and panache, he is bringing bees topeople;puttingtheinsectsintheheartofthescurryingcity;settingthehives among commuters about to dive down into the métro, on theirway to gather money at work. His leaflets declared “NOUS SOMMESTOUS DES ABEILLES” (We are all bees). They showed the end of thehive’s entrancepoking into the sky like thebarrel of a tankgun,withbeesblownout like living shot.The red-and-whitecheckered flag flewabove,likeastandardforbattle.Olivier’snextplanwastotakehishive-kiosksaroundEurope,toseehowaRomehoneydiffersfromaLondonone. In Saint-Denis, I could see formyself howpeoplewere intrigued,delighted,andamusedbyhisbees.Thiswasbringingpeopletonature,makingbeesbuzzintheurbanmindoncemore.

HOW DO WE SEE nature in the city? Canwe dissolve the buildings and thestreets thatwestandon;canwecrackopen thehardshellofconcreteandtarmactorevealwhatliesbeneath?Howfardownisthesoilbelowourfeet?Naturefeelssodistanttoourwayofoperating,evenifitissoclose.Theworldmovesfast,andsodothebees:canwefindthestillnesstoseethem?

Whatweglimpseofnatureinthecityiswhatslipsarounditsedges:thefatautumnalsparrowshoppingthroughthewirearoundacarpark;theearlybeestrandedontheroad.Onceyoureyesadjust,youcanpickoutthenatural,livingworldamidthebricks,butyouneedtofocushardintheurbanjungle.Manhattan, the ultimate cityscape, does not seem a likely home forhoneybees. Its surging energy is a force of nature, crackling with thestaticofaction.Buttheseman-madecanyons,whichsoembodyhumandreams, endeavors, and achievements, feel like no place for bees andblossoms.Yetwhen I tried to imagine the naked island as it first appeared toEuropeansinthesixteenthcentury,itbegantohavedistinctpossibilities.For a start, theHudson andEast rivers, the very reasons for the city’ssituationandsuccess,wouldgive the insectsplentyofwater.The landhad been farmed successfully; Harlem was a place of country estatesuntilthesubwayarrivedhereintheearlytwentiethcentury.ThesoilofCentralPark,andofalltheothergreenspaces,supportstheplantsthatyieldthenectarthatmakesthehoney.

WHEN THE GREENMARKETS started in New York City in the 1970s, they weremaking an explicit connection between the food we ate and where itcamefrom.Thissmalleruptionofnatureinthecityencouragedanother:urbanbeekeeping.IarrivedattheWednesdaymarketinUnionSquaretofindDavidGravesstandingathisstallbehindpotsofhis“NewYorkCityrooftop”honey,pricedat$8ahalfpound.Beforehimflowedstreamsofshopperswiththeirflotsamofcartsandbags;adozendifferentaccentsmade inquiries within an hour, and fifteen children paid a class visit,hustlingfortastesfromthehoneypots.“Dobeeslikehoney?”oneasked.“It’s their food,”David replied,beforemaking themrepeat themantra“gentle honeybees, gentle honeybees.” He constantly reassures peoplethattheyaresafewiththeseinsectsinthecity.DavidfirstkepthivesonarooftopinhishomestateofMassachusettsin order to get the hives away from marauding bears. When thesemammalsemergehungryfromhibernationinthespring, theysniffouttheproteinof thebroodcombandcanknockoverhivestoripoutthe

contentswithanunstoppablegreed.EvenwhenDavidmovedhisbeesupontotheroofsofsomeoutbuildings,onebearstillmanagedtoclimbupviaabirchtreeandgetitsdinner.Anearlyrooftopadventurewentbadlywrong.Asanovicebeekeeper,he put some hives on top of his father’s Chevrolet dealership inWilliamsburg,Massachusetts. Then hewent on holiday. Itwas a goodsummerandatremendousamountofhoneybuiltup.Thehivesbecameoverheated, thewaxmelted, andonehive collapsed in anoverflowingooze that seeped down through the roof and onto the cars below.Hisfatherwanted nomore of the bees, so David loaded the hives onto apickup truck and took them back to his home in Beckett. As he wasunloading,oneofthemtippedoverandacartooncloudofbeeschasedthe hapless beekeeper into the swimming pool. “I’ve hadmy ups anddownswithbees,”hesays.

