African Queen - Tales of Motherhood and Wild Bees

African Queen - Tales of Motherhood and Wild Bees

A biographical tour of East Africa - three Kenyan women, including Mama Sarah Obama, have a dramatic impact on an evolving culture. Narrated by a surgeon volunteering on medical missions during a time of political change, the story of women changing the country's future explores themes of eusocial behavior. Resource allocation, population, and climate change are contrasted with the role of Apis Mellifera and Apis Scutellata, the European and African honeybees. How does the queen bee regulate her hive, and how does the colony regulate the queen? These relationships are described along with the concept of a super organism. The biology of bees and humans is seen to be interrelated in the adventures of novice beekeepers working with hunting foraging tribes. The tales of mothers and wild bees leads to a metaphor of how Kenyans and Americans build better friendships and inspire each other. Richard Godfrey is an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery practicing in Oakland, California. He has traveled and operated in Kenya since 1985 and has worked with bees in East Africa, West Africa, Guatemala, and the Bay Area.