Requiem For A Bee

“A cold drizzle falls that night, but she is still clinging there next morning.  With remarkable tenacity she holds on for two more rainy days.  Then, on a warm, sunny morning, just at the time the youngsters at the hive are coming out for school, her grip relaxes and she falls into the wet grass below.”

John Crompton,  A Hive of Bees

Yesterday, I noticed this weary bee clinging to the window screen in our bedroom.  This morning she was still there, although she had crawled to the top of the screen, and was sitting there looking completely exhausted.  The next time I went upstairs, she was lying in a lifeless heap on the windowsill.  I felt very sad for her.


For those of you unfamiliar with John Crompton's books, I highly recommend them -- even though I think they might be out of print now.  He wrote a fascinating series on wildlife in the 1950's and early 1960's:  The Spider (1950), Ways of The Ant (1954), The Hunting Wasp (1955), The Sea (1957),  A Hive Of Bees (1958), and The Snake (1963).