DavidGraves,theNewYorkCityrooftopapiarist.

Thehighsandlows,thesedays,involveelevatorsandsubways.Davidfirst thought of harvesting urban honey as a means of selling a trulylocalfoodtoNewYorkers;itisapremiumproductthatislowinsupplyandhighindemand.Headvertisedforrooftopapiarysitesbyputtinga

noticeonaboxofbeesonhisstall:“Weareverygentle,weliketoshareour New York City honey, do you have a rooftop?” and offered apercentageof thehoneyto thosewhotookhimup.Thereweretakers.Nowmuchmoreexperienced,aJohnnyAppleseedofurbanbees,Davidshuttlesbetweentheseventeenhiveshetendsinthecity.Thehighestistwelvestoriesup,onahotelinthemiddleofManhattan,andthereareothersonroofsinBrooklyn,theBronx,theUpperWestSide,inmidtownon theEast Side; ona church, in a community garden, and evenbyaschool.Also,ontopofaHarlemsoulfoodrestaurant,AmyRuth’s,wherethecooksaddthehoneytotheirspecialSouthernFriedChickenrecipe.Apart from being an unusual marketing point, the city is simply a

goodsourceofnectar.“WhenyoulookataerialphotosofManhattan,itdoesn’tseemverygreen,”Davidsays,“butwhenyougotostreetlevel,youstarttoseethere’salotaround.”Therearecrabapples,lindentrees,and Bradford pears; the clover, sumac, and tidy flowers surroundingapartmentcomplexes;theplantsonroofsandofcoursethefloraoftheparks.But there’s still toomuchwasted space; fromoneofhis rooftopviewpoints,Davidcan look intoBronxbackyardsandmusehowmuchmore fruitandvegetablescouldgrow in themas food forhumansandbees.But beekeeping is not exactly encouraged in New York City. The

officiallistofanimalsbannedfromthecityincludes,notunreasonably,bears and large rodents; then there are the likes of “even-toedungulates,”suchasdeer,giraffe,andhippopotamus,andalso“odd-toedungulates”—other thanhorses—suchaszebra,rhinoceroses,andtapirs.Thenthelistbecomeslessconsistent,however.Thereisasectionagainst“all venomous insects, including but not limited to, bee, hornet andwasp.”Most stings are likely to come from insects such aswasps andyellowjackets;butthehoneybeeisaforceforthegood.All thismight seem like a bit of a technicality, except that, shortly

before I visitedNewYork, oneofDavidGraves’s rooftop apiarists hadjust received an officious piece of paper from the city’s healthdepartment.

JILLLAURIEGOODMAN isa lawyerlivinginanUpperWestSidebrownstone,a

short flight fromColumbiaUniversityand its spaciouscampus.Havinggrownupinafamilyofgardeners,shelikestokeeponefootinthesoil,andwas immediately attracted toDavid’s advertisement for hive sites.Shewenthomeexpectingherfamilytoshoottheideadowninflames.Her husband, Melvin, explained to me that, since he was terrified ofinsects—or at least, likeWoody Allen, at twowith nature—thewholeideawasludicrous:ithadtobedone.Sotheygavetheirhousekeystoacompletestrangerandinvitedsixtythousandinsectstoliveontheirroof.Thefirstyear,DavidkepthisbeesonJill’sroof,andshefollowedhim

