the.com/honey bee
A democracy that votes with its butt and runs the world's food supply on dance moves.
means A social bee species (genus Apis) that makes and stores honey in a hive, pollinating much of our food as a side effect of feeding itself.
from 'Honey' traces back to Old English 'hunig,' from a Proto-Germanic root (also behind German 'Honig') that originally just meant the golden color — honey was 'the yellow stuff' before it had its own special word. 'Bee' comes from Old English 'beo,' from a Proto-Germanic root possibly related to words for 'quiver' or 'tremble,' a nod to the buzz. Put together, 'honey bee' is a plain, practical Old English compound — folks naming the insect by the sweet thing it gives them, no myth required.
- waggle dance
- literally votes on sites by vibrating in a figure eight
- one bee's lifetime
- produces about a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey
- pollination value
- responsible for roughly one in three bites of food
- the sting
- kills the bee, a one-way grenade for the hive's sake