THE MEXICALI BEES
By Pedro Chávez
Dragonflies, cicadas, butterflies and other flying bugs from north of the border visited the Mexicali Valley in early 1942 to recruit bees there. They were sent to that land by the farmer-bugs from the north, ranchers that were prepared to make offers of great pay and extraordinary work benefits to those bees if it were necessary. The visiting flying bugs explained to the Mexicali bees that their expertise was needed to help pollinate the farm fields in Imperial Valley, adding that their own bees had all been drafted to go fight the still raging Big Bug War, the second version of “The bug war to end all bug wars.”
The Mexicali Valley bees, however, turned down the work offer made by the visiting flying bugs.
“We’re happy here, working in this valley and helping pollinate the plants that grow on this land,” one of the queen bees said as she and other Mexicali bees met with those visitors from the other side of the border.
The flying bugs from the north were expecting a different response, but instead of giving up on their quest, they continued to press the Mexicali bees to come to their aid.
“It will be better for you in Imperial Valley, you know that; things are better there,” a cicada explained. “Besides, you will be greatly rewarded for helping us during these difficult times.”
“We’re fine here; we’ll just stay put on this side,” another queen bee replied. “We love this place.”
After a couple of additional but also futile attempts to convince the Mexicali bees to go work in Imperial Valley, the flying bugs from the north called off the meeting but tabled the matter for another day.
A week later, they returned and again met with the leaders of different bee colonies, but the meeting had similar results. The Mexicali bees were still determined to stay put, even though the visiting bugs from the north had come with an enhanced offer.
There were several subsequent visits made by those representatives of the farmer-bugs, but none produced a positive result. The Mexicali bees again and again turned down the repeated offers, telling those envoys that it didn’t make sense to go north since they had so much work to attend to at home.
The ranchers from the north, however, were determined to get pollination help, so they continued to send their representatives to that valley to try to convince the Mexicali bees to come to their aid. They needed immediate pollination help, they claimed, especially now that the first signs of spring had started to show up all over that land.
“Do whatever you need to do to get those bees to come help us,” one of the farmer-bugs from the north told the group of flying bugs representing them.
“What do we need to do to get you to join us?” one of those envoys from the north asked the Mexicali bees as they met again.
“Nothing, thank you, we’re fine here in Mexicali, and there’s nothing you can do to get us to change our minds,” a queen bee said to the visiting bugs. “We love our land.”
“We really need your pollination help. Please come to our aid,” a dragonfly from Imperial Valley said during the meeting. “We will pay you well.”
The Mexicali bees again declined the offer. They were set on staying home.
But after pondering over the precarious situation affecting their neighbors to the north, they eventually changed their minds and decided to go to the aid of the farmer-bugs from Imperial Valley after all. They reached that decision during an impromptu meeting of their own. They now felt that they needed to help those ranchers during such a difficult time.
“Hoy por ti, mañana por mí,” said one the bees in that meeting. “Today for them tomorrow for us.”
“We need to help with the pollination work in Imperial Valley, but we must not neglect our own land,” explained a queen bee from Mexicali before adjourning that special meeting. “There’s plenty work for us here that must get done, too.”
Other bees in the meeting agreed.