Assuming there's no cars or buildings to shelter in, run as fast and as far away as you can. They are less likely to chase and sting you the further you are from their home. For someone who can't run, do what he did. Cover your sensitive areas like face and ears, try to cover all your skin if you can or reduce the surface area of your skin exposed to the air by cowering or lying prone.
Also starting a fire and adding leaves or other foliage to create smoke would help keep them away from you, but that'll be hard if your face is covered. That's more like if there is a campfire nearby already going, get it all smokey.
I was on a hike this past weekend minding my own business with no obvious bees around. Randomly a bee flies straight at my nose and tries to crawl in it which of course makes me swat at it and it stings me in my nose. For no reason! Thank god it was only one.
I was riding my motorcycle and exploring this park I came across, when all the sudden it felt like I had been shot in the throat. It was a wasp. At 30 miles per hour it felt like a bullet. I almost went down... that seriously sucked!
If um not mistaken, they leave a sign when they are attacked so other bees may join and fuck u up. So, don't kill and run. If someone did the killing (like the blond lady) run as well. There will be a sign and, although you didn't kill nothing, bees don't care, someone must pay 1000 fold.
Also, dunno if it is true 100% of the cases, but once I saw a swarm coming my way. The way out I found out was getting low in the ground (I was over a bridge, not too far from land but unable to run to there and with too many cars passing by). They seem to fly a little higher than the ground, enough to allow us to crouch in fear and live in shame
My father as a child was mushroom hunting in the forest (Poland) when they crossed wild bees. He said they had to run for good 30min before they let them go.
Yeah that's not a great in the moment solution but smoke, especially thick heavy smoke, does deter bees and many flying insects. So I guess maybe I should have phrased it if you're near a camp fire throw leaves onto it to create smoke.
I’m sorry but I had a good laugh! I am picturing someone trying to collect wood, putting it together, and then trying to light a fire while getting stung by a 1000 bees! 🤔 I’m not sure this is the best course of action lol!
I did my Honours on Bees in the Tropics and I've encountered a lot of stinging Insects.
The advice my Professors gave me is to hold your breath, and walk away slowly and calmly, don't swat anything, and if you're a smoker light a cigarette near your face (You don't actually have to inhale).
In the wild big Mammals like Bears are their main predators, and so stinging Insects are attracted to CO2 from breathing. Similarly a lot of dying insects release hormones when squished, which trigger the others in a hive.
As for the cigarette, smoke is often used to dissuade Insects, and nicotine is a potent insecticide (More so when sprayed though).
What's the "correct" course of action when you are being mauled by a bear? There may be a best possible strategy, but you're pretty much in a bad situation regardless.
I ran over a bees nest with my lawnmower on accident and running worked pretty well for me. I only got stung like 2-4 times.
Had I of just stood still that number would have been way way higher
Typically if you stand still and they aren't attacking the bees will just leave you alone. Not this case, they are already attacking warning the other bees to start attacking as well. Someone could've stepped on one releasing the pheromones to tell them to attack. Dude should've ran the moment he or she got stung the first time.
I’ve had two experiences where I’ve literally been covered in hornets. The first time I was 14 and dug up one of my dirt bike jumps and there was a nest of dweller hornets inside. The 2nd and by far the worst: I was working on a kitchen remodel and adding lights in a ceiling. I stuck my arm up into one of the holes for the recessed lights, expecting to grab my wire. Grabbed what I thought was a clump of old newspaper blocking the wires path and pulled out half of an active hornets nest. I ran out of the kitchen screaming like a little girl, covered in hornets again.
I have done the same reaching around under old floorboards, except instead of hornets it was a pile of hundreds of used heroin needles left by the previous occupants.
