"But trust me, Nyuki. When this is all over and you crawl out of this little cell, you'll never feel alone again."
— Dvorah
Clan Apis is a 2000 graphic novel by Jay Hosler. Focusing on the teaching of bees, it tells the story of a young bee name Nyuki and her struggles to make something of herself in the hive. Along the way, she meets several other bugs; some helpful, others hungry. She eventually decides to stay inside the hive, not wanting to die. Soon, however, she comes to learn just what being a bee is all about.
This comic book provides examples of:
- Animal Talk: The insect characters are all capable of speaking to each other, regardless of their species. The bees are also capable of communicating with flowers.
- Anyone Can Die: As it aims to be as realistic as possible, this is pretty much a given, seeing how vulnerable and short-lived insects tend to be.
- Bittersweet Ending: Nyuki naturally dies at the end, but her body nourishes the flowers and so the Circle Of Life continues.
- Black Widow: The Praying Mantis, naturally. She mentions eating her husband.
- Meaningful Name: All the characters have names for "bee" in different languages. "Dvorah" is Hebrew, "Nyuki" is Swahili, and so on.
