Played golf at Bajamar last Friday with my son and played all 27 holes and had a great day. As we were driving out I stopped prior to reaching the
front gate and got out of the car and opened the trunk to get my money that was in my golf bag so I could pay the toll at Ensenada.
As I was searching for the money I could hear my son yelling at me but because the music was up so loud I couldn't hear him and must have said what 3
times before I heard this very loud BUZZ. I looked up and saw thousands of bees swarming around me.
The only thing I could think of was that they were those African bees that will chase you down. I closed the trunk and got back in the car and started
to rub my hands all over to make sure none of them were on me.
My son and I walked the course that day and the only thing I could think of was what if they got me and there was nowhere to hide.
Does anyone have any good information on this? I checked on google but didn't see much.mulegemichael - 4-13-2010 at 10:22 AM
...this is the time of year that honey bees are swarming looking for a place to hunker down and make honey..typically, they are not a problem when
swarming..of course, i've never run into any of those african typesNatalie Ann - 4-13-2010 at 10:40 AM
I had a similar experience a few years back at a campo in the montanas above San Bartolo. I was outside enjoying my tea, watching the sun rise. I
remember thinking about how silent it was, that silence broken only by the sounds of nature waking up for the day.
Maybe 15 minutes had passed when I became aware of a sound in the distance which I took to be a low flying private plane - couldn't think what else it
might be. As I listened the sound seemed to be growing louder and I remember feeling annoyed that mankind was breaking my triste with nature.
I searched the skies for that danged plane to no avail. I did see in the distance what appeared to be a lone dark cloud.... and as I watched, the
cloud seemed to be moving in the direction of my mountain top. What the hey?!
That cloud moved nearer and nearer - and the sound was just really really loud. I still did not recognize it as buzzing. The cloud made a fairly
large shadow on the ground as it approached and it was coming closer to the earth. Well really, being a mountain, the earth was coming closer to the
'cloud'.
Finally as the cloud passed directly over me, I recognized the sound as buzzing. So loud it was that I still had difficulty believing it was bees
even after I could see the little buggers. Freaked me out bigtime for a moment or two.
But once I realized that they hadn't swarmed on me, the memory of it became a pretty neat experience.
nenaastrobaja - 4-13-2010 at 12:42 PM
We have all kinds of wild honey bee swarms here in the sierra too. Especially in the spring, but they really pose no danger at all. My Father had an
apiary when I was young a small percentage of the genetics of his bees were of the African variety. They were indeed more agressive but they also
collected more honey! The whole African bee scare was vastly overblown in the media.
I too find it to be a cool experience when I see a cloud of them pass by!Mexitron - 4-13-2010 at 01:25 PM
I've seen lots of those swarms...just let them fly by and they should leave you alone. What's really cool is when they rest for awhile or the
night---the colony forms a ball on a branch or similar object---about a two foot diameter ball of pure bees with the queen well protected at the
center.ecomujeres - 4-13-2010 at 02:31 PM
I read that they are fairly docile at this point in their lives when they are looking for a new nest site. Hard to keep that in mind though sometimes
when you find yourself in the middle of such a swarm. Cool, but still gotta focus on bladder control! DianaT - 4-13-2010 at 02:39 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by ecomujeres
Cool, but still gotta focus on bladder control!
For me, that probably would be a losing battle! I probably would not have made it back to the inside of the car the way lizard Lips did.
Bees are great unless they find an opening into the walls of your home, and then getting rid of them can be a major operation.dtbushpilot - 4-13-2010 at 03:24 PM
BEES! BEES!!!! run for your lives, your firearms are usless against them........name the movie and win a beer.....dtDENNIS - 4-13-2010 at 03:41 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
BEES! BEES!!!! run for your lives, your firearms are usless against them........name the movie and win a beer.....dt
Tommy Boy ----1995
Pacifico, please.lizard lips - 4-13-2010 at 04:54 PM
I love that movie!dtbushpilot - 4-13-2010 at 05:58 PM
One of my favorites too, I guess the beer's on me Dennis, I'll try to look you up next trip South....dtursidae69 - 4-13-2010 at 07:09 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Mexitron
I've seen lots of those swarms...just let them fly by and they should leave you alone. What's really cool is when they rest for awhile or the
night---the colony forms a ball on a branch or similar object---about a two foot diameter ball of pure bees with the queen well protected at the
center.
