Catching the Buzz
In June 1952, when Lindauer was busy in his second summer of swarm watching
in munich, I was born some 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) away, in a little
town in Pennsylvania. a few years later, my family moved to Ithaca, new york,
which has been basically my hometown ever since. While growing up in ellis
Hollow, a rural community a few miles east of Ithaca, I spent much time alone
exploring the wild areas around our home: shady hardwood forests on the steep
hillsides, sunlit abandoned fields where the land slopes gently, and winding cascadilla
creek connecting broad swamps in the valley bottom. my favorite find
was about a mile from home down a dirt road that led to an old farmhouse. Here,
in a sunny spot beside a field of goldenrod, I discovered two wooden hives of
bees that belonged to a beekeeper. I loved visiting these hives. Sitting beside one,
I could see bees landing heavily at the entrance with loads of brightly colored
pollen, I could hear the hum of bees fanning their wings to ventilate their nest,
and I could smell the aroma of ripening honey. That thousands of insects could
live together so densely and harmoniously, and could build delicate wax combs
filled with delicious honey, was an almost miraculous wonder that left a deep
impression. no less impressive was what I saw when I lay in the tall grass beside
these hives: thousands of humming bees crisscrossing the blue summer sky like
shooting stars.