Bee Hives

Duncan Smith said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

When I was a child someone had five hives on an allotment at the bottom of our
garden.

We used to play there (within a few metres of the hives) regularly and I was
stung *once* in around 7 years.

Since bee's generally die after stinging (as their stings are barbed) they are
unlikely to be as aggresive as wasps can be, from simple self interest.

Duncan Smith wrote on 13/04/2007 20:09 +0100:

Quoted message said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Yer a big girl's blouse, but go easy on the honey and lemon hair shampoo ;-)

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

In article <[email hidden]>,
Tony Raven <[email hidden]> writes:
|> Duncan Smith wrote on 13/04/2007 20:09 +0100:
|> >
|> > So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
|> > mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
|> > being a big girls blouse?
|>
|> Yer a big girl's blouse, but go easy on the honey and lemon hair shampoo ;-)

Precisely. I have walked through swarms a couple of times, when there
wasn't a way round, and didn't get stung despite being run into by a
lot of bees that weren't looking where they were going! That isn't to
be recommended, but shows how harmless they usually are.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Ziggy said:

Since bee's generally die after stinging (as their stings are barbed)
they are unlikely to be as aggresive as wasps can be, from simple
self interest.

Trust me.. if a wasp stings me, he'll die very shortly afterwards!

Pete.

(Ziggy) said:

Duncan Smith said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

Quoted message said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

When I was a child someone had five hives on an allotment at the bottom of our
garden.

We used to play there (within a few metres of the hives) regularly and I was
stung *once* in around 7 yearsf

Since bee's generally die after stinging (as their stings are barbed) they are
unlikely to be as aggresive as wasps can be, from simple self interest.

That's a relief, I was thinking they might confuse Hi-Vis fluorescents
as a rich source of pollen or something!

"Duncan Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Many thanks,

Used to keep them in the back garden. In my experience, the "guard" bees
will only go for you if you are within about 3-4 yards in front of the hive,
otherwise they ignore you.
Graham

"Duncan Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

I shouldn't worry about them. When I was at junior school many many years
ago, the school had an observation hive which was inside a classroom but
exitted into the playgound. I don't recall anyone being stung despite us
gathering around the exit/entry point and watch the critters arrive and
leave on their expeditions for pollen and nectar.

I have worked in a market garden and had to drive a cabless tractor through
the flightlines of around a dozen hives several times per day with no
bother.

(Nick Maclaren) said:

I have walked through swarms a couple of times, when there
wasn't a way round, and didn't get stung despite being run into by a
lot of bees that weren't looking where they were going! That isn't to
be recommended, but shows how harmless they usually are.

Dunno about the courteous British bees, but the Africanised "killer" bees of
leftpondia will bump into you as a warning that you're entering their territory.
If you turn around and walk away, you'll be fine. Otherwise, you're inviting a
mass attack.

Duncan Smith said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

As everyone else says - it's the girls blouse one - unless you have a
known sensitivity. My daughter goes faint, floppy, pukes when stung
by a bee (at least, she did on the one occasion she's been stung by a
bee) and as such we're somewhat cautious about bees. However, if you
have a 'normal' reaction (ie, simple mild pain), you'll be fine. Try
not to breathe one in, though.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

"Duncan Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

If you see a swarm headed your way you will get in some damned fine sprint
training!

Duncan Smith said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

Be thankful you have bees nearby and treasure them. There are dire reports of a
precipitous decline in bee populations around London. Population declines in
states of the USA and continental Europe are anywhere from 25 to 80%

Not to worry you or anything, but Albert Einstein was concerned about two global
apocalypses -- nuclear annihilation and bee extinction. If the bees disappeared
from the planet, he mused, mankind would have only a few years to live.

So try not to squash them as you whizz by, and keep yer mouth closed. :-)

Duncan Smith wrote on 13/04/2007 20:34 +0100:

Quoted message said:

That's a relief, I was thinking they might confuse Hi-Vis
fluorescents as a rich source of pollen or something!

As long as you are not confusing bee hives with b. hives. Now that
really is painful and itchy! ;-o

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

In article <[email hidden]>,
Marc Brett <[email hidden]> writes:
|>
|> >I have walked through swarms a couple of times, when there
|> >wasn't a way round, and didn't get stung despite being run into by a
|> >lot of bees that weren't looking where they were going! That isn't to
|> >be recommended, but shows how harmless they usually are.
|>
|> Dunno about the courteous British bees, but the Africanised "killer" bees of
|> leftpondia will bump into you as a warning that you're entering their territory.
|> If you turn around and walk away, you'll be fine. Otherwise, you're inviting a
|> mass attack.

One of those times was in California - San Jose.

The Merkins make a hell of a lot of fuss about the most harmless of
animals. The Africanised "killer" bees are merely unpredictable,
even in the few places they have reached the USA.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Duncan Smith said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Bees can fly at 12 mph, if you can do 13 you'll be fine.

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is at
http://www.happy-penguin.info/address.jpg

Tom said:

Duncan Smith said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Bees can fly at 12 mph, if you can do 13 you'll be fine.

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is athttp://www.happy-penguin.info/address.jpg

I dare say I could manage 30 with a swarm of bees on my tail :-)

"Tom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Duncan Smith said:

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Bees can fly at 12 mph, if you can do 13 you'll be fine.

Assuming, of course, they're going in your direction!

I once had a bee enter the neck of my jacket after I hit her at about 50kmh
while she crossed my path. Got stung into the bargain - but no big deal -
stayed calm and pulled her plus the sting away without even slowing down.

Now a whole swarm might be different. When bees sting they release
pheromones which carry an attack signal to other members of the hive. In
Spain I was on foot when I was unlucky enough to get to verify this -
managed to get far enough away and fast enough to keep the total number of
stings I received down to about twenty. Again - no real big deal, I seem to
be relatively unaffected by bee stings. Unlike my own Dad who was
hospitalized by a single wasp sting!

Quoted message said:

Tom
--
Return address is dead. Real address is at
http://www.happy-penguin.info/address.jpg

On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 14:06:47 +0200, "RobDee" <[email hidden]> wrote:

[---]

Quoted message said:

Again - no real big deal, I seem to
be relatively unaffected by bee stings. Unlike my own Dad who was
hospitalized by a single wasp sting!

But isn't the wasp sting somewhat more poisonous that a bee sting?

Duncan Smith said:

Don't laugh, but I noticed a new addition to my commute on the way
home tonight. I pass within a few meres of a colony of four of five
bee hives. Now, I don't know a great deal about bee hives other than
they contain a large number of stinging insects, and I'll have to pass
an re-pass them all year now.

So, should I bee (ahem) worried? Might a swarm be in a collective bad
mood one day and take it out on an unexpecting cyclist, or am I just
being a big girls blouse?

Might be a good idea to button your blouse up - bees are normally placid
but if they get caught in your clothing they might sting.

In article said:

On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 14:06:47 +0200, "RobDee" <[email hidden]> wrote:

[---]

Quoted message said:

Again - no real big deal, I seem to
be relatively unaffected by bee stings. Unlike my own Dad who was
hospitalized by a single wasp sting!

But isn't the wasp sting somewhat more poisonous that a bee sting?

I believe some people are dangerously allergic to bee stings and react
normally to wasp stings, and vice versa.