This little piece of fiction is inspired by the bees of the Sea of Cortez, who are always on the hunt for fresh water in dry season and when they find it on your boat, come in big swarms and stay for hours. They have never behaved aggressively and I’ve never been stung. The bees are more interested in staying together than in a particular place, so you can herd them out from where you don’t want them, once you figure this out and have the temperament to do so. I consider them animal friends and work around them. Others on the boat don’t always share this perspective.
Bee 10-24 spotted the white boat anchored in the cove and buzzed across the water to investigate. It looked promising as a source of scarce fresh water for the bee and his comrades back in their desert hive.
The bee scouted out the boat, flying an organized search pattern, antennae tuned to the molecular signatures of liquids containing fresh water. The bee received a few hits from drops of dew water, a small splatter remaining overnight from the outdoor shower, but nothing worth getting excited about. Then, flying over a large grey bag sitting on the boat’s deck, Bee 10-24’s sensors were lit up intensely by a strange blend of fresh water and other complex but interesting molecules hovering in the air above the bag.
The bee descended into the opening of the bag and was almost overcome with the richness of the air inside; water vapor with strong notes of yeast and fermented fruit. Bee 10-24 landed on the glass surface of a bottle inside the bag next to a drop of liquid and took a sip. The bee shut off signals from its compound eyes, tilted back its head and rolled the fluid around its mouth, its qualities revealing themselves to the bee’s palate, “Water based, but not pure water. Oxidized fruit forward, with a musty finish. Definitely quaffable. Worth recommending to friends.”
The bee flew fast back to the hive where it buzzed out to its best pals Bees 74-65, 39-21 and 12-92, “Yo, dudes! I found us some tasty juice! Let’s score. Follow me!”
The four bees wizzed across the water towards the boat, trailed by a dozen others who had overheard the buzzing about the found juice and were compelled by bee peer pressure to join the party. They flew right to the bag and swarmed around its opening, daring each other to be the first to dive in. Bee 10-24 was first in, with its four pals close behind, while a few other bees made tentative forays into the bag and most of the others awkwardly hovered and observed, not quite sure if they should be doing this.
The bees that ventured into the bag flitted from one bottle to another, sampling the drips, drops and dregs, becoming more confident, even a bit rambunctious with each sip.
The woman on the boat saw the small swarm of bees over the bag and was displeased. While she tolerated visits to the boat by a few thirsty bees, too many annoyed her and she worried about getting stung. So, she wafted the bees above the bag away and zipped up its opening.
Suddenly it was dark for half-dozen partying bees in the bag, just like the being inside their hive. They lay still for a little while, trying to figure out what happened. That brief uncomfortable moment was shattered by wild triumphant buzzing from Bee 10-24, belting out like a war-cry, “Dudes! Check it out! Our own hive. With tasty juice everywhere. And, best of all, no Queen! Yee-haw!” The other bees buzzed loudly in unison, “Party! Party! Party!”
The bees remained in the bag, stumbling about from drip to drop to dreg and lolling in disheveled indulgence for three days until the boat returned to its harbor and the man dumped the contents of the bag into a recycling bin. Bee 39-21, disconnected and reconnected its eyes several times in the bright light and groggily buzzed, “Whoa. Dudes, where the fuck are we? I am like, so wasted.” The other bees, barely able to fly, tried to group-think an answer, but were not able to synchronize their communications and gave up, a few taking lazy slobbering slurps from now more sticky, syrupy, slightly putrescent drops of liquid, looking completely clueless.
After a few minutes, Bee 10-24 shook its wings, stretched its legs and rolled its head about to clear it and managed to buzz out, “I think we better get out of here before the yellow jackets arrive. You know the sort of trouble they give us when we stumble into their neighborhood.” Bee 12-92 buzzed, “Ugh. I’m starting to not feel so good. The taste in my mouth ain’t honey.” Bee 74-65 buzzed a groan back, “Shut the fuck up, dude. You’re gonna make us all feel sick.” The other bees chimed together in a weak, slurred, out-of-sync buzzing, “Yeah. Shut the fuck up.”
The small band of bees struggled to assemble themselves into a motley swarm and flew off, weaving through the air until they found a shady rest spot. They slept for most of the day, gradually regaining their wits and energy. As they began to rouse themselves and stretch their wings to get ready for the long flight back to the hive, they heard the sound of another bee drawing near, so they buzzed out a greeting.
Bee 88-12, flew over and buzzed with great excitement, “Dudes! I’ve been looking all over for you. Where have you been? The Queen is really pissed.” Before the other bees could answer, the bee continued, “You won’t believe what I found on the way here, though! Only the best juice…ever! Want to party?” The resting bees looked at each other, twisted their mouth parts into big grins and buzzed in unison, “Party! Party! Party!” Bee 88-12, buzzed back loudly, “Yee-haw! Follow me!”, and the bees took off, playfully bumping into each other and showing off performing reckless aerobatics as they flew.
They would deal with The Queen later.