‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left’ - Albert Einstein World Bee Day 2024: With bee population declining considerably in Goa, concerted efforts are being made by individuals and the state government to encourage beekeeping.(Freepik) One Saturday evening in Aldona (North Goa) Market. The crowd was milling around Savio D’Cunha’s wooden table to peek into a glass lid box that had a tiny hole sealed with a screw.
Inside, hundreds of bees were buzzing and crawling around hexagonal combs laden with blobs of dark brown honey. These tiny Trigona (Barik Mus) stingless bees must have flown thousands of miles to collect nectar (bees fly 55,000 miles back and forth for 2 million flower visits to make one pound of honey ). In the crowd, I could not find the honey bee and the worker bees were gloriously unaware of the curiosity around them.
The drone bee (black male bee) was dead. That’s the sole function of a drone bee - mate with the queen and die. (Also read: Weird Science | Understanding the science behind "killer" bee attacks) Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India's general elections, only on the HT App.
Download Now! Download Now! Questions were louder than the bee buzz. “Do bees bring bad luck? Should we destroy the beehive hanging in our garden?” “Do bees cause cracks in the wall?” “Do bees cause a lot of nuisance?” Before another question fell on the bee box, Savio turned into a .
