From a Tuscan Hillside: Bees at Le Ripe

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Bees at Le Ripe

an Embarassment of Bees

I once read an article in the New York Times about a young entomologist doing research in northwestern Mongolia. He was carrying out comparative research on plants and pollinators, and sang the praises of the wide variety of bees in that part of the world. As I read, I wondered idly why the student had to go all the way to northern Mongolia, which may not be the easiest nor the most comfortable place in the world to carry out fieldwork. So I wrote a letter to the newspaper suggesting that the young researcher visit us at Le Ripe instead. He could have a pleasant stay in a beautiful, historically interesting environment and study our very own wide variety of bees and pollinators to his heart's content. Of course I received no reply, but am now taking this opportunity to propose to any entomologists or bee-lovers out there that Le Ripe would be an ideal base for the study of these fascinating, industrious insects. Look what we have to offer:

earth bumblebee on savory

carpenter bee on phlomis flower

carpenter bee getting into nitty gritty

bumblebee: note different coloured stripes

earth bumble bee on nepeta flower

abseiling bee

- big thanks to our guest Su for these wonderful photos

bee on thyme flowers

...and many thanks to A.A Milne

Update February 2014:
See this story on the decline in the bumblebee population in Great Britain, possibly linked to the decline of the honeybee there.

1 comment:

AgricolaJune 4, 2013 at 12:25 PM
I adore, especially, the abseiling bee. But altogether a charming and witty post; and Su's photos are brilliant.
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Situated on a hillside, Le Ripe in Chianti has an orchard with heritage fruit trees, an organic vegetable garden, a row of 18 olives, wild figs, wild grapes, dozens of lavender bushes, a medieval hortus conclusus,a shrubbery, English roses and drifts of bulbs, all requiring labour and love but giving much pleasure in return.

The farm buildings, once home, stable, sty and byre, now renovated, host our friends and family. The cottage, a former barn, and two apartments in the main building, once stable and stall, are rented to guests who come by the week or longer. For more information on staying at Le Ripe, see our rental website.

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From chocolate cake disasters to Komodo dragons and liquorice allsorts, pogo sticks to paragliding cats, a night at the opera to ice-cream bashing, the Savages are good value for money: there is chaos and confusion for everyone in SaVAgE DAyS.

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