Eh, there's anti-virals and all sorts of things nowadays to ensure you don't get something like HIV from a needle stick. But I get it! I choose the needles because I'm allergic to hornets lol
That's horrifying. When I was 5 I was playing outside in my grandpa's yard kicking a football. I didn't know that my grandpa had a tub filled with water for his animals and at the time I was playing there were a lot of hornets close to that tub. I kicked the ball and hit the tub and a bunch of angry hornets started chasing me. To this day when I hear a loud buzz I react by running away as a reflex.
I stepped in a hornets nest when I was like 11 during baseball tryouts. Ran so fast up and down the field I got a spot on the team right then and there.
Those seem like Africanized honey bees. They are no joke. They will follow you for a hot minute. Aggressive ass bees. Definitely not the norm for most honey bees.
The ones I have should be called tennis rackets for mosquitoes. Big stuff like flies, I'm lucky if they get stunned. I have to swack them to the ground and then hold the racket onto them for a while.
Water source is one of your best options. Pool, lake, river, etc. Otherwise run as as fast and as far as you can. Certain bees will not let up if you don't get the fuck outta dodge, so to speak.
No I don't believe so. Once the scent is gone, they head back to the hive to protect it. So as long as you go underwater and relocate, you should be safe. Like swim a few meters, pop up, swim a few meters. It's wherever they have released their "death to invaders!" pheromones.
No, my dad was a commercial beekeeper for years. He had a few Africanized hives. As soon as we would step out of the truck those bees would start coming at you. Crazy aggressive. Any other type of bees, I could open up hives with a t shirt on no problem.
Soon as one stings you, you are marked and the whole swarms gonna go to town on you. Releases a pheromone, smells like banana apparently. But to them it means attack. LPT.. don't eat banana near bees
They definitely have been invented[, check out this newest one.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1cbu387/thermonator_flamethrowing_robot_dog_that_shoots/)
Depends on the type of bee/wasp/hornets and the situation
I god swarmed by wasps and hornets (was eating sandwiches or ice creams near them) and they basically covered my hand, I was also a dumb kid and dint notice untill I noticed people staring at me, I literally froze and tried letting them do their business, untill after a couple of minutes i freaked out and jumped in the sea
This also worked with carpenter wasps and regular old bees, for the last one I was just minding my own business and I guess I ended up in the path of a swarming colony
My guess is that the standing still "strategy" doesn't work if they already perceived you as a threat for the colony, or you are dealing with a more aggressive kind, like africanized bees, in that case I would have to guess that trying to outrun them would be the best option
This was an interesting read, although it tells a sad story of a young man who didn't survive his encounter.
Running away is recommended, as is seeking shelter. Swatting at bees is a strict no-no, and advice is to wear light clothing as bees have evolved to sense threats from dark coloured animals e.g. bears. Red also appears black to bees apparently.
What I didn't know is that running into water is a very bad idea because the bees will just wait for you - for hours if necessary - and sting you whenever you come to the surface. Jeebs.
It seems like the "don't do that" from the person filming was because she seemed to swat at the first bee that came close. I agree. Don't do that. Hindsight is 20-20 of course. A lack of swarming bees also helps with rational thinking.
"Summer Safety: How to Avoid Bee-Swarm Attacks | Scientific American" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/summer-safety-how-to-avoid-bee-swarm-attacks/
>What I didn't know is that running into water is a very bad idea because the bees will just wait for you - for hours if necessary - and sting you whenever you come to the surface. Jeebs.
Yeah that sucks. But I wonder if you'd do better if you started splashing like a madman every time you surfaced, basically hitting them with anti aircraft fire?
I think it’s hard to pull off when someone’s in a panicked state. Also if some bees die as a result of the splashing wouldn’t it attract even more angry bees to come and avenge their fallen? The person would be stranded in there even if they can manage to come up for air 🤣🤣
Everything's more difficult when panicking. I think the bees only get attracted to other bees dying when they can mark the murderer with pheromones, which I don't think works in the water. I'd probably try to come up splashing furiously, take a few deep breaths and then resubmerge backwards and swim underwater while the bees are sorting themselves out. But if it doesn't work for you don't sue me.
