By Garner Roberts
Abilene Reporter-News
ABILENE, Texas — In the wake of recent bee attacks in Abilene, experts are urging Big Country residents to exercise caution when near hives.
Every bee in a colony has its job to do, said Chris Sansone, an entomologist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in San Angelo, so watch for “guard bees” whose duty it is to patrol the area of their hive.
“Guard bees are on patrol,” he said. “They could be up to 50 yards from their hive, and there may not be very many of them. They often will give you some warning. They may fly at you to try to get you away from their hive.”
Last month, a woman reportedly was hospitalized after being attacked by bees southwest of Abilene near View. The bees apparently were disturbed by her son, who was clearing brush and knocked down an old tree containing their hive.
In May, an Abilene real estate broker, Jack Chamberlain, and a client were attacked by bees northeast of the city and required treatment at a minor emergency clinic. The attack occurred as Chamberlain was showing the client a mobile home.
After the attack, he told the Reporter-News: “We had seen the bees when we walked by within 6 feet of them to try to get into the mobile home. They seemed to be tame, so we left them alone.”
He said they walked by the bees about four times before they attacked after his cellphone rang.
When asked about the possible link between bee attacks and cellphones, Sansone said, “That’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but I suspect the bees were already agitated.”
Robert Pritz, Taylor County’s Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, said it’s best to leave bees undisturbed.
“We recommend people just leave them alone. When they are in a swarm they usually are not aggressive. They don’t have a hive or honey to protect. They are looking for a new location to build a hive,” Pritz said.
Sansone said it’s important to understand the difference between a swarm, such as a cluster of bees in a tree, and an attack. He said a swarm occurs after a hive becomes too crowded - the new queen remains with the existing hive, and the old queen “goes to look for a new place for a hive with half of the bees.”
He added: “A swarm of bees, by nature, is not aggressive because it has nothing to defend. They attack because they are provoked or disturbed in some way.”
Sansone said the most common way bees are disturbed is by lawn equipment.
“Honeybees don’t just indiscriminately attack people,” he said. “Typically, the attacks I hear about are associated with people using lawn equipment such as lawn mowers or (weed trimmers.) “This time of year is when the (bee) populations are at their highest, so attacks are also at their highest,” he said.
He said some attacks have been attributed to sound vibrations from nearby lawn equipment rather than direct contact, which he said could support the “cellphone” theory.
Sansone also did not eliminate the possible effects of current weather conditions.
“I did talk to one beekeeper this summer who said his bees are harder to work,” Sansone said. “They could be stressed, but there are not a lot of data on working bees in drought conditions.”
Pritz said most honeybees in the Abilene area are either European honeybees, which are more docile, or Africanized honeybees, which are sometimes referred to as “killer bees.”
He agreed that weather could be a factor in bees’ behavior.
“Because of our unusual weather, you may see some different patterns,” he said.
They could be stressed, but there are not a lot of data on working bees in drought conditions.”
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