To Bee or Not To Bee Mikel J Stoops, Grand Master or Masons in Kansas 2021-2022 Saying that the beehive represents industry is an oversimplification. It is true that within the colony of honeybees that lives in the hive, most facets of what we term industry are represented. The bees gather raw materials in the form of nectar and pollen. They manufacture products such as honey, wax, and royal jelly. They provide services by cleaning and protecting the hive and by regulating its temperature. They even distribute their products to the brood and the queen. But, that is not the definition of industry that is implied in our teachings. Masonry teaches being industrious or diligent in our labors to support our fellow man and our society. Even still, there is so much more that we can learn from the honeybees and their community. When we talk about honeybees, there is a clear distinction between the physical structure in which the organisms exist and the group of organisms. The structure is called a hive, and the group of bees is called a colony. Take the colony out of their hive, and they will build a new one allowing the colony to live on. Maybe that is the first lesson we can learn from the study of bees. The temple is the structure in which Masons meet, and the Lodge is the group of Masons. I know that we have come to use the term lodge interchangeably for the building and the group, but maybe we have done so to the detriment of both. In a colony, there are three types of honeybees. There is a single queen, a few hundred drones, and tens of
thousands of workers. The queen has two prominent roles. She is responsible for producing all the bees in the colony and producing and secreting a pheromone or scent chemical that keeps the colony intact. When a queen dies, the lack of this pheromone signals the worker bees to create a new queen. The workers do this by feeding a larva an exclusive diet of royal jelly. Royal jelly is a high nutrition substance produced by the bees, enabling the queen to grow into a mature insect capable of reproduction. Once the queen begins to reproduce, every new bee in that colony will be her offspring. Like the queen's pheromone production, Masonic leaders and mentors need to provide education, support, charity, and fellowship that keeps our lodges intact and provide for our Craft's survival by producing enlightened and educated Masons. Masons need to ensure that we are giving our members the knowledge and skills required so that they can step up and be our future leaders. The drones have only one purpose, and that is to mate with the queen. Though theirs is a vital role in the survival of the colony, they are a drain on the group's resources. This is illustrated in two ways. First, the execution of their only purpose causes their death. Yes, the act of mating kills them. Second, winter is a time when bees cannot forage for food. So, the colony must conserve its resources within the hive. When the colony is preparing for winter, the worker bees kick the drones out of the hive and allow them to die. New drones will
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