Love bite from a bee

On Sunday I had an encounter with a bee. Foolishly, I had neglected to take Benedryl with me.

I am not aware that the bee stung me. It just seemed to nibble my cheek.

That was enough to produce considerable swelling, and - starting on Monday - some itching.

Trying to find out how this might have happened, I came across the work of a local (well, Cornell) bee expert, and a remarkable description of how intelligent bees are:

The analyses of collective decision-making by honey bee colonies indicate that a group will possess a high level of SI (swarm intelligence) if, among the group’s members, there is: (commas added)

1) diversity of knowledge about the available options,

2) open and honest sharing of information about the options,

3) independence in the members’ evaluations of the options,

4) unbiased aggregation of the members’ opinions on the options, and

5) leadership that fosters but does not dominate the discussion.

What an incredibly wonderful formula for us mere mortals to follow. I am very tempted to scrub all my ideas about why I am running for Mayor, and adopt the bee's platform.