Christmas is over.  The weather is cold, and the bees are clustered.  What is a beekeeper to do?  This beekeeper reads.  While browsing at my local library, I happened upon the novel The Bees by Laline Paull (HarperCollins Publisher, copyright 2014).  The book describes the inner working of a bee colony whose hive is located in an abandoned orchard.   The story is told from the perspective of Flora 717, a bee born to the lowly class of sanitation workers.  The author skillfully describes nearly every  possible event within the life of the colony including:  wasp attacks, a mouse invading the hive box, repercussions of climate change, contact with pesticides, spreading disease, mating, loss of habitat, swarming, and my personal favorite…..The Visitation.  The Visitation is when the beekeeper comes and takes honey from the hive.  The Visitation is one of the things the bees fear the most.  The book describes a cut throat world where the ruling class clings to power, and the motto of all bees is, “Accept, Obey, and Serve.”  Continue reading →