aroundlearningthecraft.Thenextyear,shenailedtogetherahiveandreceivedaboxofbeesbypost.Theyarrivedbyprioritymailinasmallwirecagewithanoticedeclaringthem“gentlehoneybees.”Apparently,the New York postal service can be less than swift when deliveringbothersome packages that require signatures; but, for some strangereason,thebeesarrivedwithoutdelay.Thequeenisinasmall,internalcage,withafewworkersandacandyplugthatsheeventuallyeatsherwaythrough.By this time, theworkersare familiarwithherpresence,andtogethertheyformthenucleusofthenewcommunity.The rooftop bees take Jill to another world. “There is a magic in

producingthefoodyoueat,”shesays.“Workingwithbeesyouhavetobetotallypatient.Whatevertensionorangeryouhavefromtherestofthe world, you just have to let go.” I sat in Jill andMelvin’s kitcheneating some of the year’s crop, a pale, golden honey, while thisintellectual Jewish couple discussed how the rabbis get around thedietarylawssayingthatyoucan’teatinsectsorproducefromanuncleananimal;howhoney ispartof traditionalceremonies, suchas thebreadandapplesdippedinhoneyandservedfora“sweetandgood”newyear;andhowchildrenusedtobegivenlettersdottedwithhoneywhentheyfirstwenttoschool,toassociatelearningwithsweetness.Inthecity,beesarekeptonrooftopssothattheflightpathinfrontof

each hive isn’t disrupted by humans—one reason for stings. Thisway,theyarelikelytobeevensafer.TheNewYorkCityhealthdepartment,however,doesnotseeitthisway.Itwasafterfouryearsofkeepingbeesthatthecitycouncil’snoticearrivedatJill’sdoor.Shedidn’twantit;shewantedthewholethingtogoaway.Yetitwashere.Itwarnedherofa“largenumberofflyingbeesfoundontheroofareacausingnuisance.”It

accusedherof“harboringbeehivesontheroofofanattachedbuilding.”In her fight to keep her insects, Jill discovered that the city’s

ordinance on animals might allow for waivers. She also madeconnectionswithotherurbanbeekeepers.InChicago,themayorRichardDaleywasso“green”thathehadplantedtheroofofthecityhallwith20,000plants,ofmorethan150species,andput3beehivesupamongthem.ItwasSanFrancisco’sofficialpolicytoincreasetheproductionofhome-produced food, including honey. But New York City, it seemed,wasbeephobic.

APIARISTS ASSOCIATE, as do their insects; put any bee-related subject into anInternetsearchengineandyoufindyourselflinkedintoahighlyactiveandwide-ranginghumannetwork.Youcanevenhuntoutawebsiteonbeebeards,inwhichaqueenbeeisputinasmallcageonahuman,andthe swarm follows to create a calm, living “beard.” Busy discussionscontinueintherealworldaswellasthevirtualone.Iencounteredonesuchmeeting in upstateNewYork. TheEmpire State beekeeperswereholding their annual conference in a hotel in out-of-seasonAlexandriaBay, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. I joined every sort ofbeekeeperthere,fromindustrialistswithhundredsofhivestobackyardhobbyists.Theycametochewthefat,listentopoliticiansmakeendlesspromises, and to hear talks on such topics as profitable queen rearingandprimitivecandlemakingintheDominicanRepublic.Intheevening,westayedawakeforahistoricallecture,dozyafterthe

eat-everythingbuffet.A strayperson, thousandsofmiles fromhome, Iwasfeelinga littleexistentialaroundtheedges, touchedbythechilledwatersandtousledskiesoutsidetheBonnieCastleResort,asthespeakertoldofCupid’sbowstringofbeesandthesweetpainoflove.Someoftheconferencehaddepressedme.Duringthepasttwodays,onesubjecthadcropped up with an ominous regularity: chemicals. Honey is still—rightly—regardedasapurefood;buttherearethreatstoitswholesomereputation.Around the world, beekeepers have had to deal with the terrible

plagueofthevarroamite.OriginallyVarroajacobsoni,nowcalledVarroadestructor, this small red mite, just visible to the naked eye, happily

