Arizona Hunters Beware

OldTurtle

OldTurtle

Moderator - Deceased
Don't want to lose any of you guys, and I can't think of a much worse way to go,,,

Bee attack kills 1,000-pound hog in Arizona

http://www.centurylink.net/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9PP5I581%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=1020

PHOENIX (AP) — A southern Arizona hog farmer said Thursday that she watched in horror as thousands of bees swarmed a 1,000-pound hog during an attack that lasted about two hours.

"I went out three times to hose him down," June Hewitt told The Associated Press. "The very last time I went, he lifted his head when I called his name, flicked his ears, and that was the end."

Farmers were trying to move a hive that weighed around 200 pounds when about 250,000 Africanized bees swarmed like a black cloud and attacked animals and workers, KOLD-TV (bit.ly/nd3tO3) reported.

Hewitt said the attack killed her male pig, Franklin. An 800-pound pregnant sow nearby also was stung so many times that she went into a coma and lost her litter.

"It was very unpleasant," said Hewitt, who lives in the border town of Bisbee.

Bee expert Reed Booth said Franklin had no chance because Africanized bees had spread pheromones all over the farm animals, riling up other bees.

"The pigs started getting stung, and the pheromone was on the pig and that was the target area for the rest of the bees," Booth said. "So the rest of the bees went completely goofy and killed that poor pig. We watched him take his last breath."

Booth said he can't explain why the bees are so agitated this year.

"It doesn't make any rhyme or reason," Booth said. "I've been doing this over 20 years. For some reason, this year, they're (Africanized bees) just going completely insane."

Bee attacks aren't limited to the southern part of the state. A 49-year-old man in northern Arizona remained hospitalized after he was stung more than 1,000 times on Sunday. Yavapai County authorities say DeWayne Spires disturbed bees nesting under a cattle trough.
 
I would think that if in 2 hours time they couldn't think of one thing to do, then the wrong beast was being stung. Sounds a little over dramatized to me. heck fort Pete sake shoot the pig if nothing else!
 
My concern was having one of our members shooting at a Coyote, or something else and hitting something like a stock tank, old log, etc and getting swarmed...

As the guy (Booth) said in the article,, the dog gone bees were more aggressive than usual and he couldn't explain why...

If it took two hours for a 1,000 sow to die under a continual attack, how long would it take a human??
 
Three guys one in a wheel chair were attacked by a swarm of bees Thursday here in Orange county Ca. Sometimes I worrie about getting swarmed wilst hunting. Wonder if theres any type of repelent (smoke ect) available? Grizz
 
I dont understand why they would move it instead of killing them. The last thing we need is them spreading any more than they already are.
 
Isnt the slang term for africanized bees "killers bees"? I remember watching shows on tv about them when i was young. Those shows that say something bad is going to destory the world (swing flu, yellowstone exploding, meteor striking the earth etc) and it was about these bees.

Sure doesnt make me want to move to arizona.
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They're definitely out there. A couple of years ago I left my truck and went about a quarter mile away to set up over looking a nice arroyo. I had put my foxpro 3/4 of the way down the hill and climbed back up in the shade of a mesquite tree. After a few moments I heard what sounded like a hum. It slowly got louder as I realized it must be a very large swarm. I spotted a huge dark mass about treetop high across the arroyo about the size of a bus moving my way. I had to make a decision at that point. Run or stay perfectly still. As there was no doubt in my mind that I would never be able to outrun them, especially if they became agitated, I froze. They kept coming as I sat there thinking of the possibilities.As they got close the sound was unbelievably loud. They passed directly over the tree I was sitting under and kept going. Lucky day I guess. After I quit hearing the hum, I slowly got up, went to the truck and left. I will never forget the feeling of helplessness.
 
Quote:Why would you try to move a hive of african bee's...It's very possible that initially, they didn't know they were Africanized bees...until it was too late...Without them, our crops will be hard to pollinate...

Our bee population has been getting reduced over the years and there is a concerted effort to save what we do have....

