When A Bee Gets Buzzed, What Does It Mean?

/ Ally Bean

~ ~ 🐝 ~ ~

MY WEEK THUS FAR HAS BEEN A DOOZY, filled with broken things, unreliable people, and inconveniently rainy weather.  Nothing, despite my best efforts, has gone smoothly.

Exhausted after a trying day, I was sitting on our deck last night.  I had a glass of pinot noir on the table beside me, and was minding me own beeswax, so to speak.

A bee, like the one in the photo above, came out of nowhere and flew directly, seemingly intentionally, into my glass of wine, then proceeded to do the backstroke in the wine in the glass.

As much as this sounds like I’m making up this story, I’m being literal: a large, healthy bee, managed to ruin my glass of red wine, while having himself the best swim ever.

~ ~ 🍷 ~ ~

IT WAS HILARIOUS TO WATCH HIM going around in circles inside the glass, of course.  However, at the same time, it was damned annoying because the wine wasn’t a cheap bottle of plonk– and I had to toss the contents of the glass, bee and all, over the side of the deck onto the grass below.

Zen-Den, gracious human being that he is, brought me another glass of wine from the bottle in the kitchen… and he handed me a paper cocktail napkin to use to cover the top of the glass while I continued to sit on the deck.

But me being me, an English major educated and encouraged to find the meaning in all things, I got lost in my head trying to figure out what it meant that a bee got buzzed, in a most dramatic way, right when I was trying to mellow out.

~ ~ 🤔 ~ ~

THE BEST EXPLANATION I COULD COME UP WITH, based on Occam’s Razor‘s idea of simplicity + obviousness, was that the bee represented me this week, busy doing things, but not in ways that make me happy.

And that following the bee’s lead, I needed to speed up my wine consumption if I was to have as much fun and relaxation as this uninvited bee was having in my wine glass.

So, not being one to argue with Scientific Logic, or the Serendipitous Nature of the Universe, I drank my first glass of wine. Then sipped another one. And suddenly, as if it was all meant to be, everything seemed right within my world. 

71 thoughts on “When A Bee Gets Buzzed, What Does It Mean?”

  3. Apparently this bee has very good taste 😉

    Glad you found your mellow and, with luck, I hope the rest of the week will flow more smoothly.

    If not, apply more wine as needed until the condition improves. Dr. Sisco.

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    • nance, I thought about fishing out the bee, but he was a feisty, drunk little dude that seemed like he’d sting me. So I sent him and his chosen beverage, my wine, into the grass. Hope he made it home okay.

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  5. I feel your pain. Yesterday I have a particularly yummy German imported beer for happy hour. I put it down to do something and found a fruit fly doing a breaststroke. It was almost a full bottle and it was a fruit fly that had been hovering over my obviously decaying tomatoes, I fished it out. However, he ruined it for me because I kept reassuring myself that fruit flies do not hover over poop like their larger obnoxious cousins. The thing to do would have been to join the fly in a breaststroke inside the glass but I didn’t fit.

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  6. I’m not sure I would have tossed out the glass on wine either. Bees are not flies, after all, and honey – if you think about it – is far more disgusting than one little bee swimming around in your wine. But your story reminded me of doing Gestalt therapy. Be the bee, what is the bee feeling…

    So glad that you were able to find your inner bee and relax even if you could not swim the backstroke in your wine. But what happened to the bee? Did he fly away happy in drunken bliss and go tell his little bee friends about the delicious lake he found?

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    • Zazzy, I’m telling you that bee was one drunk little dude who looked like he was in bee heaven as he swam around inside my glass. I like to think that he, and the wine, had a few more magic moments together down there on the grass before he stumbled home with a crazy story to tell. If it weren’t for the adult beverage aspect, this would make a delightful children’s story!

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    • Maggie, I do the same thing in that I think there are lessons to be learned if you pay attention to your natural surroundings. That being said, this little bee dude was such a goof, but I did learn from him to drink. more. wine. Not such a lousy lesson, really.

