This was cool! A honey bee swarm landed (alighted) right near the Colorado Rockies Dugout at Coors' Field! In Colorado, wild honey bees are relatively low in numbers (compared to Florida anyway, which is LOADED with wild, African Honey Bees!!), so the right call was made. A beekeeper used a 'bee-vac' to vacuum the honey bees up, and he will either add the bees to an existing hive box of his, or start a new colony. Bravo! Check out the video and cool play by play!
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com's breaking news about bee sting events.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Thousands of honey bees invade mobile home park
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV news
Thousands of bees are invading and stinging residents at a Volusia County mobile home community.
The bees live on a property in Deltona, across Interstate 4, but they're drawn to the Country Village community pool off Hollow Ridge Drive, residents said.
The management company at the mobile home park said it is doing everything it can, but the bees keep coming back.
It seems like the honey bees are in search of water, swarming bird baths and the community pool.
“You can't relax. It's no fun,” said one resident. “You can't, because you got to watch out for the bee on the top of the water."
Bees can be seen swarming the sides of the pool and the deck for water. It's a problem community managers said is getting worse with the lack of rain, and they said no chemicals or spray can keep them away.
To keep the bees away from the pool, the managers added more bird baths and hired a bee expert.
The expert pinpointed their source to more than 100 beehives directly across I-4. They belong to Horace Bell Honey, based in Deland, which refuses to move them.
The community management filed a complaint with the city of Deltona and with Volusia County. The city of Deltona is checking to see if the honey company is in fact allowed to keep the bees on the vacant land.
See the rest of the story(including video) here
The bees live on a property in Deltona, across Interstate 4, but they're drawn to the Country Village community pool off Hollow Ridge Drive, residents said.
The management company at the mobile home park said it is doing everything it can, but the bees keep coming back.
It seems like the honey bees are in search of water, swarming bird baths and the community pool.
“You can't relax. It's no fun,” said one resident. “You can't, because you got to watch out for the bee on the top of the water."
Bees can be seen swarming the sides of the pool and the deck for water. It's a problem community managers said is getting worse with the lack of rain, and they said no chemicals or spray can keep them away.
To keep the bees away from the pool, the managers added more bird baths and hired a bee expert.
The expert pinpointed their source to more than 100 beehives directly across I-4. They belong to Horace Bell Honey, based in Deland, which refuses to move them.
The community management filed a complaint with the city of Deltona and with Volusia County. The city of Deltona is checking to see if the honey company is in fact allowed to keep the bees on the vacant land.
See the rest of the story(including video) here
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Swarm of Bees attacks boy
(Townsville Bulletin)
A TEENAGE boy was stung more than 100 times in a freak bee attack at Pallarenda yesterday.
Royce Abraham, 15, was bushwalking with his father, brother and two others at Bald Rock when he was attacked by the swarm of bees. It is believed the teen disturbed the hive as he walked past, with the European honey bees stinging him largely on his face, neck and ears.
Royce's father Gary Abraham said he picked out at least 100 stingers from his son.
"They swarmed him and he cried out and tried to get away," he said.
"He was in a lot of pain. He rated it as eight or nine on the scale.
"It wasn't very good watching him getting hoed into."
Fortunately, the Pimlico State High School student didn't have any allergic reactions to the stings, and was taken in a conscious state to Townsville Hospital for treatment.
Mr Abraham said the attack was not likely to discourage his younger son from the outdoors.
"He's an adventurous, outdoorsy guy - always out and about," he said.
"He'll be keen to do it again, he'll just be a bit more cautious I think."
James Cook University biologist Professor Simon Robson, an expert on bee behaviour, said he had never heard of an attack of this level in the area.
"Bees usually keep to themselves," Prof Robson said.
"They've been bred to produce honey and they're relatively calm.
"Honey bees are not like the killer bees from South America."
Prof Robson said Royce could have died from so many bee stings.
"He's very lucky boy, that must have hurt," he said.
"One hundred stings are a lot of toxins; he must be a good, robust person and he's done very well to come out the other side.
"Some people will have one bee sting and it will put them into anaphylactic shock; he's clearly not allergic to bee stings."
Prof Robson said the incident sounded like a "really unfortunate accident".
Read the rest of the story here:
A TEENAGE boy was stung more than 100 times in a freak bee attack at Pallarenda yesterday.
