Bee Happy, But Please Don't Bite
This freestyle collage was inspired by a visit to a lovely garden (see highlighted in my Weekend-Experience post), and by a bee sting. The visit was lovely. The sting, not so much.
Why Do Bees Seem to Sting Some People More Than Others?
The day I got stung I was working in the backyard. So was my daughter. Bees swarmed me, and barely swarmed her. Yesterday, while I walked to my car, my daughter called,"Watch out Mom. A bee is swarming you."
Sure enough, a bee was circling one of the few pieces of bare skin I had left vulnerable--my hand. Despite the heat, I had decided to wear long sleeves and pants outside. The bee sting had been only the final insult after a barrage of other bug bites.
Bugs love me. If only I could bottle that affection elixir and figure how to make it work with people :))
The 'bee' that swarmed me was actually a variety of yellow jacket which is a wasp, not a true bee. Although, in the vernacular we rarely distinguish between the species.
German Wasp, (Vespula germanica)
Credit: Alvesgaspar. Used under CC 3.0 Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
An article published in New Zealand Entomologist, 1993, Wasps Actually Recognize Human Faces, reports that men in a study were three times more likely to be stung than women. The authors of the article suggest that human behavior may explain the difference. However, the authors also add there are likely reasons that remain obscure.
One man, for example, who was stung more than anyone else, was also apparently targeted by a wasp for no discernible reason. A quote:
Once, when people were not involved in wasp work, a passing wasp, apparently without provocation, singled out and stung the male who had received the most stings in our survey. This suggests some other factor or factors, such as natural
odours or clothing colour, could elicit an aggressive response from wasp.
It is possible the wasp that swarmed me on the way to the car was the same one that stung me in the backyard. Wasps may actually recognize human faces. According to ars.technia, "Wasps with many queens will remember your face as they sting you".
The wasp is a social insect and recognizing each other in the nest is an important part of their social behavior. The facial recognition ability among wasps, it has been suggested, extends to recognizing human faces.
Oh no!!!
My Collage
As always, this was fun. The first collage reflects my sense of peace when I'm at the beach in a natural setting. The second collage, with frantically swarming bees, was made for extra fun.
Some steps toward completing these collages:
LMAC has kicked off its summer contest hiatus with a sort of freestyle jamboree. Anyone can offer a freestyle collage until the fall season begins. We have received may brilliant pictures in the last week. These inspired me to create my own.
I thank the following LMAC regular contributors for providing pictures to the LIL gallery. These pictures were essential to completion of my collage:
@yaziris
flower garden
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/7647
and
garden flowers
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/7645
@muelli
buddha
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/6172
@marilour
xerophytic landscape
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/5757
@redheadpei
chipmunk
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/6318
Two elements in the collage were my own. One came from LIL: @agmoore
miami horizon beach
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/9930
Others, such as the osprey, pollinator sign, bee, speedboat and bird, will soon be in the library (my next LIL post--coming soon).
You can see that LIL, the LMAC Image Library, was an essential part of my collage creating process this week. Everyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from the library. Learn about the procedure here.
I wish all my readers peace and health, and a bite-free summer.
