Whilst playing golf a couple of days ago and waiting for my golfing partner to take his shot I felt something tickling the upper part of my right arm. When I glanced down to find out what the tickling sensation was, I noticed that a honey bee had touched down there. Did I freak out that a bee had landed on me and was crawling up my arm? No. Did I quickly brush it off thinking it would sting me? No. Some people may have taken such actions but I stood there and enjoyed watching the bee for a few seconds. When it didn’t move I gently coaxed it on to the handle of my golf trolley where it happily sat whilst I played the next few holes.
So why didn’t I freak out or brush the bee off when I noticed it there? The answer was that the weather had suddenly changed and it had started to rain. I knew that bees don’t fly in the rain so this one had landed on the nearest object – me - to take shelter. I also knew that bees will not attack or sting unless they feel threatened or you are a predator, so I was quite happy for this little Apis to acquaint itself and have a rest.
How did I know what the bee’s intention was? I learnt it whilst reading although I hadn’t gone out of my way to research this information. It came from a fiction book that I read and had finished a couple of weeks earlier – The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri.
With my new found knowledge I surprised myself with my calmness whilst taking action to help the bee and then kept checking it was safe on the handle during my game. At one point I was horrified to find it had suddenly disappeared. I thought I had damaged the bee in some way and it had fallen on the grass, but when I looked down again I found it crawling on my shirt. At that point it had stopped raining and I decided it was time to reunite the honey bee with some nearby vegetation. I gently helped it on to a leaf and we parted ways.
For me, reading is enjoyable and all the more enriching when I unknowingly learn new skills which I can act upon. If you’re reading this, I hope you have learnt something about bees and are able to help one if you’re in a similar situation.
Photo credit Hebert Santos