Royce Abraham, 15, was bushwalking with his father, brother and two others at Bald Rock when he was attacked by the swarm of bees. It is believed the teen disturbed the hive as he walked past, with the European honey bees stinging him largely on his face, neck and ears.
 |
| PAINFUL EXPERIENCE: Royce Abraham, 15, struggles with the pain after being stung more than 100 times by bees while bushwalking yesterday |
Royce's father Gary Abraham said he picked out at least 100 stingers from his son.
"They swarmed him and he cried out and tried to get away," he said.
"He was in a lot of pain. He rated it as eight or nine on the scale.
"It wasn't very good watching him getting hoed into."
Fortunately, the Pimlico State High School student didn't have any allergic reactions to the stings, and was taken in a conscious state to Townsville Hospital for treatment.
Mr Abraham said the attack was not likely to discourage his younger son from the outdoors.
"He's an adventurous, outdoorsy guy - always out and about," he said.
"He'll be keen to do it again, he'll just be a bit more cautious I think."
James Cook University biologist Professor Simon Robson, an expert on bee behaviour, said he had never heard of an attack of this level in the area.
"Bees usually keep to themselves," Prof Robson said.
"They've been bred to produce honey and they're relatively calm.
"Honey bees are not like the killer bees from South America."
Prof Robson said Royce could have died from so many bee stings.
"He's very lucky boy, that must have hurt," he said.
"One hundred stings are a lot of toxins; he must be a good, robust person and he's done very well to come out the other side.
"Some people will have one bee sting and it will put them into anaphylactic shock; he's clearly not allergic to bee stings."
Prof Robson said the incident sounded like a "really unfortunate accident".
Read the rest of the story here:
Monday, March 12, 2012
Two girls fatally injured in Africanized Bee Attack
Two young girls die from killer bee stings
COLOMONCAGUA, Honduras,-- Two young girls died in Honduras after they were attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees, officials said.
The bees had built a hive in an avocado tree behind a home in the village of San Antonio near Colomoncagua, Honduras, La Prensa reported Monday.
 |
| Africanized Honey Bee Nest aka Killer Bee Nest |
The bees were allegedly provoked when a boy threw a rock at the hive.
Read more here
Friday, March 2, 2012
Beekeepers feel the sting in Central Florida
Beekeepers feel the sting
Honeybees and their keepers are both facing threats.
The bees help make Florida one of the top-five honey producers in the country, with an annual worth of $13 million. But a strange phenomenon of disappearing bees has caused the honeybee population to decline, jeopardizing the livelihoods of commercial honey makers. One honey producer says he is losing thousands of hives a year because of the die-offs that recent studies link to insecticides.
"Bees don't want to make honey anymore," said Bill Rhodes, owner of Bill Rhodes Honey Co. in Umatilla. "I'm trying to keep from going bankrupt."
Beekeeper hobbyists, meanwhile, help fill some of the void created by large losses of bees. Their bees help the environment by pollinating gardens and groves, and the keepers get a little honey from their hobbies.
But some small-scale beekeepers are being told "not in my backyard." Several Florida counties and cities have banned or restricted beekeeping, and the Florida State Beekeepers Association is pushing for new legislation that would leave beekeeping to the expertise of the state.
Senate Bill 1132, sponsored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, would establish that the Florida Department of Agriculture has sole power to regulate beehives, and prevent counties and municipalities from enacting beekeeping laws. The bill has passed three committees and last week was placed on the calendar to be heard by the full Senate.
The bill primarily protects non-commercial beekeepers in residential areas, said Gary Ranker, president of the beekeepers association. He said 73 percent of the association's members are small-scale beekeepers who have a handful of hives in residential areas and are not trying to make a living at beekeeping.
read the rest of CHRIS GERBASI'S article at the Daily Commercial
read the rest of CHRIS GERBASI'S article at the Daily Commercial
Entomologist's Comment:
A well researched article by Chris Gerbasi that adequately explains some of the pressures both commercial and residential beekeepers are facing these days.
While some commercial beekeepers are experiencing high mortality with their bee hives, many others are managing well. Yes, the numbers of colonies lost are higher than experienced a decade ago, but, with increased care and applied treatments to bee colonies, most seem to be weathering this recent malady well enough.
