The Fettes bee

Any Old Fettesian will be saddened to hear that the humble bumble bee is under threat of extinction. Already, it seems, several species of bee have perished, the victims of intensive farming, globalisation, and the uncertainty over Britain’s entry into the European currency.

It was all so different in our Founder’s day. The bee appears at the top of Sir William’s Coat of Arms and his Seal (for letters etc) was also a Bee. When the College Arms were granted, they were Sir William’s with the colours reversed. Nowadays a more modern picture is used but it is still the same Coat of Arms, which, of course, no one else may use.

The bee gave us our motto and hence the title of this newsletter. Its motif features prominently around College. Bee Hives appear over the now-unused East and West doors of College. A Bee in stone watches over the front of Malcolm House (1880) and the Prep School. A large bee fronts Kimmerghame (1928) and there is an original lead bee in the porch of the Headmaster’s Lodge.

The decline of the bumble bee is especially sad because, of all the insects, the bumble bee is the most benign. It is true, of course, that all of God’s creatures, even midges, have their place. But few can match the bumble bee for effort and application. The bumble bee is the insect which most closely matches the Scottish character in that it labours tirelessly to the benefit of all, but only produces enough honey to feed its family. It is a beautiful creature, but tough, too. If it stings, it will not die, and may even sting again. Of course, the male bumble bee, the hapless drone, cannot sting at all, and will buzz around subservient to the lady bees.

A bumble bee will only sniff a human to check whether it is a flower, and will only attack if the human is waving his arms or wearing a particularly pungent scent. (I have it on good authority that bumble bees are unthreatened by Old Spice, but dangerous after a lungful of Lynx. Of course, the same could be said for most women).

The problem for the bumble bee is the disappearance of hedgerows and wildflowers, coupled with the carpet-bombing of our countryside with pesticides. Life for the average bumble bee is like an endless re-run of Apocalypse Now. So it is as well that the Fettes bee is cast in stone and metal.

From Industria 2002