To the editor: As a student pursuing a master’s degree in entomology, it makes me angry that people “keep” bees. (“With triple-digit temperatures, California city firefighters had to battle flames and bees,” Sept. 9)
Smoke from smokers, like the kind believed to have caused the Modesto fire (which killed countless bees and other insects), disorients bees and masks alarm pheromones, making it easier for beekeepers to steal their honey.
Bees don't make honey for human consumption. They make and store it so they have something to eat when there aren't many flowers blooming. It's the equivalent of canning fresh vegetables from your garden to eat during the winter and having an intruder steal most of what you worked so hard to produce for your family.
Bees deserve better.
Melissa Rae Sanger, Norfolk, Virginia.
Sanger is an editor at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
