Killer Bees

[RickUK]

I keep about 500,000 give or take 'Apis Mellifera' in 10 National and WBC hives albeit only 2 near my home,the others are kept locally in a fruit farm and these ones down the farm and prolific honey producers but can be very stroppy,hence why i keep them away from local residence.

But after i take the frames off when the Oil seed rape crop is in full flower they can get very angry when you go back to my 4x4 as they can follow you and try and sting you as much as they can,hence why i need to wear a veil even when going back about 1/4 mile to the truck,getting stung by them is a thing that one gets very use too,although when about 30 of them crawled up passed my elasticated leggings that did hurt for sure as it was concentrated all in one place.

Trouble is when a honey bee sting it dies a very short time afterwards,as basically the sting is like a fishing hook and the barb with the pulsing protein sack still pumps into the wound after its been ripped from the bees body.

Its a terrible shame when you hear about freak accidents like this,but these bees are not the norm,when a bee is say squashed or killed it produces a 'pheromone' although we cannot smell it,the bees sense this and then go on the defense if you like and hence that i feel is what happened with this Bee tragedy.

Just my personal opinion of course.

[DDancer]

Out bush here in the US or in OZ one really has to keep aware of where they are at and what's going on around them.  Bee's, wasps, centipedes, scorpions, snakes or other various critters should always be riding in the back of ones mind.  Why? Because its their house. It is relatively easy to say but practice is its own experience.  It is sad someone died from bee's however it was probably also avoidable.  Problem is a lot of people do not have a mindset or even any education as to what to do when the crisis arises.  If you happen to see people out bush let them know what your seeing and maybe pass some advice.  Its a good conversation starter and it passes knowledge that they may not have.  I do it myself and have received it from others :)

Bee's and wasps are unique in that they will chase a threat and as mentioned its generally only about a 100 yards though a few may persist after that.  My experience is I Don't have to sprint flat out for more than a quarter of that~ then trot and slap with a hat or shirt *I wear a long sleeve or have one on me*.  If you know your allergic always carry an epi-pen and let your partners know about it and its use.  Otherwise carry Benadryl.  Even if its only a few stings use the Benadryl to offset the reaction and if its a lot of stings chew it up.  For me it makes life easier and I know it will buy me time if I get hit heavily.

To date I've had my fun with Bee's *foreign and domestic*, various species of wasps, various species of ants including bull ants, a few scorpions and spiders but have avoided pretty much everything else that could really do me harm.  Just by being aware, having those give and take conversations with others, and being honest that I'm in their house *critters* so respect the land.

My thoughts.