One winter day in Spiro, Ok, Daddy knew his hive of bees were probably in stress for enough food to make it through the rest of the winter. He told me this story.
He went into the chicken house and selected a nice fat hen. He killed and dressed her. (well, I don't remember if he removed her insides. It probably wouldn't matter, considering the circumstances.) He put her in the oven and baked her.
When she was ready, the secured her in front of the hive in such a way that coons or other animals could not eat or carry her away. The outside tempertures were such that bees gathered outside their hive in the heat of the day.
Being busy with other activities, he forgot about the hen and the hive, for several days. After a week or two, he went to check......! All flesh was removed from the bones. All gristle had been removed. The bones were laying just were they had fallen. And the bones were pitted as if the bees had sucked out all the juice and fluid they could get.
It did save the hive until spring. He never explained how he knew to do it, or why he thought of it. I mentioned it to Keith a year or two ago and he didn't know anything about it.
I told the story to one of my good friends, "a man who knows all things," and he refuted the possibility. That same week I had seen a picture in the news paper of an eagle eating a road kill opossum. He denied that as well, saying "eagles eat only fish."
Below is an article I found (along with others) on the internet:
Moment of Science Carnivorous Bees
By Don Glass
Posted September 2, 2004
Where in the world are there bees that couldn't care less about flowers, but sure love to sink their mouths into dead animal carcasses?Bees that eat meat?
The Trigona hypogea is a type of bee found in South American. It not only collects meat from animal carcasses, but has more recently been discovered to have a taste for live prey as well.
Scientists have seen the bees swiftly raid recently abandoned wasp nests, carrying off wasp eggs, larvae, and pupae until the nest is empty. They’ve observed the bees collecting toad eggs too.
All developing, young bees need protein. Pollen is actually very rich in protein. The adults of most bee species feed predominantly on nectar and save the pollen for their younger colony members. These South American bees simply require a different source of protein. Their anatomy reflects their different eating habits.
The leg modifications that enable most bee species to transport pollen are largely diminished on these bees. Their mouthparts are sharper, sort of tooth-like.
The bees prepare the meat for later consumption by the younger members of the colony by chewing it and then mixing it with sugary liquids, perhaps collected from fruit. Microbes break the mixture down into a viscous goo, which delivers important nutrients to the young bees.
I do recall that Samson found a nest of honey bees inside a Lion carcass. Jud. 14:8. (might not apply)
Interesting! Maybe Daddy had read it in a Beekeeping book or the VET book PaPa had. Keep writing it is all interesting. Donnie
ReplyDeleteCarlton, Your stories are so interesting. I know that it takes a lot of time to write these memories. I really appreciate all your effort. Love,Rachel
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