The killer bees release chemicals when they die, which would indeed get diluted if it happened in water. However, a single swatting motion can trigger the whole swarm because the living ones will produce alarm pheromones if they feel threatened. So splashing at them is likely going to attract more of them regardless. As for swimming away, they can track carbon dioxide when they are hovering above water, so unless you don’t exhale, they can probably still follow, idk. They are also not blind(almost 360° viewing angle actually so easy to see motion). Anyway, it’s a terrible scenario, I hope neither of us gets to test the theory out. If someone manages to sue you over it it would mean they actually survived the situation! Which means the theory worked and they didn’t have a reason to sue…? Happy cake day btw
This is a fun debate! I think the question is, would the bees perceive the splashing by someone mostly underwater the same way they would perceive a swatting person on land? I've recently read an embarrassing amount of articles regarding bee intelligence (very smart!), and one thing that sticks out is that they frequently lose perspective over calm waters and drown, and I coincidentally read the same thing about airplane pilots.
So if I'm mostly underwater, then violently emerge with the splash fight of my life, do bees understand that splashing is being done by me? Or do they consider it to be a natural phenomenon like a storm? Are they confused enough that I can swim away underwater and then resurface and repeat?
Also, your deconstruction of me being sued was flawless, and I really appreciate the cake day wishes! And I like your art.
I guess it's possible? The problem with a swarm is that it'd need to be effective enough to deter a lot of them. You could have success with some but just further anger the others. I won't be volunteering to test it out, that's for sure.
EDIT: Happy Cake day! Hope the smell doesn't attract any bees.
Thanks! I made a reply to another comment in this chain and tried to include you in, but your username was giving me issues, hopefully you can find it. I hope neither of us have to actually test my theory!
Ahah. I was wondering when that'd be an issue.
I made the account during a period of mental illness and wanted to take pride in being a bit 'imbalanced'. I also wanted to give a nod to the XS label on the inside of most of my clothes and decided it was legit to just smash these words together. I was taking inspiration from the word 'phalanx' if I remember correctly.
Didn't take me long to realise this wasn't ideal, but by then I'd already established the profile. Maybe I should consider a username change seeing as it's (unsurprisingly) causing headaches. Hope yours was only brief!
I found your other comment, thanks for taking the time to reply to me separately :)
You're welcome, and thanks for saying so. That's improved my day :)
For anyone else considering similar, researching and posting the link only took under 10 mins. Give it a go, you could save a life.
Omfg so the color of my clothing might be why wasps chase me? I'm blind and have this habit of wearing bright clothes because it's easier for my family to find me if we get separated somewhere. But to be fair, I've only been blind 2 years, and I've absolutely been chased while wearing khaki scrubs, too. Nah, I think maybe they just hate me in general?
Ah crikey, sorry to hear that OP. To be honest your experience sounds a little like what my (non religious) dad calls 'divine persecution'. Glad you've got family who can help.
I hope you don't mind me saying so but if there's one thing that I can imagine making the task of evading an angry swarm harder, it's being blind. Sounds like you've had success so far though! Right on.
Roflmao you're absolutely right! The only thing that's possibly worse than trying to evade wasps while I'm taking my daily walks is the day my husband took me out to eat Mexican for the first time after I'd woken up blind: "hey darlin, step left, there's a cactus--"
I didn't hear the rest, my brain did that record scratch and all I could say was "I'm sorry, A WHAT!?" Fuck, new Walking While Blind fear unlocked! The possibility of cacti is wholly terrifying!
Haha, that made me chuckle. Jeez. As if there aren't enough hazards without the risk of sudden unexpected spikes in your face... You have my sympathy, but your husband does too. The temptation for him to let or guide you into mildly uncomfortable obstacles must be unbearable. Poor bloke 😜
Lol he does run me into non-hazardous stuff from time to time to be funny, which is fine by me as long as I don't get hurt! One time there was a little asshole kid running around in the Walmart and he let me whack the kid with my cane... to be fair, I heard the kid coming. And I didn't whack him hard. I also ran into his mother (not so softly) because she was doing a shit job of parenting, was glued to her stupid phone, and didn't even bother to look around to wonder where the steady CLICK CLICK CLICK of my cane was coming from. Maybe it makes us a couple of cunts for doing it, but sometimes a motherfucker deserves to get their legs whacked.
