The Curl

Nov 21, 2008

In football lingo, a curl is a spin on a football, which makes it swerve when it's kicked.

Honey bees can also "curl."

I took this photo today of a lone bee curled on purple sage. The worker bee was gathering nectar in the summerlike weather.

"That's the same position a bee has to get in to sting you,"  observed UC Davis apiculturist Eric Mussen. "She can't lie flat to sting. She curls up and stings."

 Like a comma.

A death "sentence" for her; a little pain for the victim.


By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Author - Communications specialist
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THE CURL--A honey bee, curled like a comma, nectars purple sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The curl