A Study in Black and Yellow

Melittology, also known as apicology, is the scientific study of bees. There are more than 20,000 known species that fall under this category, from the rare Megachile Cypricola to the common Western honey bee.

Professor Jessica Clark was considered a leading expert in the field. She alone had catalogued over a hundred species. Yet she had never dreamed that something like this place could ever have existed.

“So, you’re here to study us, are you?”

Jessica tried to protest but all she could do was grunt and squirm. The black, rubber mask that tightly clung over her mouth kept her jaw firmly shut, and the two figures that loomed over her had a thorough grip on each of her shoulders. Those figures - they existed more as glimmering silhouettes until you peered closer at the detail. They were identical in their form and in their curves, the same latex of her unwelcome mask completely coating their bodies. It concealed their forms entirely and yet left nothing to the imagination. Their faces were also hidden behind blank, featureless hoods, with beady, green eyes built in for them to peer out of.

Then she noticed the bands of yellow rubber, squeezing their arms, their thighs, their waists. The antennae protruding from their hoods. Their transparent wings, with veins of the black latex snaking through them. That, combined with this chamber, a hexagonal prism with hexagonal tiling, with thick beads of honey drooping down from their alcoves - it didn’t take a PhD in Biology and Environmental Studies to understand what this was all meant to represent.

And then there was the figure who spoke. She was identical to the others, except for a golden tiara that graced the top of her hood (three guesses on what that signifies). She was regal in both attire and posture, elegantly resting back into a throne constructed out of golden brown rubber. A thin layer of honey coated it, dripping from its arm rests, but her fingers glided through it as though it wasn’t even there.

“How fascinating. We’ve had the pleasure of greeting captives who were out seeking us before, but never have they managed to uncover the entrance to our hive. You’re to be commended, professor. Perhaps even rewarded? Would you like a tour of our home?”

“Mmpphh.” She was just exploring a cave in Grainer Park which showed signs of unique bee activity. She hadn’t exactly been expecting this.

“Excellent! Then allow your Queen to conduct this herself.”

With a buzz of her wings she propelled herself forward from her throne, landing delicately upon the resin tiles, her heels clacking as she strode closer towards her ‘guest’. One of her detainers reached down and gripped Jessica’s jaw, forcing her head upwards, so the other could slide a thick collar around her neck. There was a noticeable absence of any clasp locking into place, as the latex bonded to itself, sealing around her tightly. A leash extended from the front of it, and the humanoid bees bowed as they presented its handle to their Queen, which she graciously grasped in hand.

“Do you like them? They’re such good subjects. Loyal and obedient to a tee. I hardly have to tell you the myriad of functions that a worker bee performs. But for the purposes of scientific meticulousness, I shall list them off anyway.”

The workers released the professor from their vice-like grasp, and with a tug of the leash her highness beckoned Jessica to follow. The captive gave a reluctant grunt, but it was clear that no applied force would be enough to escape these machinations. She stood uneasy upon the smooth tiles of solidified honey. There was little to no friction to be found, so how these creatures found such grip whilst adorned with stiletto heels she had no idea.

“The majority of our colony is made up of workers, as you shall soon be observing. They keep the hive polished and clean, help build the beeswax combs, handle the incoming nectar and larvae, and attend to the brood. They also keep in check the drones… which is where we... differ from your conventional beehive, shall we say.”

Exiting the chamber, Jessica was led into a corridor of similar construction. The hexagonal tiles coiled around it as it snaked forwards, and a dozen workers attended to the cells. The claws that extended from their fingertips and the force generated by their rapidly buzzing wings was enough for them to cling to the sticky surfaces above. As each one detected the queen, they hovered down to the floor below to bow before her. Jessica felt like she was being paraded before them, and she hoped that the mask was covering enough of her cheeks to conceal her blush.

She had too many questions and no ability to ask them. This place was ridiculous, it couldn’t possibly exist, and yet here it was. A giant colony of humanoid bees, seemingly constructed out of nothing more than honey and rubber. There must be so much more to this place that she couldn’t see, this must all be a smokescreen for something. But there was something else she was faintly detecting in the air, a scent which didn’t match the properties of either construction material. In such a strange place that was attempting to imitate bee social structures, there was probably only one culprit that could be responsible for such a smell - pheromones.

Most of the pheromones known in bee colonies are of the ‘releaser’ type. They are weak, but used by workers to generate simple and transitory responses to each other, mildly influencing their behaviour so that they might better coordinate together. But the Queen, who controls her hive so completely, releases the ‘primer’ pheromones. She can induce powerful physiological and behaviour modifications through the chemicals in her presence alone. Using this, she can preserve her supremacy over her hive, manipulating its inhabitants to her whims as she sees fit. No doubt everyone in this structure is under her spell, Jessica concluded. Given the slight dizziness she had been experiencing since she was dragged down here, no doubt her highness was slowly working her magic on her as well.