Four years ago, I got to watch a Queen and her swarm move into one of the trees in our front yard....As AZBlasta indicated, it's a sight to behold....The tree they settled in was located right next to our driveway (I had 45 hardwood trees in the yard) and I called a local bee keeper to move the hive, as we were trying to sell the house and I didn't want the hive to be a detracting item to potential buyers...It took two weeks to get it moved...
 
Speaking from 40+ years experience in the Commercial Bee Business... I would think that warning to hold true throughout the draught stricken area in the southwest and deep south OT.

Africanized Bees (aka - Killer Bees) as most know, were an experiment in hybridization gone wrong. While they are considerably more aggressive than your average honey bee, they aren't necessarily impossible to work. If I had to guess in this case, the hive was a good producer, BUT it was showing aggressive or highly aggressive tendencies, thus the beekeeper, or the ag department, or whomever, were trying to isolate it, until DNA testing was done to determine the genetic origin of the colony.

All bees can be aggressive at times, and there are certain triggers in nature that can cause them to be more aggressive. For instance, an incoming low pressure system can trigger a change in attitude of any colony. Darker colors can trigger extemely aggressive behavior as well. Black can be extremely ugly in the presence of excited bees. Certain odors, an individual's disposition, any number of things can set them off.

The africanized colony isn't a lot different from other colonies of bees, they are quite simply, MORE aggressive. They are more easily excited, they are more to considerably more defensive of their hive when excited. One of the triggers that stimulates aggressive behavior in africanized bees is hot dry weather. The hotter and drier the weather, the more aggressive they become. That type of weather brings out recessive African strain traits since it simulates the climate in the area of their African gene origin.

The biggest problem with africanized colonies, is there is no quit in them. They will continue to attack where other domesticated colonies would have long since quit. While you can't outrun them on foot, a honeybee can fly up to 25 mph, you can get far enough away from the colony to ease the attack. Unfortunately running also increases blood flow and circulates the venom in your system much more rapidly as well. Personally, I'd run like he|| if attacked, and take my chances, it beats the alternative of standing their swatting, which excites them more, or rolling around on the ground.

IF you should be attacked by africanized bees...

1.) Cover your head... Whip your coat or jacket up over your head. The head is a very sensitive area, swelling is typically extreme there. You can cut off airways, restrict vision, slow blood flow to the brain... all sorts of major problems.

2.) Get away from the hive... Best bet is to seek shelter where you can get the bees off of you and stop the attack. If you're out in the dessert, without shelter. Run through whatever brush you can find. The taller the better, but even waist high, get as low as you can while running, and bust brush!! Zig-Zag is best in cover, but if you don't have sufficient cover, it slows you down. The plants distract the bees, they can't see you as well, likewise they see movement in the brush you ran through, and pursue it also. Basically, it reduces the number of bees focused solely on you.

3.) Insect Repellants... Most don't phase bees a lot. Some in fact, incite more aggressive behavior in bees.

4.) Don't expect them to quit soon... Affricanized bees are known for pursuit beyond a quarter mile. One of the tests they use to determine africanization of a colony during inspection is once they get revved up, they walk off to see how far the bees will follow.

5.) In any bee encounter... Don't swat at them. Fast jerky motions like swatting are seen as aggressive behavior on your part, and incite attack.

If you are attacked by bees, and no I'm not talking one or two, but hundreds or thousands, you should of course seek medical help ASAP! Bee venom is a histamine poison. In large doses, histamine poisoning is a given, which results in annaphalaxis, wherein you quit breathing and your heart stops and such.


As for what could have been done in this case. The fire department could have been called, fire foam kills he|| out of most insects, and fire departments are trained to fight killer bees. If you didn't want to call 911, Dawn dish soap will kill them just as easily if you can figure out how to deliver it. Simply spraying soapy water on them, will kill them, but the foam knocks them down quicker. As for why... Insects as a rule have what is known as an exoskeleton, that's the hard outer shell on any bug. They all breath through the exoskeleton, and when the soap bubbles hit the pores in their exoskeleton, they vapor lock. Be about like us trying to inhale a partially inflated balloon.

Smoke would have helped too. Spraying the hive itself with the water hose would have been better than spraying the hog, but if there were multiple hives, that may not have been a viable possibility.


