I find this a bit sad, although most people will say “they’re only bees”. They (and lots of other beekeepers with their bees on trucks) were in the area to help with pollinating crops. I’m very enamoured of the idea that we still need bees to be brought in to perform such a crucial task for our agriculture, which makes it all the more sad to me to hear of the accident befalling the dutiful drones. Millions of bees were released on Sunday (and apparently hundreds of thousands probably killed) after a truck carrying several of their colonies overturned near Sacramento, California. You can listen to the NPR story (here) about the resulting chaos (and the emergency call-out to beekeepers in the area for help) and sting-fest that followed.
You can also read more on this in the local newspaper in the area, er… The Sacramento Bee. (No, really!)
-cvj
As Arthur C Clarke just died, I am reminded of (spoiler alert!) his story “Critical Mass” which deals with a similar incident.
I see from the newspaper article that there is a national shortage of bees. Quite a worry.
My dad and grandparents were beekeepers. Our bees died in a flash flood when I was 6 years old, so I have a romantic outlook about beekeeping which isn’t shared by my older brother, who hated all chores related to beekeeping and rejoiced when they drowned. My dad taught us a lot about how to relate to bees. We were taught to feel sorry for them when they stung us, because they’d lose a portion of their bodies along with the stinger, and thus would die. It might be a similar perspective that enables me to be so fond of spiders in the face of rampant arachnophobia.