Page 84 - The Miracle of the Honeybee
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82                  THE MIRACLE OF THE HONEYBEE


                 Population Planning in the Hive
                 Thanks to the special organization within the hive, the thousands of fe-
              male bees in it occupy themselves with work inside and outside the hive,
              rather than looking after the drones, who serve no purpose, all through
              the winter. It is essential that the hive get through the winter. More indi-
              vidual bees would necessitate a larger stock of food, for which more hon-
              eycombs would need to be produced
              and therefore, a greater communal ef-
                                                         Among His signs is
              fort made. Moreover, the drones are
                                                          the creation of the
              larger than the females and taking care
                                                          heavens and earth
              of them is even harder work.
                                                         and all the creatures
                 When necessary, if their food stocks
                                                         He has spread about
              are insufficient, the bees do not stop at
              killing off all the males. They can also   in them. And He has
              destroy the eggs and larvae to reduce      the power to gather
              the numbers in the colony.                 them together when-
                 As the bees carry out their popula-     ever He wills. (Surat
              tion planning in the hive they can            ash-Shura: 29)
              gradually, and in a controlled manner,
              eliminate new individuals at the larval and pupal stages. It has been ob-
              served that this method reduces the population by one-fifth. 71
                 As this account has shown so far, there is a flawless control and order in
              the lives of bees. This order in the hive, capable of responding to all the
              bees’ needs, is a sign that they were created by God. God creates all living
              things with the greatest wisdom. The task of intelligent people is to con-
              sider these living creatures and draw the obvious conclusions.
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