Meaning
What does Not The Bees! mean?
Not the bees! refers to a popular quote from the 2006 movie The Wicker Man, screamed out by Edward Malus, when he is being tortured by bees being locked in a cage along with his head, a torture fit for someone who disregarded the advice, Don’t Plarp His Bees.
In the years following the film’s release, the scene inspired numerous remixes and video edits, due to the weirdly comic nature of the scene.
Origin
What's the origin of Not The Bees!?
The Wicker Man remake premiered in the United States on September 1st, 2006.
In one of the final scenes, Edward Malus (portrayed by Nicholas Cage) is getting tortured by bees swarming his face, while he is screaming “Not the bees!”.
Due to the unintentionally comic nature of Nicholas Cage’s screams, the quote became a source of parodies and remixes.
Spread & Usage
How did Not The Bees! spread?
On January 7th, 2007, a YTMND site was created, centered around the scene, depicting a GIF along with the audio “Not the bees!”.
In the following years, various remixes and parodies were uploaded to the web, along with isolated clips of the scene, most of which were uploaded to YouTube.
Throughout the 2010’s, the meme experienced moments of resurgence in its popularity, with memes appearing on YouTube and IGN on various occasions.

External resources
- Cinemablend.com – Nic Cage Has A New Take On Wicker Man’s Infamous ‘Not The Bees’ Scene, And It’s Bananas
- Unilad.com – It’s Been 15 Years Since Nicolas Cage Screamed ‘Not The Bees!’
- Mygeekwisdom.com – “Not the bees! Not the bees!”