Image: Thomas Warnack (dpa)
There have been bees on our earth since time immemorial and even longer. The oldest finds of bees preserved in amber are over 50 million years old, the oldest fossilized bee nests are over 100 million years old. Many primeval people will have known about the existence of bees and honey and recognized them as a blessing. And for just as long, the bee has also had a religious significance. Cave paintings from the Stone Age testify to the worship of bees, for the Egyptians honey was considered so valuable that it served as a burial object for the pharaohs, and the Hindus even see bees as the incarnation of the deity Vishnu. According to the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist lived on locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6) and the church teacher Ambrose is said to have been fed as a child by a swarm of bees that settled on his face. Because of this legend, he is also considered the patron saint of beekeepers.
The role that the almost 700 bee species recorded in Austria play in our life and ecosystem is particularly important to us today. The social bees, i.e. those who live in a colony, are the smaller group, but we can learn the most from them for our lives:
Honey bees look at each other in the hive. Every bee, whether female or male, was equipped with certain abilities and organs from birth and accordingly performs a wide variety of tasks over the course of its life. Always those that are currently needed by the people. Honey bees have lived off creation for millions of years without destroying it. The symbiosis they entered into with the flowering plants benefits everyone involved. The bees get food and make a significant contribution to the reproduction and preservation of the flowering plants and all animals and people who live from them.
Honey bees take from their stores exactly what the whole colony needs to survive. Bees watch their supplies. If there are few and/or the weather does not allow food input, the colony slows down its metabolism and breeding activity. No bee wastes resources unnecessarily.
Workers are willing to give their lives to protect their people. Sick bees leave the hive to prevent epidemics, and wardens sting those who come too close to their colony. The good of the community always takes precedence over the good of the individual.
Bees do not waste time on useless things and sensitivities. They work when they are needed, take their rest periods for granted and are curious. When they discover something useful or profitable, they don’t keep the news to themselves, but immediately share it with the other bees in the colony. Because they seem to know one thing instinctively: they have the greatest advantage when everyone is involved in the success.
All of this should make us think about our lives.
Source: Nachrichten