And while it seems to be in vogue these days to blame Colony Collapse Disorder on Nicitonoid pesticide use, current research is leading us away from these pesticides as likely culprits. Yes, they can cause mortality, but usually it's a very quick effect and emulates a more classic pesticide poisoning. Drupke's research implicates the current method of seed coatings and the way seeds are planted in fields, but only in acute toxic events, not in CCD.Changing the seed coating methodology will likely reduce the events that beekeepers have been seeing when placing bees near corn and other crop plantings.
Even the current boogey-corporations, Bayer & Monsanto, have been reaching out to the beekeeping industry, offering to investigate and perform research into effects of these insecticides. If you think about it, it makes no business sense to sell and promote products that cause great harm to beekeeping, as eventually research would show the effects & implicate the pesticide.
Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
The Buzzkillers, LLC
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com
800-343-5317 toll free
800-343-5317 toll free
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Beekeeper had no idea killer bees were on her property
3 people stung: Amateur Beekeeper had no idea killer bees were on her property
There were hundreds of dead bees leftover from Tuesday.
“Bees were everywhere and coming after me. I didn't know what to do. I took my stuff off and took off,” said Latroy Campbell, 17.
On Tuesday, Campbell ran from a swarm of bees coming from the 7200 block of West Yucca Street.
The teen was stung multiple times so was a firefighter.
Brewer said admits four years ago she kept Italian honey bees but never Africanized killer bees. She went on to say that didn't know the bees were on her property.
A Peoria code enforcement officer stopped by Brewer’s home Wednesday.
Brewer told the officer things got ugly when her husband went to move their old bee-keeping box.
She told 3TV she wasn’t raising the bees for honey.
The story is a little different from what Peoria Deputy Fire Chief Rick Picard presented.
“This was an amateur bee keeper and he had hives all over his backyard,” he said.
A firefighter climbed over Brewer’s back wall and got quite the surprise.
“[He was] coming over the wall and disturbed the bees and, of course, they swarmed all over him. He was almost covered with all the bees when he came out,” Picard said,
The deputy fire chief wants amateur bee keepers to buzz off of residential neighborhoods.
“In close neighborhoods, just like there is all around the Valley, it’s against code to do it. Because people walking down the road will be attacked,” Picard said.
Read the rest of the story here
.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Man, 70, dead after setting fire to wasp nest in house
CEBU CITY—A 70-year-old man in a mountain village here died in a fire that he started to stop wasps from building a nest in his house, authorities said.
Alfonso Lopez, who suffered severe burns, was trying to drive away wasps that were building a nest in his house in Barangay Babag which were made of light materials.
According to Timoteo Gabisay, village councilor, Lopez was alone at home when he lit a pile of leaves hoping that the smoke from the burning leaves would drive the wasps away.
The wasps had been building a nest on a bamboo wall of the house. The fire that Lopez started, however, grew and started to burn the wall, according to Gabisay.
Lopez tried to put the fire out as neighbors shouted at him urging him to flee his burning house.
The 70-year-old man, however, didn’t immediately flee as he tried to carry food with him.
Lopez was found lying on his stomach with severe burns on the back just outside his burned house.
The village was so remote that firemen failed to reach the burning house hours after the fire started.
Gabisay said he believed Lopez, who was known to have difficulty walking as a result of old age, tripped on his way out of his burning house
Read the rest of the story here:
Alfonso Lopez, who suffered severe burns, was trying to drive away wasps that were building a nest in his house in Barangay Babag which were made of light materials.
According to Timoteo Gabisay, village councilor, Lopez was alone at home when he lit a pile of leaves hoping that the smoke from the burning leaves would drive the wasps away.
The wasps had been building a nest on a bamboo wall of the house. The fire that Lopez started, however, grew and started to burn the wall, according to Gabisay.
Lopez tried to put the fire out as neighbors shouted at him urging him to flee his burning house.
The 70-year-old man, however, didn’t immediately flee as he tried to carry food with him.
Lopez was found lying on his stomach with severe burns on the back just outside his burned house.
The village was so remote that firemen failed to reach the burning house hours after the fire started.
