Guten dog, as I say to Zelda most mornings.
Sorry there wasn’t an issue in your inbox last Friday—we’ve been sick (negative COVID tests) and I simply did not have the wherewithal.
Lots has happened in the last couple of weeks! Watch this space for some kind of cold take on memeification in a future issue, but for the moment I just want to make an etymological observation. I’ve been hosting a spelling bee on alternating Friday nights. It’s sort of obvious how terms like “quilting bee” came about: non-solitary bee species (such as honey bees) all work together to get stuff done. Less obvious how “spelling bee” came about—after all, it’s a competition. Here’s what the OED has to say about that:
A meeting of neighbours to unite their labours for the benefit of one of their number; e.g. as is done still in some parts, when the farmers unite to get in each other's harvests in succession; usually preceded by a word defining the purpose of the meeting, as apple-bee, husking-bee, quilting-bee, raising-bee, etc. Hence, with extended sense: A gathering or meeting for some object; esp. spelling-bee, a party assembled to compete in the spelling of words.
There are also some darker uses of “bee” in this sense—after all, much of human collective action is about enforcing social norms—but it’s been a rough week and you can find that info also in the OED if you’re so inclined.
xoxo
k
A honeybee at work. This might just be the way I’m socialized but I do find them quite charismatic. (National Geographic/Giphy)
Shortish
‘These animals are getting desperate’: Pandemic affects animals reliant on humans for food (CTV News; Marek Sutherland; Ontario, Canada)
Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia (Associated Press; Rod McGuirk; Canberra, Australia)
No more cuddly selfies with our ape cousins, top conservation body warns scientists (Science; Bridget Alex; international)
Nigeria emerges as Africa’s primary export hub for ivory, pangolin scales (Mongabay; Ashoka Mukpo; Nigeria)
Is COVID-19 infecting wild animals? We’re testing species from bats to seals to find out (The Conversation; Jonathan Runstadler & Kaitlin Sawatzki; United States of America)
Longish
What we’ve lost: The species declared extinct in 2020 (The Revelator; John R. Platt; the globe)
What’s the point of the ‘catnip response’? (What Your Cat Wants (blog); Mikel Maria Delgado)
Pet trade relies on ‘disposable’ wild chameleons from Madagascar (Mongabay; Chris Scarffe; Diana Region, Madagascar)
What you lose when you turn into an animal (Wired; Jason Kehe; animated movies)
‘Tiger King’ star Jeff Lowe ordered to surrender cubs in animal welfare case (Reuters; Oklahoma, United States of America)
Stuff from me:
My most recent work.
The last word:
All images in The Quick Fox are used under Creative Commons licensing. Efforts have been made to ensure that photographs of living animals or natural scenes have been taken ethically, in responsible pet ownership conditions, at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums or under safe, non-damaging conditions in the wild. If you see an issue with any image we share, please notify me.