…Flora’s panniers opened in readiness for the haul of pollen and nectar she would surely be able to take back to the hive from this marvellous place. She climbed up and positioned herself over one of the creamy white florets, and the contact of the feet on the flower’s virginal petal made them both tremble. Flora held it softly then sank her tongue into its depths. The exquisite taste sparkled through her mind and body like sun on water, and she drank until each floret was empty.
Behind her, the green-fleshed flowers waited their turn. As Flora combed the minute gold pollen beads of the neroli into her panniers, she felt their patient desire. When she looked again, their green lips had parted to show a glimpse of inner red, and their white fringing had a more festive look…
Despite herself, Flora’s own scent pulsed more strongly from her body. So strong was their desire for her that they actually moved towards her, their inner petals moistening under her gaze, She hovered, mesmerised by their lust.
‘Come to me instead,’ crooned a high voice. Flora turned to see a big black Minerva spider sitting in her hazy cobweb. ‘What a sweet servant. Come, let me hold you.’
Who knew that the life of a forager bee could be so sexy, and so dramatic? As soon as she emerges into the hive, it’s clear that Flora 717 is a mutant bee. She’s oversized, strong, dark, hairy and ugly – and would have been instantly destroyed if not for the intervention of one of the Queen’s inner circle, the powerful Sister Sage. Initially, Flora works as a sanitation bee, the lowest of the low, cleansing the hive and obeying the precepts ‘accept, obey and serve’. But before long, she’s promoted to nursery attendant, feeding the newborn bees – and it’s there that she encounters an irresistible temptation. She is moved on to foraging outside the hive (usually an end-of-life role for worker bees), and there faces terrible dangers. There are wasps, spiders, pesticides, sterile monocultures, winter cold and of course, beekeepers. I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t. But it’s enough to say that her courage and rebellious nature enable her to change the future of her hive forever.
Laline Paull’s The Bees was a book group selection, and for once it was that rarity, a novel we all enjoyed Really, it had everything. Suspense, danger, mystery, sex and violence. A feisty heroine in Flora 717. Our group picked up echoes of any number of dystopian novels (but with honey), as well as Cinderella, Watership Down and Game of Thrones. Flora 717 is an admirable heroine; quite a role model! Plus, there are evil lady bees, madly entitled drones, plots and jealousies, friendships and even love. Utterly engaging, exciting and unexpectedly moving, it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read so far this year.
And I will never look at a little forager bee in the same way.