Page 140 - Devotion Among Animals Revealing the Work of God

DEVOTION AMONG ANIMALS

5. Before worker bees set out to find food, they have another im-
portant obligation to fulfill: guard duty.
In each hive, there are bees guarding the entrance. Their duty is
to fight off intruders trying to enter the hive. Every creature that does
not have the hive's resident scent is considered an enemy of the hive's
larvae and bees.
If an outsider appears at the hive's entrance, the guard bees re-
spond mercilessly and sting the intruder. Their venom contains a fast-
dispersing odor perceived by other bees as an alarm call, and they all
rush to the entrance, ready for battle.
If a bee stings the enemy, she will inject as much venom as possi-
ble, giving off a stronger odor. The stronger the odor, the fiercer her
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mates become.
Of course, defending the hive means usually suicide. The sting of
a bee is barbed like the porcupine's quill and in most cases, cannot be
extracted once it has been inserted. When the bee tries to fly away after
the sting, its lower abdomen tears away. But the part that comes off
contains the poison gland and the nerves controlling them. Even
though the bee herself dies from this injury, the gland that she left be-
hind continues to pump poison into the wound of the victim. 141 And
so, the rest of the colony benefits from her sacrifice.
How can we explain a tiny creature working tirelessly for others
from the moment it is born, caring for and even risking its life for
them? All bees and ants have been doing this for millions of years,
wherever they lived on Earth. Obviously these creatures, in their short
but dedicated lives, act according to the will of God, their Creator.

[Hud said,] "I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your
Lord. There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My
Lord is on a Straight Path." (Qur'an, 11: 56)

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