Topics: Commitment; Community; Dedication; Determination; Diligence; Jobs; Nature; Sacrifice; Self-denial; Teamwork; Wonder; Work
References: Psalm 8:1–4; 19:1–3; Proverbs 6:6; 30:25; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16
That sixteen-ounce jar of honey in your pantry exists only because tens of thousands of bees flew some 112,000 miles in a relentless pursuit of nectar gathered from 4.5 million flowers. Every one of those foraging bees was female. By the time each died—living all of 6 weeks during honey-making season—she had flown about 500 miles in 20 days outside the hive.
As these bees were flying themselves to death, production inside the hive continued with stupendous efficiency, as follows: A bee brings nectar to the hive, carried tidily in her “honey stomach.” The bee is greeted by a younger, homebody receiver bee, who relieves her of her load. A receiver bee deposits nectar into a cell, reducing its water content and raising its sugar level by fanning it with her wings and regurgitating it up to 200 times, killing microbes along the way. More bees surround this cell and others and fan them with their wings 25,000 times or so, turning nectar into honey. When the honey is ripe, wax specialists arrive to cap off the cells. That is how every single ounce of every single honey pot, bottle, or jar in the world—hundreds of thousands of them—is brought into being.
“Every gulp of raw honey is a distinct, unique, unadulterated medley of plant flavor; a sweet, condensed garden in your mouth,” writes Holley Bishop, an awed amateur beekeeper trying her level best with ordinary English to capture a miracle.
—Eric Miller, “Shock and Awe,” Books and Culture (September–October 2006)