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Bethlehem CT

Smell is a subjective thing, many people will not eat cilantro because they think it tastes like soap, others love it. I can't stand the smell of daisies, others don't mind it.

2/11/2024 6:08:25 PM

Grittyville, WA

Yes. I had that issue come up as a beekeeper with eucalyptus honey. A significant portion of people thought it was revolting, specifically along the lines of cat urine, while others thought it was pleasant enough flavor to use it in their tea or on their toast.
As for the laurel spurge, I think I must be in the minority, because I would think everyone would plant it for the lovely summertime citrus scent that I perceive! Also, guessing its my own nose that might be "wrong"... Because, while the bees themselves do like both citrus and laurel, they've never gone to the laurel spurge blossoms despite plenty of good opportunities to do so.

2/11/2024 8:21:54 PM

Grittyville, WA

Another footnote on that tangent: I suspect that pain tolerance, and the actual unpleasantness of the pain sensation, varies vastly between people, yet this natural variation generally goes un-noticed. Its probably pro adaptive for a human society to contain a certain number of individuals who feel little or no pain, although it could be detrimental to these individuals themselves.

Going on a real tangent here, the genetics of a "pack society" could contain lots of genes that do not benefit the individual, but do benefit the pack as a whole. I've wondered why some people seem to not possess a desire to reproduce, when from a Darwinian standpoint, its so detrimental to the individual. But if that person is part of a pack/tribe then it can make evolutionary/genetic sense that their sterility-by-choice could benefit the group as a whole.
Bees take this to an extreme, where thousands of the hive are sterile so that the one queen matriarch can reproduce at a higher rate.

There are yet more tangents to go on but thats enough... That brought it full circle back to the bit in the original post about bees!

2/14/2024 7:03:53 AM

Whidbey Island

Unfortunately, Spruge Laurel is classified as a noxious weed in many locations. With its very deep roots, it is hard to eradicate, it can spread like crazy in shaded areas and much of the plant is toxic to humans and animals. Even touching the leaves can cause a dermatitis in some people.

2/14/2024 1:08:44 PM

Grittyville, WA

Yes, but generally the irony of a bunch of European heritage bureaucrats taxing you in order to spray poison onto the European plants... is a bit much for me. There's some sort of irony there, isnt there?

2/14/2024 9:51:52 PM

Grittyville, WA

The natural world is less judgemental than we are... we've got native monarch butterflies roosting in non-native Eucalyptus trees, we've got native bumblebees collecting lots of food from non-native scotch broom.

It seems like nature has no qualms about native species forming win-win relationships with non-natives. So when we want come in with our chainsaws and bulldozers and poisons, we had first better realize that sometimes destroying the tares destroys the wheat as well?

Its a rant. I know.

2/14/2024 10:04:19 PM