“We’ll soon be entering the central brood chamber, where we store our larvae until they emerge as wonderful new bees. The effects of this room can be somewhat overwhelming for the uninitiated. Do prepare yourself.”

‘Overwhelming’ was an understatement. The moment the vastness of the brood cavern opened up before her, a flood of pheromones hit her like a brick wall. It left her reeling and falling to her knees. She breathed in deeply, trying to find some solace in the latex mask, but it provided no protection. Her world was spinning, the hexagonal patterns spiralling around her. How had they made a chemical concoction this potent, this intoxicating, and still breathable?

She looked up at the Queen, who she was perceiving as more regal by the moment. She must not… fall under her spell…

“Mesmerizing, isn’t it? Here’s where we take our many captives and turn them into so much more. They become larvae, deposited into the cells of honey where they can metamorphosize into workers or drones. The workers, you already know about, but the drones? They are taken down by the workers to the lowest levels. They are kept like cattle, like inventory, and exist purely for the production of the building materials you see around you. Don’t worry, they are most content in this existence. You can feel the power of their surges pulsating through you, pulsating through this place, can’t you? This scientific wonder is purely biological in nature. Isn’t the sensation of it marvellous?”

She groaned, crumpling into a heap on the resin floor. The chamber was so enormous that they had needed to construct grand pillars of beeswax combs to keep it supported. And the workers, there must have been thousands of them. Their voluptuous, shiny bodies clambered around each other as they attended to the cells. And the cells… there were shadows buried within them. Bodies. Each one was being transformed, molded, coated in rubber and turned into another loyal subject. A seal from one of the pillars suddenly burst and the hood of a new worker bee emerged from the dripping honey. She gripped the edges of the hexagonal pod, pulled her body free from her gestation cocoon, and was greeted by a swarm of workers to tend to her as her wings buzzed into life for the first time.

“You might be wondering, professor, if there’s space in your head left for independent thought, why do we exist? How did we come into being? Well, in truth, I am as unsure as you are as to the nature of our creation. A very clever scientist of the human world made us, brought us into being, but I am still left wondering why, what is our purpose?”

Jessica lay in a panting heap on the floor. It took all her energy to look up at her Queen, that glimmering figure of perfection. Her majesty, whose grip on the leash was now only symbolic in function, slowly crouched down by her guest and carefully stroked a hand through her hair, which sent a whole new wave of feelings though the intoxicated scientist.

“So, I had to decide our own purpose. We are behaviorally inclined to increase the size of our hive, both its population and its structure, sure. And you wouldn’t believe the enormity of the labyrinth we have developed here. But in the context of this planet, what are we to achieve? It took time and so much thought, but eventually I came to the conclusion that we are here to protect the vulnerable of our family. The many weaker species who cannot protect themselves. I’m sure you’re aware of the many sabotages made against various pesticide and fertiliser conglomerates, mmmn?”

Jessica nodded weakly, though that had always been assumed to be the work of activists. Activists she deeply admired for their endeavours to protect the biodiversity that is essential to this planet’s ecosystem. To find out that her heroes were these wonderful bees instead though, she could barely process the thought. She looked up dreamily into the blank hood of her Queen. She didn’t know what to think any more.

“So you see, professor, we are actually on the same side. Which is why I am going to give you a choice which is never given to the others we bring down here. We can release you, if you so desire, to continue your work in the world above. We ultimately share the same goals. Though you can influence that world in ways that we cannot, on a societal level, whilst we leverage force as our means to the same end.”

The Queen’s wings buzzed into life as she righted herself back to her full height, looming over Jessica. “Or, alternatively, you can choose of your own will to become one with us. To become our larvae, to enter the sticky, loving embrace of our honey and allow it to consume you. To spend an eternity in ecstasy as we change you, as our materials envelope you. To leave your old life, your studies and the comfort of your office behind. To eventually burst from a pod, reborn as one of us. To serve your hive and, most importantly, your Queen.”

“All you need do is crawl into a pod. The workers will even pull back the seal for you, so that you can glide right in. Entering will be of your own volition, however. This is entirely up to you.”

The queen dropped the leash and let it clatter limply onto the floor. An audience of worker bees had gathered around the pair, studying them with those emerald eyes. A few stepped forwards towards Jessica and lowered themselves to the nearest tile, peeling back the resin coating that seemed to dissipate to their touch. Underneath it lay the cauldron of honey, so warm and inviting. It seemed to swirl before her gaze, like it was tugging her vision into it. Slowly, the scientist managed to push herself up, up onto all fours, and stared down into the sweet, viscous mixture.

She didn’t hesitate.