Gabisay said he believed Lopez, who was known to have difficulty walking as a result of old age, tripped on his way out of his burning house
Read the rest of the story here:
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Mesa, AZ: "All we could hear was screaming"..Beekeeper stings self, family, neighbors
MESA, AZ - Four people were attacked by bees in Mesa Sunday afternoon
Officials say, a bee keeper had been called to a vacant house near Stapley and McKellips to get rid of the bees.
The bee keeper's wife and kids decided to go with him on the call.
The wife and kids were attacked while he was fighting the bees.
A neighbor heard screaming and came outside and hosed them down.
The bee keeper's wife was stung more than 70 times.
The kids, a boy and girl, were stung more than 40 times each.
Officials say, a bee keeper had been called to a vacant house near Stapley and McKellips to get rid of the bees.
The bee keeper's wife and kids decided to go with him on the call.
The wife and kids were attacked while he was fighting the bees.
A neighbor heard screaming and came outside and hosed them down.
The bee keeper's wife was stung more than 70 times.
The kids, a boy and girl, were stung more than 40 times each.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Peoria, AZ: 4 Children Hospitalized after Bee attack
5 Children Stung During Bee Attack
via: MyFoxPhoenix:
They were chased by hundreds of bees and stung at least a dozen times -- but firefighters say it could've been much worse.
"It was a large swarm of bees that attacked the kids," says a Peoria firefighter. "They were stung around the head, face, arms, exposed areas mostly.
Firefighters say the kids were playing with an irrigation box when they were attacked. They ran a quarter mile down a parking lot and asked workers at Shower Doors & More for help.
.jpg) |
| African Killer Bees readily nest in water meters & irrigation boxes |
"We heard the screaming, there was tons of screaming. We didn't know what was going on, then we started clueing in," says Kim Beardon. She called 911.
There were five kids stung, ranging in age from 5 to 14.
"They were trying to take off as much clothing as possible to get the bees out of their clothes and hair," says Beardon.
Four of the five kids were taken to the hospital as a precaution and should be released soon.
The owner of the complex will have to hire a bee removal company to kill the bees.
Firefighters say the lesson here is to never lift an irrigation box if you see bees flying around it.
See the rest of the article here: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/health/children-stung-during-bee-attack-1-26-2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wasp attack victim died of heart attack
Wasp attack victim died of heart attack :
New Zealand: A man who died after being stung "hundreds" of times by swarming wasps on Saturday was killed by a heart attack brought on by the frenzied attack, a coroner has revealed.
Morris Robert Stretch, 62, was collecting firewood in a forest in the Marlborough Sounds with his nephew Craig Wilson, 49, when the pair disturbed a massive underground wasps' nest.
Mr Stretch, who had only just moved to the picturesque Kenepuru Sound area last month, told his nephew to run for it into the forest to escape the killer swarm.
The retired cleaner sprinted towards a nearby road where he was overcome by the "aggressive" swarm.
When his nephew came to find him moments later, Mr Stretch was dead on the road - with dozens of wasps still covering his face, neck, and body. Mr Wilson tried to resuscitate him with CPR and was helped by a passerby, but Mr Stretch passed away at the scene before emergency services arrived.
His niece Darcia Mangakahiao travelled back from Kenepuru Sound today and paid tribute to "a neat bloke, a real family man."
She said the family, especially her brother Mr Wilson who was also stung in the attack and required hospital treatment, are stunned by the freak death.
"Everyone ... friends and family are absolutely devastated to lose him. And they are all devastated at exactly how he died,"
Ms Mangakahiao said her uncle had gone to live with his sister Mona Wilson and her husband Jim in Kenepuru to "have a change of lifestyle" and spend time with his southern family.
She told APNZ how her brother and uncle had ventured into the forest at the back of the family property on Saturday morning to cut firewood and go fishing.
"They were walking along and uncle Morris noticed he had stood on a wasps' nest and they became aggressive straight away," she said.
"Uncle Morris told my brother to make a run for it. He ran one way - towards the trees - and my uncle ran towards the road.
"When my brother went to find him, he came across him lying on the road, dead.
"When Craig opened his shirt to do CPR, he was still covered in wasps. They were all over his face, neck, and chest - everywhere."
Ms Mangakahiao revealed that it wasn't the "hundreds, if not more" stings estimated to have been inflicted on her uncle's body that killed him, but a massive heart attack.
"The coroner told us that the wasps caused him to have a heart attack and that was what killed him," she said.