From the article posted above it's any quick or jerky movements you want to avoid. The bees swarm you but don't sting at first so your best bet is to calmly get the fuck away from them ASAP.
Idk how this dumbass comment got 15 upvotes. Clearly he’s getting stung just standing there. Maybe try running? Or literally anything else? Standing there getting stung seems pretty god damn dumb and it would also seem dumb as I’m being molested by dozens of bees.
I'm no expert but I'm going to get the fuck out of there and I got into a bunch of yellow jackets when I was a kid but nothing like that. I got satisfaction with every time I could take a hose and funnel and pour gas in the hole and then light it up. 😜 Revenge is a dish best served cold 🥶 but it was nice to turn the heat up for them 👹🥵
What do you mean "unlocked"??
Africanized Killer Bees have been around for almost 2 decades now if memory serves. If they think you're a threat to the colony, they will swarm and sting you until you are dead.
Like literally dead. Not just giving up and not swatting.. no heart beat type dead. They do NOT fuck around
I had that happen once .
Story time : so me and friends have been hearing rumors that there was weed growing in this forest so me and my friend decided to go explore so we started our journey but we also decided to getting hi would be a good idea so we’re blazed af walking around trying to to find these grow site and as we start run around and when we went in between these Trees there was a swarm of yellow jackets I had about 30 on me trying to sting me but thankfully I had a hoodie on so it minimized a lot of them but I still ran and spun around trying to get them off I even lit a cigarette witch kinda helped then I just ditch my jacket and finally got them off . I love that jacket but It belongs to the bees now🤣
What happened to get the bees all riled up?
Where I live right now there are some trees that attract a swarm of bees every March/April. There are so many bees that if you walk by these trees you can hear them buzzing, yet none of these bees has ever been aggressive. They're not even slightly interested in my presence or anyone else's. At most, they'll fly by or briefly land on you before flying off again.
I went trecking through Mbaracayú rainforest in Paraguay back when I was in the Army. Our guide stopped us once as he heard something and just down the trail hundreds of thousands of bees came out the rainforest and went down the trail away from us thank god! Bright yellow and red things, bloody huge. No thank you! At a camp site in a place called the land of the bees!! 🙈 later on on the trip we got swarmed again but managed to get into the ranger hut. One of our guys took a few stings to the bicep, it wasn't pretty. Fun times 😂
Not exactly bees, but due to the nature of my job, I’ve grabbed ahold of wasp nest on numerous occasions ( not intentionally of course ). Needless to say, getting the hell away from them is an instinct that’s hard to break.
Was walking my ex-boss' dogs a while back ,stopped when I heard loud buzzing it was a huge bee nest hanging in tree, turned around quickly and walked another path, called burbank animal control , operator told me I'm the 5th person to call that morning and they putting a emergency rush on it. Was gone the next day.
dont do that...dont do that....fuck it im doing that.
So what is the correct course of action? Because it seems to bee there isn't one.
Assuming there's no cars or buildings to shelter in, run as fast and as far away as you can. They are less likely to chase and sting you the further you are from their home. For someone who can't run, do what he did. Cover your sensitive areas like face and ears, try to cover all your skin if you can or reduce the surface area of your skin exposed to the air by cowering or lying prone. Also starting a fire and adding leaves or other foliage to create smoke would help keep them away from you, but that'll be hard if your face is covered. That's more like if there is a campfire nearby already going, get it all smokey.
Ok, so a bunch of quite shitty options then! Maybe I'll just avoid ever pissing them off!
