Bee Movie: The Real Story

listen:

Barry B. Benson may be a king bee on the big screen, but in the real bee world, girls rule. (Courtesy Dreamworks)

Jerry Seinfeld are you out there? Because we have to talk. I heard that you have a new movie out. It looks like it’s really humming along. But Jerry, it’s obvious that you don’t know much about honeybees, at all. And I really am a big fan of yours, but speaking as a professional naturalist, former beekeeper, and female person, the lack of basic biological knowledge in your movie, quite frankly, gives me hives.

Let’s start with some basic facts. Number 1: Almost all honeybees are female. Not that there aren’t any male bees, but the females outnumber them nearly 1,000 to 1 in your average hive. Second, the male bees have nothing to do with making honey. All the worker bees are females and they do all of the work in the hive. Period. Perhaps it’s the feminist in me, but it really bugs me that in your movie all the workers, including the so-called “best ones” are males.

In fact, the drones, as the male bees are technically known, have only one task. And that is to um, “help” new queens start their own colony. And, if for some reason a hive lost all of its drones, and I’m not getting personal here guys, the queen bee and her workers would be able to carry on just fine.

Sorry, Jerry, but in the real bee world, girls rule. You just can’t get around that point, so to speak. Too bad with that big budget, you couldn’t have hired a biologist or two to help you create an authentic buzz. Then, your movie would have really been sweet.