"To have that number attack you ... you can hardly imagine what it must have been like.
"He was a neat bloke, a real family man. He loved all his family - nieces, nephews, and they all loved him to pieces more like a cousin than an uncle.
"He had become a christian and was a very staunch person. But he was also a very fun-loving, outgoing person. He kept the family together.
"My mum is very cut up. He was a great help to my mum and dad and they'll definitely miss him."
Ms Mangakahiao said Mr Stretch had worked as a cleaner in Palmerston North before retiring.
He is survived by his daughter Rangitaiki, 42, son Justin, 18, and two grandchildren.
Senior Constable Andrew Wilson of Havelock police said the horror attack happened at around 9am on Saturday.
He said Mr Stretch had suffered a "significant amount" of stings, which amounted to "hundreds, if not more."
The officer said: "Wasps are aggressive and can sting hundreds, if not thousands of times, per individual. So when you've got a significant number attacking your body, you can hardly imagine how horrible it must have been."
Read more of the story at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10783779
Morris Robert Stretch, 62, was collecting firewood in a forest in the Marlborough Sounds with his nephew Craig Wilson, 49, when the pair disturbed a massive underground wasps' nest.
Mr Stretch, who had only just moved to the picturesque Kenepuru Sound area last month, told his nephew to run for it into the forest to escape the killer swarm.
The retired cleaner sprinted towards a nearby road where he was overcome by the "aggressive" swarm.
When his nephew came to find him moments later, Mr Stretch was dead on the road - with dozens of wasps still covering his face, neck, and body. Mr Wilson tried to resuscitate him with CPR and was helped by a passerby, but Mr Stretch passed away at the scene before emergency services arrived.
 |
| Yellow Jacket Wasp |
Now, his family have destroyed the nest, and local police have issued a public warning on wasps' nests in the Nelson and Marlborough Sounds area, which is regarded as having some of the densest populations of wasps in the world.
Mr Stretch's body was returned to Kereru marae in his home region of Manawatu today (Monday) and will be laid to rest in a tangi on Wednesday.His niece Darcia Mangakahiao travelled back from Kenepuru Sound today and paid tribute to "a neat bloke, a real family man."
She said the family, especially her brother Mr Wilson who was also stung in the attack and required hospital treatment, are stunned by the freak death.
"Everyone ... friends and family are absolutely devastated to lose him. And they are all devastated at exactly how he died,"
Ms Mangakahiao said her uncle had gone to live with his sister Mona Wilson and her husband Jim in Kenepuru to "have a change of lifestyle" and spend time with his southern family.
She told APNZ how her brother and uncle had ventured into the forest at the back of the family property on Saturday morning to cut firewood and go fishing.
"They were walking along and uncle Morris noticed he had stood on a wasps' nest and they became aggressive straight away," she said.
"Uncle Morris told my brother to make a run for it. He ran one way - towards the trees - and my uncle ran towards the road.
"When my brother went to find him, he came across him lying on the road, dead.
"When Craig opened his shirt to do CPR, he was still covered in wasps. They were all over his face, neck, and chest - everywhere."
Ms Mangakahiao revealed that it wasn't the "hundreds, if not more" stings estimated to have been inflicted on her uncle's body that killed him, but a massive heart attack.
"The coroner told us that the wasps caused him to have a heart attack and that was what killed him," she said.
"To have that number attack you ... you can hardly imagine what it must have been like.
"He was a neat bloke, a real family man. He loved all his family - nieces, nephews, and they all loved him to pieces more like a cousin than an uncle.
"He had become a christian and was a very staunch person. But he was also a very fun-loving, outgoing person. He kept the family together.
"My mum is very cut up. He was a great help to my mum and dad and they'll definitely miss him."
Ms Mangakahiao said Mr Stretch had worked as a cleaner in Palmerston North before retiring.
He is survived by his daughter Rangitaiki, 42, son Justin, 18, and two grandchildren.
Senior Constable Andrew Wilson of Havelock police said the horror attack happened at around 9am on Saturday.
He said Mr Stretch had suffered a "significant amount" of stings, which amounted to "hundreds, if not more."
The officer said: "Wasps are aggressive and can sting hundreds, if not thousands of times, per individual. So when you've got a significant number attacking your body, you can hardly imagine how horrible it must have been."
Read more of the story at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10783779
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)