>    I'd love to read a thread about how the general public regards
> bees and beekeepers

I work in a musium  as an educator and earler this spring was sitting in a
patch of white clover watching bees from a feral hive work.

A teacher on a field trip with her students came up and shouted " WATCH OUT
THERE ARE SOME BEES!!!" and rushed over to step on them. When I told her to
stop she got mad and reported me to my supervissor.  "I was just trying to
keep him from getting hurt, while he was looking for some four leaf clovers
and he got upset with me, she said.  When I told her I was watching the bees
her only question was "Why?"   I asked her about polination and she claimed
that " that stuff is only for Farmers,  bees have no place in the city."
This was from the  teacher, what did the kids learn?

>     For example, if you ask Hollywood for information, you get THE
> SWARM at one extrem and   ULEE'S GOLD at the other.
>    As another example, I have one neighbor who welcomes a nearby hive
> for his garden and on the other side a neighbor who thinks the only good
> bee is a dead bee.
>    Any thoughts on this perceptual conundrum?