I've seen two swarms in my day, both in Baja. One was a whirling mass that flew over me, I just laid down and watched and they went right over. The
next was an actual mass of bees on a tree limb like Mexitron describes. This picture was taken in 2004 along the road to Laguna San Ignacio.
schwlind - 4-13-2010 at 08:04 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by mulegemichael
...this is the time of year that honey bees are swarming looking for a place to hunker down and make honey..typically, they are not a problem when
swarming..of course, i've never run into any of those african types
We've had many huge swarms of bees here in San Antonio Del Mar (Colonet). Our caretaker has found huge hives inside our various neighbors' outside
enclosures for water heaters, etc. He is a very kind individual and always protective of nature so he has relocated every hive to farmers in the area
that maintain bees. While he doesn't describe them normally as being aggressive, he said that some of the bees are and suspects that those may be of
the African variety. The last hive he removed he was stung about 20 times on his hands, arms, face and neck. While he said it was very painful, he
holds nothing against them.
A couple of days ago a huge swarm flew overhead, and as described the loud buzzing was unbelievable. I, being a wimp... ran inside!
[Edited on 4-14-2010 by schwlind]ecomujeres - 4-13-2010 at 09:16 PM
Here's a swarm of bees resting in a White mangrove shrub at Punta Arena (Bahia Concepcion) in the early evening. The photo was taken in early April.
Great photo, ursidae69. Thanks!
josie - 4-14-2010 at 09:16 AM
One of my neighbors in Mexico had a swarm of bees take up residence in an old work bench inside a shed behind the house. He thought he could take care
of the problem on his own by just pulling the old bench outside and then fumigate it. Seems that it started out OK as he began tugging on it until one
bee hit the panic button. He was stung a bunch of times as he ran across the yard, arms waving and dove head first into a neighbors small wading pool
he had set up for his grandkids.
He went and got a beekeeper after that. Hook - 4-14-2010 at 09:31 AM
It's best to assume any swarm you see has been Africanized and take steps to avoid a confrontation. Remember, it's the Africanized TRAITS that have
become inbred into local strains of honey bees; there aren't colonies of pure-strain bees that have simply come up from South America. Apologies to
Rev. Jesse, if this description is offensive.
The main thing is to not pee any of them off; even swinging at them can incite the colony. Then it can become a frenzy.
I would not characterize this as a MEDIA frenzy, BTW. Stings from Africanized honey bees kill 1-2 persons per year in the US, alone. That's more than
the number killed by venomous snakes in the US and is particularly significant since they are only in about 5 border states at this time. I can find
no figures for Mexico.
Personally, I think getting in the car was the best thing you could do.durrelllrobert - 4-14-2010 at 01:33 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by lizard lips
Does anyone have any good information on this? I checked on google but didn't see much.
Drove past Bajmar on toll road and ran into (your?) swarm at about 70 mph. Must have killed several hundred. The front of my Yucon was a mess.Bugman - 4-14-2010 at 01:38 PM
When bees are in a swarm they are not overly aggressive and just in between homes. Since they have no home to defend this leads to the less
aggressive behavior. If you happen to come upon a swarm (bunch of bees on the move or balled up in a tree) just leave it alone and you will be fine.
They usually only stay in the same place for a day or two at most before moving on to their eventual permanent home. Once they have established a
permanent hive then more care is needed. With time they will not be shy about defending their permanent residence as there are probably kids inside.
Ever get between a mom and her kids? It can get ugly fast! If you do have a hive establish on your property in a bad spot (in the walls, chimney,
roof, water meter box etc.) the quicker it is removed the better as they will only get more defensive with time. Anyone living in the southern USA or
further south should just assume that the bees are potentially africanized and treat them as such. Kids (or adults) that throw rocks at africanized
beehives will soon learn that stupidity can (and should) bee painful. Time for me to buzz off now.....
con was a mess.