Here I release the first results of one of my classified projects. These projects are serious scientific bee research endeavors usually with a high risk of failure (that is, finding nothing worth reporting).
If a classified project works, however, the results could be useful from a basic science perspective (exploration) or from an applied science perspective (problem solving). Except for Suzanne, rarely do I discuss these classified projects with anyone else because most will fail. I do not want to excite beekeepers with some possible new way of seeing things or a new solution to a bee-related problem when in reality virtually all will never materialize. Moreover, this research would probably never receive funding and would likely be too risky for thesis work at the Master’s or Ph.D. level. While the lack of funding and time for this research have been definite hardships, the research freedom has been vast.
This article describes the striking appearance of how honey bees and other bees (even wasps and ants) may appear to conspecifics (members of their own species) in UV light, which to my knowledge (with honey bees) has probably never been published extensively, that is, not seen like we will witness it here.
In the spirit of such novelty, I decided to begin this article with a compressed mini-scene from one of my upcoming “Bee Child” series books, where the characters, in conversation, happen to reveal how they see bees (like bees). The setting is in the rural hardship of the antebellum South with the two main characters. Amaron is almost 15 years old at the time. He is skinny, still suffering the effects of malnutrition after a horrible early childhood. He has long black hair, large obsidian eyes and facial scars, and knows well about isolation.
The other character is “the Girl.” Little is known about Her, except She has been searching for Amaron. From afar She has revealed incredible abilities that defy anyone’s explanations. Without any disrespect, Amaron and the others call Her “the Girl.” When Amaron meets Her, She is almost 18. The Girl is taller and stronger than him, coming from a more affluent town life. Flowing through Her long straight golden-blonde hair, extending just past Her shoulders, are three dark orange bands of hair color, one on each side of Her head and one over the crown. The dark-orange bands and sky-blue eyes are Her most striking features.
Since She has suffered for her name, I will let Her divulge it in the books. Part bees regard the Girl with reverence. In their writing any direct reference to just Her is capitalized, a convention I follow here.
Amaron and the Girl are part bee, meaning while they appear typical of the time as rural southerners, the bees share intimate aspects of their lives, which part bees are born to receive. Over time, part bees acquire deep connections with bee life. Part bees may casually discuss or do something with bees that we may find surprising, to put it mildly …