coexistswiththeEasternhoneybeeApiscerana.ButwhenitcrossedovertoApismellifera honeybees, first in the former Soviet Union, themitebeganitsdevastation.Itlaysitseggsonthebroodcombandthelarvaehatch so deformed as to be useless. The whole colony is weakened,becomingmore susceptible tovirusesandotherdiseases;eventually, itcollapses. The mite spread to the rest of the world from the 1960sonward;eventheproudlyisolatedNewZealandgotcaughtout,afterabudgetcutremovedchecksonbeecoloniesaroundportsandairports.There are other diseases, too, particularly American foul brood and

European foul brood, not to mention the troublesome hive beetle inAmerica.Ineachcase,theproblemspreadseasily,throughthecomingsand goings of trade.When the varroamitewas first discovered in theUnited States, in Wisconsin in 1987, it was traced back to Florida,probably to hives kept in the vicinity of Orlando airport; a freightworkerreportedbeesescapingfromtheholdsofinternationalairplanes.Sincehalfofthestate’scoloniesweremovedaroundtopollinateplantsin up to twenty other states, from almond trees in California toblueberries inMaine, it isnothard to seehow themite spread. In theyearafteritsdiscovery,90percentofFlorida’scoloniesweredestroyedbythedisease.How to combat the rampant bee diseases of the modern industrial

world?Forawhile,productssuchasApistanhaveheldvarroaatbay.Itis meant to be applied in the winter, before the bees are activelyproducinghoney,anddoesnotdissolveinthehoney.Intheory,aswithall such products, the end food is safe. But can you always trust foodproducers? There have been enough scares to make us wonder.Questions have recently been raised after America and the EuropeanUnion banned the import of Chinese honey when residues of anantibiotic, chloramphenicol, used to combat foulbrood disease, werefound in a number of tested samples. Since China provided a largeamount of theworld’s honey, cheap, generic potfuls—the sort labeled“produceofmorethanonecountry”—couldwellhavefoundtheirwayontomanyabreakfast table.Theheadlines, this time,weremeasured;therisk tohumanhealthwasmainly to thosesusceptible toararebutseriousblooddisorder.Anyoneinterestedinthesafetyofourfoodtooknote,however.

Eventheterribleadventofvarroahasbeguntolooklike“thegoodolddays”: themitehas started todevelopa resistance toApistan.What isthenext step?Thequestion loomedover theEmpire StateBeekeepers’conference. There are natural methods using herbs. Others areexperimentingwith formic acid,whichwas discoveredwhen scientistsnoticedbirdsrubbingtheirinfestedfeatherswithants,producingacidtogetridofmites.Meanwhile,somebeekeepersarebreedingqueensfromRussian stock that may have a greater resistance to varroa. Thehoneybee genome has now been sequenced, and in the future geneticengineeringcouldspeeduptheprocessofbreedingforresistance.Othersare tryingtogobackto theold,pureraces.KangarooIsland,

offthecoastofSouthAustralia,hasbecomefamousforitsItalianbees.Introducedinthe1880s,anactofParliamentshortlyafterwardforbadetheimportationofanyotherkindsofbees,andtheisolatedislandisnowahavenforwhatmaybethelastpurestockofthisprizedraceandanimportantgeneticresource.There are those who think the industrialization of the honeybee is

behinditscurrentproblems,thatwehaveputtoomuchpressureonitshighly evolved systems. In Rudolf Steiner’s 1920s bee lectures, hewarned that the artificial breeding of queens could have dire effects.When a beekeeper in the audience objected, Steiner replied that theyshould talk again in a hundred years’ time. That time is nearly up.Queen rearing has transformed beekeeping—people need not worryabout losing their stock through swarming and can manipulate thenatureoftheirhivessimplybybuyingnewqueens—butperhapssomeofSteiner’s concerns still need to be addressed; perhaps we are pushingbeestoofaroutoftheirnaturalbehavior.At the conference, Iwasdisturbed todiscover that somebeekeepers

