"The bees are angry today," said our guide Peter, rather nonchalantly, as we made our way over to the hives. "They stung me four times this morning-- through the bee suit."
What the heck had I signed up for? Never did I ever imagine I'd allow myself to be swarmed by bees, but it seems that's exactly what was about to happen. I'd chosen to visit the Terres de l'Ebre to challenge myself with things I'd never done before (like squeezing into a wet suit and swimming with tuna).
I put on the bee suit and mentally prepared myself for a bee sting or two. Peter built a fire in his smoke machine, essential to confuse the bees. We arrived to the the hives, cameras ready, and the bees emerged, slowly. They covered our bodies with a sort of persistence, and I completely froze.
For about five minutes I simply could not move.
I felt like my camera, glued to my eye, was somehow protecting my face, as if seeing the bees from the distance of my lens would make them less real.
Facing fears
Most people who know me know that I was once extremely afraid of insects. A serious arachnophobe, I'd get anxiety just by hearing the word spider. And while I wasn't quite as afraid of bees, whenever there was one in my bedroom (a rather common occurrence since my bedroom was in my house's attic), I'd scream and often cry in panic.
Luckily, I have gotten much better over the past five years. I read about exposure therapy in high school and basically forced myself to do it over a period of time. I can say the word spider, and even see one sometimes without too much panic.
But back to the bee suit.
We had just finished a wonderful tour of Muria, an Apiarian Interpretation Center in the Tarragona region of Catalonia, Spain. We were visiting as a part of a Terres de l'Ebre press trip, to learn about the importance of honey bees to the region. After a fascinating tour, all that was left to do was visit the bees in their hives.
When the fear passed and I finally unfroze, it was pretty incredible to see the honey bees working away. They are some of nature's most important creatures, and fascinating insects.
Fun facts about honey bees
- We know that bees have been around for 30 million years.
- Bees are the only insect that produces food that humans consume.
- Many plants absolutely rely on bees for pollination (which is why it is devastating that so many bees are dying). The plants produce yummy nectar to lure the bees in.
- One bee would have to travel over 100,000 miles and visit 5 million flowers to produce 1 liter of honey! That's why one bee only produces 1/12 of a tablespoon of honey during its life.
- Every day a bee does between 10 and 15 trips back and forth to his hive, visiting up to 100 flowers.
- Hives contain 20,000 to 60,000 bees, but only one is chosen as the queen. She can live 40 times longer than the worker bees-- due to the Royal Jelly that they feed her.
- Bees' venom is used in medicine to cure rheumatism, arthritis and many other illnesses.
- The taste of honey depends on the blossoms that the bees were eating from when it was produced. The color and flavors range enormously and each type is said to have different health properties.
You can visit the bees too, as a part of a tour with Muria. Email them to request a date and an English speaking guide (if necessary).
We visited Muria as a part of our Terres de l'Ebre press trip, organized in part by TBEX and Costa Brava Tourism. All opinions (and fear of insects) are completely my own.
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