Bees

This is the first picture I took in Korea. I snapped it on my first day as I walked through a park to my school for the first time.

I was shock at the size of these bees, about as thick and as long as my middle finger. They looked majestic as they glided and hovered to and from their inverted-top-shaped nest that teetered at the end of a bush, busier or at least as busy as anyone I encountered in Korea.

I took a few seconds, in awe, to just take in this sight that was so completely new to me. It was so surprising to me that young children skateboarded, played catch, and squeaked around in training-wheel-bound-bikes, old men and woman strolled about but no one even glanced, nor even batted an eyelash at these king bees.

Day after day as I past through the park, I would say hello and marvel at the sight of the giant bees. Never hesitating to push back the boughs of the bush to get a good look at my new friends. The wonder and beauty of such a sight always made me smile from ear to ear.

One day when I made my daily stop to visit the bees. I was stung, shocked actually at the fact that the bees were not there, the nest was not there either. Actually the whole bush was hacked in half, only the stump and a few branches near the lower half of the thick bush remained. It looked like someone just sawed the top right off. The sight was so unusual in the presence of so many bushes that were green, full, and untouched. I was saddened that my friends were gone.

I showed one of the Korean teachers at my school the (above) picture that I took of the bees. Her eyes bugged out at the sight of the picture and she immediately asked me if I had taken the picture.

I said "of course".

She lively exclaimed "Do you know what those are???"

I said "They look like bees to me.... what are they?"

"They are king bees!"

At that time I explained to her the majesty of the bees.

She really didn't seem to be interested in my beautiful and careful assessment of these little majesties.

She interrupted, "If you get stung by one of those you die!"