#84978 - 10/28/02 04:03 AM
Age of Apians
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 6296
Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U...
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I recently read a paper placemat that had some information about bees on it. One of the points made there was the honeybee is the most successful of all animals of the earth in terms of longevity. The claim on the placemat was the honeybee has lived continuously as a species that has maintained its evolution without much modification longer than any animal on earth.
Now, if this is true, can someone here verify it? Or point me in the direction of a good site for verification?
Bee regards,
WW
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#84980 - 10/28/02 11:54 AM
Re: Age of Apians
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 6296
Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U...
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You know, FB, it's just so dadburned frustrating. You read something on a placemat--sortof miffed with yourself for even reading it--and then you come across a fact (or factoid) that sticks in your brain more easily than the dozens of things that you really wanted to remember because they were so cool--things such as some of the words we read about here. I've got this horrible mental block, for instance, against tsuwm's adjective for "turkey-like." That word simply will not take root. But this factoid about honey bees being the oldest continuously living and unchanging animals on earth will stay completely stuck even though I wonder about the truth of it. And I'll end up spending all kinds of google hours trying to find out whether it's true. I would think there are some one-celled animals that are older than honey bees, for instance. Maybe the place mat left out something or several things.
Bee humbug!
WW
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#84982 - 10/28/02 12:24 PM
Re: from word history to bug history
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 6296
Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U...
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What a stupendous idea, AnnaS! I will definitely do that. I'll report here if he responds. But how embarrassing to write:
Dear Dr. Professor:
I am interested in ascertaining whether a paper placemat correctly informed diners in the Dew Drop Inn about the honey bee's species having been on earth, virtually unchanged, longer than any other animal. Just a quick "yes" or "no" would satisfy me, but if you'd also like to mention the name of the animal species that does hold the record, so much the better.
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#84983 - 10/28/02 01:26 PM
Re: Age of Apians
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 10/17/00
Posts: 5400
Loc: rego park
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i don't know, but i think horse shoe crabs are old, and unchanged over eons... since water based animals tend to be older than land, and creepy, crawly things older than flying things, i thing the cockroach might also be a contender for older.
still bees are pretty old, and found in amber, even dinosaurs liked honey...
and words for bees and honey are old too, going back to IE (well not english's word, honey but most languages..)
a word that always has a Mand vowel, and sometimes a D or a L-- Mead (honey wine) come from the same root, but so does Melissa, and Mele (czech as recall for honey, but spanish is closer to Mead-- what is it connie? mede? and Melittis (as in diabedes-- that was done not too long ago.. you could look it up)
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#84984 - 10/28/02 01:49 PM
Re: Age of Apians
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enthusiast
Registered: 09/27/02
Posts: 261
Loc: London/Prague
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Apparently, honey also shares a root with mildew, though I can't really see a connection as the origins of honey were in the colour - golden/pale yellow.
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#84986 - 10/28/02 03:06 PM
Re: Age of Apians
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 6296
Loc: Piedmont Region of Virginia, U...
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In reply to:
Honey is mel in Portuguese -- I think it's miel in Spanish.
Gives a new meaning and sweetness to mildew, doesn't it?
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#84987 - 10/28/02 03:39 PM
Re: Age of Apians
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 01/18/01
Posts: 13858
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During the rainy season in the Philippines, everything we owned got coated with mildew,
and there was nothing sweet about it.
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