correctdichotomy:

sampledtelevision-archive-blog:

“Bees are the smallest of birds. They are born from the bodies of oxen, or from the decaying flesh of slaughtered calves; worms form in the flesh and then turn into bees. Bees live in community, choose the most noble among them as king, have wars, and make honey. Their laws are based on custom, but the king does not enforce the law; rather the lawbreakers punish themselves by stinging themselves to death. Bees are afraid of smoke and are excited by noise. Each has its own duty: guarding the food supply, watching for rain, collecting dew to make honey, and making wax from flowers.”

— I love medieval bestiaries so much

there’s not an obvious link to the source so here, please read everything they say about bees

(TW for ancient-ass antisemitism in some of the other beasts’ excerpts but the bee page is pure)