werestartingtoputthedeadlyorganophosphate,coumaphos,intotheirhives, tokill thevarroamiteandthehivebeetle.Suchchemicalsworkbydisruptingthenervoussystem:thisisseriousstuff.Althoughallsuchproductsmust go through stringent controls, it is not hard to imaginehowa lessscrupulousbeekeeper,pushedagainsthismargins, tryingtocurehisbeesandproduceacrop,mighttreatchemicalsinamorecasualmanner. The specter ofChina’s problemsmight not be enough to stopindependently minded individuals—as beekeepers so often are—from

polluting theirhivesandperhapsputting themselvesat risk,aswellashoney’spurereputation.Everywhere this mite has gone, beekeepers have been forced tochangetheircustoms,andmanyhavestoppedbeekeepingaltogether. Ispoketooneoldhandattheconferencewhokeptjustafewhivesnow,andhad a philosophyof respectinghis insects: “If youkeepbees, youhave to learn from bees,” he said. “I’m seventy-seven and I’m stilllearning.” Thisman gave a wide berth to organophosphates, and washopingtofindbeesbredwithatolerancetothevarroamite.Hepointedoutanothersadaspectofthevarroaepidemic:once,manypeoplewere“beehavers,” rather thanbeekeepers,witha fewhives in theirbackyard,he said. Diseases had made this impossible; they required too muchintervention;graduallypeoplehadgivenup,ornotreplacedtheirdeadcolonies. It seemed such a shame that bees were moving out ofneighborhoods: how would we keep in touch with the honeybee if itmovedawayfromus?

WHEN A NEIGHBORHOOD’S honeybees depart, people might not miss the beesmuch, but they often notice their gardens producing fewer vegetables;theymissthebees’powersofpollination.Aboutfour-fifthsoftheworld’splantsrelyonpollinationbyanimals,mostlyinsects;athirdofthefoodweeatcomesfromplantsthatexistthankstothem.But there are problems here, too, and sometimes from an unlikelysource. In a book published in 1996, The Forgotten Pollinators, theauthors Stephen Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan point out that thespreadandsuccessofthehighlysuccessfulhivehoneybee,Apismellifera,hasencroachedontheterritoryofotherkindsofbees,withaconsequentimpactonbiodiversity.Somespeciesnowexist in fragile“islands”thatareindangerofsinkingbeneaththeswellingseaofsameness.Our casualness toward bees of all sorts is all the more remarkablebecause, even as they suffer from pesticides and impoverishedecosystems, scientists continue to find them a constant source offascination.Theyarecurrentlybeinginvestigatedaspotentialscoutsforland mines; for a deeper understanding of social evolution; for theirabilityto“talk”inanageofmasscommunication.TheInternationalBee

Research Association, based in Cardiff,Wales, has a library of 60,000papers, 4,000 books, and 130 journals; they produce a quarterlypublication of 350 apicultural abstracts, gathering the latest researchfromaroundtheworld.Thereismuchstilltodiscover.Aswe’vestartedtothinkofourselvesmoreasanimals,wecannowbelieveourfellowcreaturestobecapableof greater feats.What about animal consciousness—do bees dream? Ifweseeourselvesaspartofnature,ratherthanaboveit,wecanexploreitsparts—notleastthehoneybee—witharenewedsenseofawe.