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  11. I would definitely take it as a sign of things improving in your world. As you say you were having some “issues” my first thought was that the bee stung you, you are allergic and had to go to the hospital for anaphylactic shock treatment. Since it was only the loss of a glass of wine (I would have thrown it away too, eww bugs) I’d say you are over the hump of bad things happening. Of course your version is cool too. Happy Thursday, Ally.

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    • Janet, fortunately the bee was too happy swimming in his own little wine lake to even try to sting me. I threw out the wine with a wistful look on my face, but like you said “eww bugs.” I like your interpretation of this situation, and will cling to the idea that the rest of the week will be great.

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  12. Hmmm, existential bee musings… perhaps the bee was already “buzzed” and that is why it made a beeline for your glass. His festivities were apparently just beginning, then- not unlike a menacing, surly bouncer you Ally Bean, tossed him to the streets and his bar hopping night was abruptly over.

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    • Deb, made me laugh. I like how you’ve got insight into the bee’s thinking. For all I know my wine glass was the last stop on his rowdy night on the town. And you’re right I was the bouncer who sent him packing. But I like to think that I did it in a gentle way, allowing him to linger on the grass, soaked in wine, and still buzzed– before he stumbled home.

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    • Carol, you’ve got a point here. I didn’t think of that. Apparently I wasn’t cool-headed enough in the moment to apply such logic! I was equally fascinated and frustrated by this little bee, who found my wine so inviting.

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  14. Bees are attracted to sweet. Smells anyway (as I understand it). So can you blame the bee for wanting a sip of wine to fortify itself as it buzzed about, doing great bee things for US? Taking a bath in your glass was a bit over the top though. I think you were kind to toss the glass, bee and all into the grass. Saved another bee and it was able (hopefully) to continue to pollinate. We need bees. Doing them harm is one of the stupider things I hear of people doing. Now a wasp/hornet/yellowjacket? Nope. Kill them. ALL. Particularly if they approach your expensive beverage…

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    • Embeecee, you make excellent points here. I suspect that the bee woke up with a monster headache this morning, but other than that, he’s good to continue pollinating to his heart’s desire. I like bees around the house, near the flowers– and in general. But this little guy got a little too friendly, so giving him the heave-ho into the grass seemed like a good idea. 😉

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    • Yes, Beth, I do have some crazy things happen to me. It’s like I’m a magnet for nuttiness, and that includes both people and animals. I mean really, swimming in my wine? Why, I ask you. Why?

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  20. It always helps my state of mind to find messages, even in the quirky happenings of everyday life. If nothing else, they make me laugh, which is a stress reliever and reminds me not to take things too seriously. A sense of humor is a godsend.

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    • Margaret, I’m the same way. I look for the meaning or message in any mess, then decide if I want to change my evil ways– or carry on as is. I agree about it being a stress relief to not take things, or myself, too seriously. I suspect that is the ultimate meaning of this buzzed bee doing the backstroke.

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  22. I would have fished that guy out of the wine – what’s a little bee sting compared to having to toss good wine? (Note: last weekend, drinking resulted in me getting a nice sting from a yellowjacket, so perhaps I just have a high tolerance for stings. Or a burning desire to keep drinking, potential for injury something to be ignored.)

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  25. Ohhh, I smiled throughout this, but grimacing also at the idea of a ruined glass of wine. I’m with Nancy, take the bee out (save his life – bees are precious!), watch him buzz around a bit buzzed, and then drink the wine with a touch of honey perhaps. All I know is that this time of year, when I sit out on my porch for some ‘down time’ I can’t bring food, particularly drinks. The bees even come for my small iced glass of Diet Coke. They must be thirsty this time of year?

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    • Dr Sock, that does, indeed, make for a more fascinating bee tale. Regardless of gender, I had to throw out a good glass of wine– and that’s what I shall always remember about that bee.

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    • camparigirl, I like to believe that the bee was so buzzed that being dumped onto the grass didn’t matter to him. I’m sure that he made it home, eventually. And with an amazing story to tell!

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    • Kate, clearly I overreacted to this bee. His behavior caught me off guard, and while I now see the error of my way, at the time giving him the heave-ho seemed prudent. I like your idea that he was sweetening my wine. Pity I didn’t think of that at the time.

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