Africanized honey bees are very aggressive in defending the hive, to them it does not matter if the threat is two legged or four legged.When the bees establish a hive, they also establish boundaries of defense, and knowing the subtle warnings can save you from a nasty sting or several more.When entering the defensive perimeter, the bees will begin to "harass" you by flying directly to your face and veering off at the last minute, bees have very good eye site and recognize the face or head of the threat, one or two bees you are in the outer perimeter, the closer you get to the hive the more bees will come warning you until they sound the alarm and you're done, you need to run at least a mile or more before they they stop chasing you, that is if you can out run then. And jumping into a pool will not save you they can see you under the water if it is a clear swimming pool and every time you come up for air they will enter your mouth and nose, one person in Arizona perished with more than a thousand stings in his mouth, throat and trachea.If you are walking along and the bees start coming at you, you are now close to a bee hive, it can be anywhere on a tree, on a building and even underground, another thing that annoys them is noise specially low rumbling or thumping repetitive, lawnmowers and Diesel engines as example. When the bees start coming at you best thing is to turn around and leave the area, also alert the proper authorities so that they can move the hive to a safe place, killing them is not productive since we need them for agriculture. If there is a bee in your immediate vicinity do not swat at it, gently move away or very slowly move your had towards it as long as it is not coming at your face and veering off, it will get the message that it is not welcome there. So BEE alert for bees coming at you.navegator

Very interesting and informative.

Thanks. One or two bees is more than enough for me to get the message. I'm a quick learner.

My BIL is a bee-keeper in Sante Fe, NM. He is starting to have a problem with aggressive queens taking over his hives. He tries to remove them and replace them with less aggressive ones that he imports, and is having some success. But. . . I am severely allergic to bee stings (4+) and try to avoid them, but I wanted to be a part of him tending his hives. So I gown up with protective clothing, hat, gloves and screened mask. When he opens the hive, he says OH-OH, and says: You should probably leave now, which I did. They were very aggressive, trying to attack him (us). He was unscathed, as was I but things are apparently changing for him?

Pangaea Ron wrote:My BIL is a bee-keeper in Sante Fe, NM. He is starting to have a problem with aggressive queens taking over his hives. He tries to remove them and replace them with less aggressive ones that he imports, and is having some success. But. . . I am severely allergic to bee stings (4+) and try to avoid them, but I wanted to be a part of him tending his hives. So I gown up with protective clothing, hat, gloves and screened mask. When he opens the hive, he says OH-OH, and says: You should probably leave now, which I did. They were very aggressive, trying to attack him (us). He was unscathed, as was I but things are apparently changing for him?Now we start contending with Asia Hornet, north west Washington have found 5 nests of them.

Now we start contending with Asia Hornet, north west Washington have found 5 nests of them.Actually 1 nest with 500 occupants

Bees with an attitude | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

Wm_Elliot
Explorer
Nov 14, 2020
The Africanized bees I have seen do not have a hive in the traditional sense but the bees all pile on top of each other. There's no structure other than a mass of bees. I have outrun a swarm by luck - the swarm veered off at the last minute and went in a different direction.
silversand
Explorer
Nov 13, 2020
navigator wrote:
When the bees establish a hive, they also establish boundaries of defense, and knowing the subtle warnings can save you from a nasty sting or several more.

VERY interesting writeup. Thanks. We've always had in the back of our minds the 'what if" we ever encountered Africanized bees when exploring in the Southwest US.

To the best of my knowledge, only honeybees that carry isozymes, mitochondrial DNA, and morphometric traits (all three) can be classified as Africanized. And the approximate most northerly range of bees carrying all three traits is the Humboldt National Forest area in Nevada; the Yosemite National Park region CA; the Pecos Wilderness area of NM; the Tonkawa area of Oklahoma; and in Florida, west coast Spring Hill to east coast Merritt Island National Seashore latitudes (occasionally, central Georgia, but rarely) . These northerly range extremes shouldn't be gospel, but rough northern ranges of the purest genetic Africanized strain....

If we go into remote areas south of central Florida (and, when we explored any distance more than maybe appx 1000 feet from our truck camper in the Southwest), we always had on bug suit jackets. This is one of my special bug suits when I was collecting ticks potentially infected with Lyme disease carrying parasites, last August in Long island, in 97F temperatures, 80% humidity. I normally wear a "boonie" hat under the head-gear that tents the material well away from my face and neck. This face net actually unzips for ventilation:
Pangaea_Ron
Explorer
Nov 13, 2020
The single hornet nest was found about 40 miles north of us. So far so good? But there are probably more nests?

I hope that BC, Canada is being as vigilant as we are in WA State. They hornets probably came from Asia through Vancouver and then to the US.
Talleyho69
Moderator
Nov 13, 2020
Times they are a changing!
northsloper
Explorer
Nov 13, 2020
Now we start contending with Asia Hornet, north west Washington have found 5 nests of them.

Actually 1 nest with 500 occupants
Tom_Barb
Explorer
Nov 13, 2020
Pangaea Ron wrote:
My BIL is a bee-keeper in Sante Fe, NM. He is starting to have a problem with aggressive queens taking over his hives. He tries to remove them and replace them with less aggressive ones that he imports, and is having some success. But. . .

I am severely allergic to bee stings (4+) and try to avoid them, but I wanted to be a part of him tending his hives. So I gown up with protective clothing, hat, gloves and screened mask. When he opens the hive, he says OH-OH, and says: You should probably leave now, which I did. They were very aggressive, trying to attack him (us). He was unscathed, as was I but things are apparently changing for him?

Now we start contending with Asia Hornet, north west Washington have found 5 nests of them.
Pangaea_Ron
Explorer
Nov 13, 2020
My BIL is a bee-keeper in Sante Fe, NM. He is starting to have a problem with aggressive queens taking over his hives. He tries to remove them and replace them with less aggressive ones that he imports, and is having some success. But. . .

I am severely allergic to bee stings (4+) and try to avoid them, but I wanted to be a part of him tending his hives. So I gown up with protective clothing, hat, gloves and screened mask. When he opens the hive, he says OH-OH, and says: You should probably leave now, which I did. They were very aggressive, trying to attack him (us). He was unscathed, as was I but things are apparently changing for him?
gbopp
Explorer
Nov 12, 2020
Thanks. One or two bees is more than enough for me to get the message. I'm a quick learner.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Nov 12, 2020
Very interesting and informative.

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Bees with an attitude

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