Bees have a mixed reputation all over the world. For one, they are widely praised and considered essential all across the world and for a good reason. They are pollinators, meaning that most of our fruit and vegetables come from them.
To add onto that, there are more honeybees than any other type of bee or insect with pollinating properties. In other words, while bees aren’t necessarily the only pollinators out there, the fact that they dwarf every other pollinator in terms of size speaks volumes of how important they are, especially when they have to feed billions of people per day.
But this is when you look at it from a global perspective and the big picture. For the average joe who just wants to get to work and home without being rudely interrupted on the way, bees can prove to be a nuisance, or even a danger to their life.
As you likely already know, bees aren’t just cute and cuddly insects that pollinate flowers. They also need to defend themselves from predators and other potential threats, so their bodies (at least the female ones) are equipped with a stinger. And this stinger is not just a pointy needle that annoys people, because it’s also loaded with venom from different types of chemicals that the bee’s body made!
So, what should you do if you to make sure that you walk out of an encounter with a single bee, or god forbid, an entire hive, unscathed?
Be aware of your surroundings
Bees are considerably tiny, and while a swarm or even a group of bees can be easily spotted, a single bee can usually flutter around without being noticed and even be mistaken for a different insect like a giant horsefly.
The difficulty here is in recognizing the presence of bees in the first place, and you don’t want to expend all your energy being on guard when there may not be any bees nearby at all. Plus, it’s just not fun to always have to act like the world is out to get you.
Instead, what you can and should do is to take note of places that bees can be found on and keep your guard up when approaching or near such places.
For instance, since bees are natural pollinators, this means that they are attracted to flowers, and thus, you are much more likely to encounter a bee or two buzzing around in fields that have a good number of flowers.
Not only that, the presence of bees themselves means that their nest usually isn’t too far away. Bee nests can be found hanging from trees usually, making them easy to spot. However, it is not uncommon for bees to have their hives or nest hidden inside a rock crevice, inside a tree, or even inside a hole in the ground.
You can usually tell if these places have a beehive by watching the bees nearby. If they enter or exit these places, it is more than likely that there is a beehive present.
Never approach a bee’s nest
Following up from the previous tip, approaching beehives or nests are obviously a big no-no. Bees, like most animals, are prepared to defend their homes from any potential threat, be it an insect attack, a predator attack, or simply a human passing by.
But unlike a lone bee or a swarm of bees, disturbing a beehive or nest may cause the bees to send all able-bodied bees towards you, putting you in extreme danger of getting stung. Getting stung once or twice can already be dangerous but getting stung by hundreds or even thousands of bees can prove fatal.
If you notice a beehive nearby, do the smart thing and start walking in the opposite direction. The bees and your body will thank you for it.
Watch bee behavior
On the off chance that you end up encountering a bee that won’t leave you alone, what you can do here is pay attention to their movement so you can consider what actions to take next.
For instance, bees that are flying into you or even swarming all over you may be trying to send a warning to scare you off, which you should comply with if you wish to get out with getting stung.
Don’t make sudden movements
This applies with any moment that one is in the presence of bees, really. Whether you’re observing bee movements to determine what your next move will be, or found a bee just minding its own business and probably indifferent to your presence, this rule stays the same: Don’t make any sudden movements that might surprise a bee.
This is because a bee might feel unnerved by your presence, and surprising it with sudden movement may cause it to instinctually attack to defend itself.
Not like you can blame it either, if a giant creature nearby suddenly moves at the speed of light and you don’t know their intentions, you’re not going to wait around and find out and instead go on the offensive before it can get you.
Instead, move away from the bee (or bees) slowly. Let it know that you’re there and give the bee some space. Doing so will make it unlikely for you to be considered a threat by the bee.
Oh, and don’t think you can get away with throwing rocks or other projectiles at a bee to scare it and thinking that it won’t know that you did it, because it will know, and will retaliate by giving you a nice sting. And god help you if the rock you threw hits a beehive….
Don’t try to swat away bees
It can be very tempting to instinctually swat away a bee as though they were another insect, but bees aren’t like mosquitoes or flies. They can and will sting you if provoked, and like earlier, swatting bees can constitute as “sudden movement” or just outright be dangerous to a bee, causing them to sting you in response.