We view bees as one of the tough guys of the flying insect world.
Bees have stings, and a bee sting is quite painful. Some people are scared of
bees, usually needlessly so but not always because bees will occasionally swarm
and attack people en masse. Bee stings can even kill certain people with strong
adverse reactions. And so people are wary of the tough guy that is the bee.
Not so with butterflies. Butterflies are the stuff of children’s story books and pretty pictures. Their wings are multi-coloured and endowed with pretty patterns; they’re delicate creatures with gossamer for wings; they float and flutter in the sunshine; they’re everybody’s favourite in the summer garden. Nobody is wary of butterflies.
It’s interesting to note, therefore, as I have, that when a bee and a butterfly contest the space on a food-bearing flower, the butterfly usually wins.
(When I write my magnum opus – What the Hell This Life is All About – in my next incarnation, I think I might mention the case of the tough bee and the pretty butterfly. That’s forward planning, that is.)
No comments:
Post a Comment