Page 46 - The Miracle of the Honeybee

44 THE MIRACLE OF THE HONEYBEE

their offspring, in other words that this represents an advantage to them.
This claim contains a number of inconsistencies, however.
For instance, guard bees attack and fight insects such as hornets, which
are much larger than themselves, without a moment’s hesitation. The
claim that bees do so out of a consideration of their own interests and that
this represents an advantage to them raises a number of questions. Are
bees able to think in terms of defending their colony’s young as they en-
gage in such behavior? Can bees possess the concepts of past and future
and have concerns and expectations regarding these? What advantage can
their deaths bring to worker bees as they defend their hive?
There is of course no question of bees thinking in such terms. Neither
have individual bees anything to gain from this. Even if they did, there
would still be no point in sacrificing their lives. Guard bees protect their
hive solely because that is the task that God entrusted to them.
For a creature devoid of any reason, to establish a plan, act in the light
of that plan, display exemplary cooperation and engage in self-sacrifice is
behavior that cannot possibly have arisen by chance. This behavior has
been taught to them—in other words, it has been inspired by God.
Just like all the other creatures on Earth, the bees that are the subject of
this book act according to God’s inspiration. All living things in the uni-
verse—horses, birds, insects, trees, flowers, leopards and elephants—have
bowed their heads to God. Everything they do is by God’s inspiration.
God reveals His dominion over the living world in Surah Hud:

. . . There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is
on a Straight Path. (Surah Hud: 56)

Fifth Stage: Foraging

In the final period of their lives, the worker bees’ job is to collect food.
They meet all their own nutritional needs from the pollen and nectar they
gather from flowers. Pollen is rich in protein, and nectar is both a source of
quick energy and the raw material for honey. Since bees are unable to for-
age for food in the winter, they store honey in the hive. They do not store