The other day, another “news” article further confirmed my decision to move away from the crazy state of California. It was a beautiful place to grow up until it wasn’t. Over the last 8 years, I’ve never looked back once, but only wished VST and I had moved much earlier and much further East.
The article stated that California lawmakers have now rewritten biology and settled it once and for all.
BEES ARE FISH.
In the 2,000’s, elders have been forced to accept many, many things. The craziest of trends are better left undiscussed. Something that was called this is now called that. Names of mountains are changed to be less offensive to some. History is rewritten with lightning speed. But this, I will not accept or teach.
Bees are and will remain animals that are insects. They will never become fish, unless you live in California. I won’t teach my students that a bee is anything other than the insect that it is.
The classification of animals is something kids love to learn about. I remember a young mom that came to my room in confusion. All the animal groups were confusing. Mammals. Reptiles. Amphibians. Birds. Insects. She had all animals placed in only two groups. Animal and human. Not everyone understands that basic biological facts place each creature into a group of their own kind. Bees share traits with other insects, not fish.
California’s change in classification began with an important issue. Bees are in danger. We need bees in our world to pollinate some (not all) of our food plants. They are very sensitive to pollutants and pesticides. Bees are wonderful little creatures. Their numbers are declining. They need protection. Fish have much broader protection through environmental laws. That being said, bees will never be fish.
All insects are invertebrates. That means they do not have a vertebral column. No backbone. Bees are insects. Therefore, bees are invertebrates.
There IS a group of marine invertebrates that ARE fish. Animals like jellyfish, clams, and other sea creatures are included here. They are fish. They are invertebrates, having no backbone. My personal favorite’s are the cnidarians. Jellyfish are in this group. A kindergartner could explain that a jellyfish and a bee are not similar in any way, except that they are both animals.
The loophole in the California law is this.
Insects are invertebrates.
Some fish are invertebrates.
If some invertebrates are fish and bees are invertebrates, then, a bee can be a fish. Simple. Sound the gavel. In California, a bee is now a fish. Put a nice news story on television that bees are now fish and the mother sitting at the kitchen table helping her child with homework will be even more confused.
Farm in the 1900’s was simple.
Respect living things.
Leave everything better than it was when you found it.
Water the garden twice a day.
Watch for tomato worms.
Ignore the bees and they’ll leave you alone.
Use the right bait and we’ll have catfish for dinner.
Do your homework.
Follow the rules.
Get to bed early. There’s lots of work to do tomorrow.
Say your prayers before you go to sleep.
Pretty easy.
I never needed to watch for the attack of underwater honeybees while swimming in the river. The beaches of Santa Cruz were never posted with warnings of incoming swarms of underwater bees. Bees buzzing around the fruit. Fish stayed in the rivers and streams until we caught them for dinner.
I’m going to finish painting my laundry room today while watching a lovely movie from the 1900’s. Things were so much simpler then.
More tomorrow.