But,forthepointofwisdom,Iwouldchoose

Toknowthemindthatstirsbetweenthewings

Ofbees…

—GeorgeEliot,TheSpanishGypsy,1868

I SOMETIMES THINK of a place that first led me to think about honey. Thegarden of the late filmmaker Derek Jarman feels like the end of theearth,withitsshinglespreadingtoaseasideviewofthenuclearpowerstationatDungeness,England.Onesummer,Ilayinhisgardenwithmyeyes closed and smelled the salt tang of the sea and the scents of theflowers,andlistenedtothebeesamonghisarchitecturalplants.Oneofhisdiaryentriesmentionshowhewatched thebeescrawlhungrilyupthe green woodsage. I found a local beekeeper, Malcolm Finn, whoharvested this clear, fragrant woodsage honey, and sold it through aroadside stall. Otherwise, he serviced Coca-Cola vending machines inChina.All this planted the taste of a place inmymind, andmademerealizetheconnectionsbetweenhumans,insects,andplants.While writing this book, I had many such fly-by encounters whereinformation and then further phone calls, e-mails, and postcardswereexchanged. Everyone I met, or knew, had some apian anecdote todivulge.IheardataleofamysteriouswoodinRomania,whereRomanygypsybandswent foranannual triponhallucinogenichoney;a friendspokeofhisuniversitymatewhohada largebee tattooedonhisarm,symbolizinghowhis departed girlfriendhadpricked the bubble of hisillusion, a reference to thePaulValerypoem“L’Abeille.” Someone else

offered the anecdote of how a bees’ comb had once dropped into theQueen Mother’s soup. Yet another mentioned how propolis had beenusedinvarnishesinItalyfromthesixteenthtoeighteenthcenturies;itspresencemightbeoneofthesecretsofthetoneofStradivarius’sviolins,perhapsbecauseofthequalityofthepropolisinCremona,whichcamefrompoplartrees.AcouplebroughtbackapotofhoneyformefromtheKarooinSouthAfrica,aspecialplacewithitsbeautifulfynbosflora,andoneofthelongestinhabitedregionsonearth.Each reference reflected something of the giver’s outlook orexperience:my diplomat brotherwould come across bees in flags andlocalcustoms;a friend’smotherrevealedhowmanyyearsagoshehadrusheduptoaremotecornerofherfamilyhome,wheretheinsectshadnested,and“toldthebees”ofherrecentengagement.Thestorymovedme;shehadsharedsuchaspecialtimeofhappinessandexpectationbyperformingthisarchaiccustom,anditshowedme,onceagain,justhowclose and important bees have been to humans, even within livingmemory.Such precious connections between people, bees, and plants havegrownandgathered formillennia.Will theycontinue ifbeeswithdrawfurtherfromourlives?Ifwelosesuchcloseness,anintimatepartofourcontact with nature falls away; if we lose our respect for thesemiraculousandmysteriousinsects,itisatourperil.Forlifeisallone:asbigastheworldandassmallasthehoneybee.

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ILLUSTRATIONACKNOWLEDGMENTS

© Dorothy Hodges, reproduced by kind permission of theInternationalBeeResearchAssociation

E.H.Taylor,BeesforBeginners(Welwyn,England:E.H.TaylorLtd,n.d.)

©E.Hernández-Pacheco

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©MaryEvansPictureLibrary

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©2004BuckfastAbbey

©HultonArchive/GettyImages

©HattieEllis

©MarcRenaud

ABOUTTHEAUTHOR

HattieElliswritesabouttherelationshipbetweenpeople,places,andfood.HerpreviousbooksincludeTradingPlaces,portraitsof specialty shopsand theirowners, andEatingEngland.

Copyright©2004byHattieEllis

Allrightsreserved.

PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyThreeRiversPress,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,adivisionofRandomHouse,Inc.,NewYork.

www.crownpublishing.com

THREERIVERSPRESSandtheTugboatdesignareregisteredtrademarksofRandomHouse,Inc.

OriginallypublishedinGreatBritainbyHodder&Stoughton,London.SubsequentlypublishedinhardcoverintheUnitedStatesbyHarmonyBooks,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,a

divisionofRandomHouseInc.,NewYork,in2004.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataEllis,Hattie.

Sweetnessandlight:themysterioushistoryofthehoneybee/HattieEllis.1.Honeybee.2.Beeculture.I.Title.

QL568.A6E682004595.79’9—dc22004004116

eISBN:978-0-30754786-6

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