Lightning Bees of California

[naturebee]

Hello All,

I am astonished that there are so many
educated people that never knew that
honey bees would mate with lightning
bugs. But I tell you it was common practice among
bees and lightening bugs in the forests of
California where I once lived and worked
as a prospector. Off in the region near a place
called Vinegar Pond, where Pickled
Cucumbers grew on vines and upon which
we fatted and pickled pork on the hoof,
and where the giant California trees grew,
it was no uncommon thing for the us to
discover in the hollow of some of these
gigantic trees immense swarms of bees that
worked a night force who were provided
with illuminating wings. In fact, it was
necessary for such an economy among bees
in that region in order to fill the hollows of
these gigantic trees. It was in this great forest,
where I witnessed a remarkable conflict
between California honeybees and yellow jackets.

While prospecting, we happened upon a gigantic
bee tree, the hollow of which was so large that you
could easily have placed the Cortland Nominal
school building within it, were it of a more oval
shape. I tell you, it’s the solemn truth, if ever
I spoke it in my life! This hollow was filled
with thousands of tons of the most delicious
honey you ever tasted. There was a large stream
of honey that flowed from a crack in this tree
to a depression in the ground about an eight of
a mile distant, forming a lake of pure honey that
was several yards across.

This lake was surrounded by California bears
that fattened on this honey. They would toil
about ‘Honey Lake‘, as we called it, through
the day, only leaving it long enough to visit
‘Vinegar Pond‘, a mile distant, to quench their
inordinate thirst created by continually
lapping honey from this lake. We were
constantly supplied with the juiciest and most
delicately flavored bear steaks from the bears
we would shoot while on there way from
Honey Lake to Vinegar Pond.

These bears were very docile, as they were
never hungry, and believe me when I tell you,
it was a common thing for members of our
prospecting party to mingle with the bears
at the lake side. They never offered to resent
any intrusion from us; they were in fact less
savage than so many fattening hogs.

This particular variety of California bee is
much larger than our bees. They average about
the size of sparrows. The queen is as large as a
robin. Not far from this particular bee tree was
located an immense nest of yellow jackets, about
the size of humming birds. This nest was suspended
between two of the largest of the giant trees and
was three or four times the size of the dome of
the Capital at Washington, D.C. It was these
yellow jackets that had created the crack in
the bee tree, through which the honey flowed
that created Honey lake. The yellow jackets
drilled the crack with their stingers and thieved
upon the honey that ran out until one day,
the bees organized a night attack on the
yellow jackets nest.

Aerial Attack by Night.

While in camp one night telling stories over
our supper of broiled bear steak and delicious
honey, with natural grown pickled cucumbers
and pickled pigs feet fresh from the pen, we
were startled by a terrific roaring that resembled
the sound of a distant waterfall. We strengthened
the fastenings of our tent and got inside, expecting
a terrible storm to burst upon momentarily.

After several minutes of suspense we ventured
outside, and beheld in the distance the strangest
sight imaginable. The night force of bees were
all out and flying in regular line of battle, some
fifty lines deep, I should judge. The constant
flashes from their illuminated wings lighted
the surrounding country for a half mile. You
could see to read as plainly as under an electric
light.

The roaring sound created by their wings
was what we had believed to be the warning
of a great storm. We followed the direction
the bees were taking and some came near
the immense nest of yellow jackets suspended
between the trees. The bees surrounded the
yellow jacket citadel by the million and soon
covered the entire outside until the dome like
shape of the yellow jacket nest glowed with
the constant flashing of the wings of the bees,
making it resemble an immense ball of fire.

The yellow jackets inside the nest were at the
mercy of the bees, who tore large holes in
the nest and stung to death the yellow jackets
as fast as they were reached, and who were
evidently bewildered by the flashing lights
from the illuminated wings of the bees. The
roaring sound created by the bees was
augmented by that of the doomed yellow jackets.

The fight lasted approximately three hours
and the next morning the ground was covered
eight or ten feet deep with the dead bodies
of the yellow jackets and bees for rods. The
great dome like nest of the yellow jackets
looked as though a cyclone had struck it. The
bees had simply annihilated the yellow jackets,
however, and had lost thousands of their own
number as well.

The second day after the battle the stench that
arose from the scene of conflict was so great
that we were obliged to move our camp two
miles away. I have never cared for honey flavored
bear steak, pickled cucumbers or pickled pigs feet
since that time. I tell you, it’s the solemn truth,
if ever I spoke it in my life!

Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/H...eybeeArticles/

[Ross]

................

[db_land]

Hey Joe,
I saw a queen like the one you describe. She glowed in the dark and was more reddish than orange. I don't know what they were doing, but there were a LOT of Darth-Vader like drones around her - they looked somewhat like crows.

Happy Spring to All

[ScadsOBees]

Now that is large-cell beekeeping! The only thing that I could think about was the millions of mites the size of dinner plates!!

[naturebee]

That was for April fools day

The story was based on a tall tale that made its rounds
in the 1890's

Best Wishes,
Joe
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/H...eybeeArticles/

[Angi_H]

That was funny very funny.

Angi