Did anybody else catch the wildlife programme on BBC2 last night that
featured the 'Bedouin' bees from the desert in Oman? These wonderful
insects have, I recall, been mentioned by Garth once before. Their
honeycomb hangs from a tree, with no external protection apart from the
bees themselves. The film showed the bees successfully fighting off and
killing hornets and a wild nest being taken by a local man, accompanied
by his child who was being taught the art of handling these bees. No
protective clothing was worn. Apparantly, if the movements are
sufficiently slow and gentle there is no danger of being stung. The
brood section of the nest was simply sliced off the honey store, mounted
on two sticks (in this state rather resembling a frame of honeycomb),
and left till evening when it would be collected and taken home.
Penny Munn
Lancashire/ Scotland