Does it have special significance for you?
Was just wondering.
I have a favorite refrigerator magnet that says:
Don't Forget To Bee Awsome
that I got at a local farmer's market.
And a sewing box with bees on it that says:
You Are My Queen Bee
that I couldn't resist buying for myself!

IcyPeas

(23,796 posts)

6. "Telling the Bees" folklore

Reply to sestina (Reply #5)

Thu Jun 12, 2025, 10:23 PM

Jun 12

I read this story about "Telling the Bees" and it always stuck with me. I can't remember where I came across it... it wasn't Wikipedia... but read this if you'd like. I always say hello to any bees I see now too. And I'm in awe of their intelligence and ability to communicate with each other.

Telling the bees is a Western European tradition in which bees are told of important events, including deaths, births, marriages and departures and returns in the keeper's household. If the custom was omitted or forgotten and the bees were not "put into mourning," then it was believed a penalty would be paid, such as the bees leaving their hive, stopping the production of honey or dying.[1]

Telling the bees

https://share.google/SIHvJvVASbJbZqLQF

sestina

(342 posts)

7. Thanks for this fascinating info.

Reply to IcyPeas (Reply #6)

Fri Jun 13, 2025, 12:19 AM

Jun 13

I like to think about how bees do different kinds of dances to communicate different things.
"Telling the Bees" makes me think of stories by Alice Hoffman, which, while not about bees, have elements of magic and whimsy that I've always enjoyed.
Thanks for sharing.

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