And, while I wouldn't rule out the scenario's OT offered above, more problematic yet is the guys with hunting dogs. When they get in a fight they'll run over anything. When the bees attack, they attack back, as best they can, when they realize they're fighting a losing battle, they'll head back to their master!! And, you can't outrun them either!!


 
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A very wise choice AZ!!

Typically when swarming, bees are relatively gentle. Everyone in the swarm fills up with honey to take to the new home, so all their bellys are full.


Gentle is a relative thing, and if you don't have proper gear, just watch them go.
 
Couple years ago I agitated two small hives with a lawn mower. All heck broke loose. After trying to find a hiding place,(non existent) I decided to get in my truck and leave. The windows were down and in came the bees. I made it to the local hospital ER (app 10 miles)with a cab full of dead, dying and live bees. I broke a few laws on the way!!
The NP said they pulled between 75 and 100 stingers from my head, arms and upper torso. I was lucky as he!!. The ones on the lip and in the ear and nose hurt the worse.
Beekeeper came and killed one hive, but missed all in the second hive and they remained till this years drought forced them to vacate there little home.
Needless to say I dont mow at the farm anymore.
I suited up with the bee guy to kill off the hives and was amazed at the aggression of the little buggers. Hard as heck not to flench when the start hitting the face screen, it sounds like hail hitting a tin roof.
 
Ear and nose are about two of the worst spots you can get stung in relation to pain Droopy. Various parts of the body are more or less sensitive dependent upon the number of nerve endings. Oddly enough, although those of us in the business get stung quite frequently on the hands, if one hits you on the tips of the fingers in the right place, it'll dam near take your breath away. Seriously, it's about like being kicked in the cajones!!

On top of that, different plants cause the sting to burn more severely, and even the genetics and aggressiveness of the bee can cause the sting to hurt worse. Partly because they try harder, sting deeper, are more excited and inject more venom, partly because of different levels of toxins in their venom, I suspect.

We run about 3000 hives of lease bees over the summer, and one of the beekeepers we lease from lost most of his operation to Colony Collapse Disorder a few years back. They could only find one queen breeder with queen bees avilable when they went to rebuild them, and after working his bees that summer, we suspect the breeder has some african lineage drones in their area mating with the queens they raised. It was not the least uncommon when stung by those bees to see them sitting on their little stinger, and spinning round and round in circles after stinging you. Whereas, most honey bees will simply sting you and fly away. That was a LOOOONNNGGG ugly summer!!

While it is suspected bees do see colors and shapes, movement, and other things, it is also suspected that they have some IR vision and see hotter areas on the body as well. Mouth and nose because you're exhaling, ears, finger tips and other areas because they're filled with tiny blood vessels and give off a lot of heat. Your head in general is usually warmer than most of your body. That's why they go after it, and that's why you need to cover it up quickly if attacked.
 
Glad we don't have them here. Worst I ever got was 13 paper wasp stings to the face. That sucked, can't even imagine how bad 100's of bee's stinging someone would be.
 
Actually with migratory beekeepers moving in and out of state they may be there FB. Africanized colonies are documented over much of the southern US, and many northern seaports.

However... as the africanized bee moves further north into colder climates their disposition eases up a little. Only during the hottest days of summer will they be truly aggressive. And, without others of their kind in the area, as they requeen the hive or swarm to reproduce, the queens are mated by other less-agressive honey bees and they eventually become calmer and gentler.
 
Rocky. Wouldn't the africanized gene be bred out if the bees were cut off from others like them over generations?

Eventually there would be none or very little of that killer bee dna left in them after awhile, I would imagine.

I'm talikng about ones that did make it up north
 
Speaking of bees, i was at work today breaking down boxes and had a bee fly up my sleeve and get into my armpit, long story short he didnt like me closing my arm so he bit/stung me in my arm pit. Anyone got anything to get rid of the pain, it happened 5 hours ago and my arm is still red and hurts just as bad as it did when it happened.

I sure dont want to find out what a swarm of african bees feels like.
 
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Noobie, The armpit is one of the most sensitive parts of the body, so you have my sympathy.... Mix up a small amount of baking soda with enough water to make a heavy paste and apply it.... I don't guarantee it will work, but it's what my grandmother used to use when one of us in the family would get stung...
 
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