Scots girl who nursed a bee back to life with honey named among top viral moments of 2024

A young Scots girl’s social media post about saving a bee with drops of honey has been named as one of the viral moments of the year after it was viewed more than 1.3m times.

Willow McMurray found the bee lying on a piece of wood “on its back” at her family’s allotment in Auchendinny in Glencorse near Penicuik.

As the bee looked “very weak”, Willow acted quickly to try to give it the best chance of survival and left it some drops of honey to boost its energy.

In order to give the bee the strength to fight for its life, Willow also made it some motivational posters, with the words “You can do this” and “Keep going” on them, alongside images of bees.

“I just felt I should try and make this bee something to keep it energised,” Willow told PA.

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Her posts have been viewed 1.3m times on X with her caring campaign making her one of Press Association’s viral moments of the year.

Willow McMurray with a picture of a bee, honey and self-made motivational posters with her efforts to bring the little creature to life viewed 1.4m times. Photo credit should read: Anouska Curzon/PA Wire | Anouska Curzon/PA Wire

The press agency said its viral moments demonstrated the “power of social media”.

Others on the list include Christina Boniello, from New Jersey in the US, who went viral after taking a photo of three Irishmen in New York City in 2019 and reuniting with them five years later.

Ms Boniello took a photo of the three men, who did not have phones, in May 2019 and offered to send them a copy of the image, but said the men replied, “we’ll find it someday”.

Almost five years later on April 6, the group were reunited in the same spot in New York where they recreated the image, earning thousands of social media interactions, and went for lunch.

“It was weird seeing them in person but within a few minutes of who’s who… it was one of the most joyful days I can remember,” she told PA.

Meanwhile, wine connoisseur Tom Gilbey, gained attention online when he challenged himself to blind taste test a different glass of wine after completing each mile of the London Marathon.

Mr Gilbey stopped 25 times during the race to sample the wine guessing the grape variety and country of origin which prompted donations on his fundraiser of over £13,000 for palliative care centre Sobell House.

The video went viral on TikTok and currently has 4.6 million views, it has been liked on Instagram more than 108,000 times.

“It’s my first experience of this going absolutely mad and I feel very honoured,” he told PA.