”Little bee, our lord is dead; Leave me not in my distress.”
October 1, 2019 9:49 PM   Subscribe

There was a time when almost every rural British family who kept bees followed a strange tradition. Whenever there was a death in the family, someone had to go out to the hives and tell the bees of the terrible loss that had befallen the family. Failing to do so often resulted in further losses such as the bees leaving the hive, or not producing enough honey or even dying. Traditionally, the bees were kept abreast of not only deaths but all important family matters including births, marriages, and long absence due to journeys. If the bees were not told, all sorts of calamities were thought to happen. This peculiar custom is known as “telling the bees”.
posted by Johnny Wallflower (27 comments total) 63 users marked this as a favorite
 
Very charming — and those pictures!

And now the bees are telling us, but we don't listen.
posted by jamjam at 11:05 PM on October 1, 2019 [9 favorites]


I can tell you that in Auckland New Zealand, this was custom in my Dad's family. He told the bees when Grandad died (1977). Grandad's hive did not swarm, and when Nana died, Dad told his own bees.

Dad is a stone cold atheist and a scientist, but there are some things you just have to do.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:06 PM on October 1, 2019 [45 favorites]


(I should point out that in New Zealand beekeeping is a practical suburban hobby for anyone with a reasonable sized section).
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:07 PM on October 1, 2019 [1 favorite]


Well, at least the children of the future won’t be stung by bees!
posted by growabrain at 12:20 AM on October 2, 2019


I find it quite jarring to simultaneously think that: (a) you need to keep the bees updated on what's happening (which I'm fine with: bee colonies know things, and different colonies very clearly have distinct personalities), and (b) the bees described and pictured were all kept in skep hives (the upside-down basket things), which meant you had to kill all of the bees before getting any honey out - modern framed hives were only developed in the late 19th century.
posted by doop at 12:43 AM on October 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Finally, something that explains this timeline: someone forgot to tell the bees!
posted by chavenet at 12:55 AM on October 2, 2019 [17 favorites]


"I expect you are wondering why I have gathered you all here? One of the bees in this hive is the murderer!"
posted by fallingbadgers at 1:26 AM on October 2, 2019 [27 favorites]


The Whittier poem quoted in the article was in the big poetry collection we used to read aloud out of as a family when I was little. It made a HUGE impression on me.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:08 AM on October 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


No Such Thing as a Fish discussed this in episode 268, which I believe is the same episode to inspire this post about Rod Stewart’s love of miniature trains.
posted by terrapin at 3:49 AM on October 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


My .mil neighbor keeps bees, and does so in his usual punctual and tidy way. He bought an extra bee suit so I could join the fun, and I go over there and help out, talking to the bees throughout. At first, he thought I was nuts, but he has now taken to narrating the work, encouraging the bees to move out of the way, and telling them about the garden next door.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:56 AM on October 2, 2019 [23 favorites]


So. I kept bees and will again (bear...). Where I am from we still “tell the bees” but there is also a tradition that when the keeper passes away the new keeper will go and move all the hives a few inches so the entrance changes position. This I was taught was to let the bees know that something is wrong in the hives life. I don’t know if this would be true (the bees understanding the disruption of the hive) but a hive feels like a sentient being so I like to think it is true enough
posted by mrgroweler at 5:33 AM on October 2, 2019 [27 favorites]


I first heard about this when I read P. L. Travers' (author of Mary Poppins) What the Bee Knows. Besides getting me to tell my bees, it's a brilliant book that is finally back in print!
posted by pt68 at 7:58 AM on October 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


The Omnibus Project podcast also did an episode on this
posted by youknowwhatpart at 8:06 AM on October 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


That helps explain this wonderful little (it's barely a full screen of reading) short story by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon's pen name for non-kid stuff).
posted by Hactar at 8:24 AM on October 2, 2019 [5 favorites]


I first heard of this in the series Larkrise to Candleford. I found it quite charming!
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 8:32 AM on October 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


Also a major plot point in Atwood's "MaddAddam" series.
posted by Autumnheart at 9:05 AM on October 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


I told my bees when the keeper I acquired them from died.
posted by jquinby at 9:37 AM on October 2, 2019 [8 favorites]


By the by, if this sort of bee-related lore is at all interesting to you, I highly recommend The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore by Hilda Ransome.
posted by jquinby at 9:40 AM on October 2, 2019 [7 favorites]


I work in ag research. Confronted with persistent problems in the lab, I finally went out and told the bees about recent staffing changes, including a bee enthusiast leaving. It (a walk and talking things out, probably) helped enough that I still visit the bees when I'm stuck.
posted by momus_window at 10:00 AM on October 2, 2019 [26 favorites]


TIL I need to start keeping bees.
posted by jzb at 10:51 AM on October 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


skep hives (the upside-down basket things), which meant you had to kill all of the bees before getting any honey out
Not necessarily, according to Keeping Bees in Skeps
posted by lagomorph at 11:33 AM on October 2, 2019 [3 favorites]


Interesting about skeps. The received wisdom I heard when I started keeping a few years ago was that they were somehow illegal but apparently that's a myth (or perhaps it varies state to state).
posted by jquinby at 2:46 PM on October 2, 2019 [1 favorite]


The bees inhabiting Notre-Dame survived the inferno. It's got nothing to do with this I just stumbled across the news searching around about this a figured we could use additional bee good news.
posted by Mitheral at 3:14 PM on October 2, 2019 [6 favorites]


The witches in Terry Pratchett talk about telling the bees when someone dies.
Plus Granny Weather wax manages to ride a hive mind . . .
posted by Mesaverdian at 3:23 PM on October 2, 2019 [4 favorites]


Well, I'll bee damned....



the more you know!
posted by mightshould at 5:21 PM on October 2, 2019 [2 favorites]


This is so cute. Thanks for the post.
posted by salvia at 12:07 AM on October 3, 2019 [2 favorites]


Now I want a sequel to My Girl, featuring the beekeeper's family.
posted by daybeforetheday at 3:43 AM on October 3, 2019 [1 favorite]


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