Right, this may read as fiction, but it actually happened to me this morning...
At work, my office has a small balcony. I saw a small honey bee not so much landed as flopped onto it. I noticed she was struggling to walk… stumbling and rolling over. Either she was exhausted or it was too cold, either way, she was on her last legs, literally.
A few minutes later I saw that she wasn’t struggling anymore and just laid there on her back with her legs curled inwards; the typical posture of a dead insect. I didn’t photograph her, but here is how it looked. The only difference is that her wings were out swept like an F-14 when landing.
![[Image: vk65647f13.png]](https://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/vk65647f13.png)
I don’t know why, but I felt a strong urge to bring her indoors. So, I put her in a paper cup and examined her better. She was completely listless, however, I felt compelled to try to warm her up. I began to huff on her gently. After a few seconds I noticed her hind legs unfurl and stretch out. At first I thought it was some kind of stimulus response, but I wasn’t blowing at her directly, more like heavy breathing into the cup.
I continued for about a minute and lo and behold, her other four legs started moving, then her wings started up. Seeing her wings buzzing was an awesome sight. Shortly after, she was completely back to normal and took flight. I had to recapture her as she buzzed against the patio doors and eventually, let her go on her merry way. She flew straight up into the wild blue yonder.
I hope she lives long and prospers; perhaps one day I’ll enjoy her honey. One thing is sure, at least she didn’t perish on my watch.
I’m not sure why I felt the need to post this, but the feel-good factor I just felt made up for a pretty crappy few days I’ve been having.
At work, my office has a small balcony. I saw a small honey bee not so much landed as flopped onto it. I noticed she was struggling to walk… stumbling and rolling over. Either she was exhausted or it was too cold, either way, she was on her last legs, literally.
A few minutes later I saw that she wasn’t struggling anymore and just laid there on her back with her legs curled inwards; the typical posture of a dead insect. I didn’t photograph her, but here is how it looked. The only difference is that her wings were out swept like an F-14 when landing.
I don’t know why, but I felt a strong urge to bring her indoors. So, I put her in a paper cup and examined her better. She was completely listless, however, I felt compelled to try to warm her up. I began to huff on her gently. After a few seconds I noticed her hind legs unfurl and stretch out. At first I thought it was some kind of stimulus response, but I wasn’t blowing at her directly, more like heavy breathing into the cup.
I continued for about a minute and lo and behold, her other four legs started moving, then her wings started up. Seeing her wings buzzing was an awesome sight. Shortly after, she was completely back to normal and took flight. I had to recapture her as she buzzed against the patio doors and eventually, let her go on her merry way. She flew straight up into the wild blue yonder.
I hope she lives long and prospers; perhaps one day I’ll enjoy her honey. One thing is sure, at least she didn’t perish on my watch.
I’m not sure why I felt the need to post this, but the feel-good factor I just felt made up for a pretty crappy few days I’ve been having.