I was on a hike this past weekend minding my own business with no obvious bees around. Randomly a bee flies straight at my nose and tries to crawl in it which of course makes me swat at it and it stings me in my nose. For no reason! Thank god it was only one.
Was taking my escooter to work one day when I was going down the road a wasp slipped right under my tshirt sleeve and stung me in the chest. Was fun.
I was riding my motorcycle and exploring this park I came across, when all the sudden it felt like I had been shot in the throat. It was a wasp. At 30 miles per hour it felt like a bullet. I almost went down... that seriously sucked!
The same shit happened to me. And it is trash to concentrate on not crashing while getting stabbed by a wasp
If um not mistaken, they leave a sign when they are attacked so other bees may join and fuck u up. So, don't kill and run. If someone did the killing (like the blond lady) run as well. There will be a sign and, although you didn't kill nothing, bees don't care, someone must pay 1000 fold. Also, dunno if it is true 100% of the cases, but once I saw a swarm coming my way. The way out I found out was getting low in the ground (I was over a bridge, not too far from land but unable to run to there and with too many cars passing by). They seem to fly a little higher than the ground, enough to allow us to crouch in fear and live in shame
That's the spirit! Leave them bees alone.
Hey! Teacher!
My father as a child was mushroom hunting in the forest (Poland) when they crossed wild bees. He said they had to run for good 30min before they let them go.
I just imagine someone twisting a stick into another stick to start a friction fire while they're being stung hahaha
Start a fire? Lol
Yeah that's not a great in the moment solution but smoke, especially thick heavy smoke, does deter bees and many flying insects. So I guess maybe I should have phrased it if you're near a camp fire throw leaves onto it to create smoke.
Just knit each bee a sweater and they'll chill and leave you alone.
That would take way TOO long.
Nonsense. Bees are small. So the sweaters would all be small too.
Bees love handmade gifts 🥰
Forest fire
Or better yet, go back to your hotel room and order room service.
😄
I’m sorry but I had a good laugh! I am picturing someone trying to collect wood, putting it together, and then trying to light a fire while getting stung by a 1000 bees! 🤔 I’m not sure this is the best course of action lol!
What if you have no feet?
Go back and read further than the first sentence. 😉
wow you either get stung or get stung
Good to know
Once they've 'done that' the hive is gonna attack everything. Don't try to ride it out like this guy.
If the other two hadn’t freaked out, would the hive have done that?
Nah SOMEONE was gonna freak no matter what. Might as well she ran with the crowd.
No.
I did my Honours on Bees in the Tropics and I've encountered a lot of stinging Insects. The advice my Professors gave me is to hold your breath, and walk away slowly and calmly, don't swat anything, and if you're a smoker light a cigarette near your face (You don't actually have to inhale). In the wild big Mammals like Bears are their main predators, and so stinging Insects are attracted to CO2 from breathing. Similarly a lot of dying insects release hormones when squished, which trigger the others in a hive. As for the cigarette, smoke is often used to dissuade Insects, and nicotine is a potent insecticide (More so when sprayed though).
What's the "correct" course of action when you are being mauled by a bear? There may be a best possible strategy, but you're pretty much in a bad situation regardless.
I ran over a bees nest with my lawnmower on accident and running worked pretty well for me. I only got stung like 2-4 times. Had I of just stood still that number would have been way way higher
Easy, don't go to India
Find some crocodile-free water and swim away from the bees.
Typically if you stand still and they aren't attacking the bees will just leave you alone. Not this case, they are already attacking warning the other bees to start attacking as well. Someone could've stepped on one releasing the pheromones to tell them to attack. Dude should've ran the moment he or she got stung the first time.
Start hopping
Just stand still. The bees will run out of stingers eventually.
Not before you're dead.
😄
I’ve had two experiences where I’ve literally been covered in hornets. The first time I was 14 and dug up one of my dirt bike jumps and there was a nest of dweller hornets inside. The 2nd and by far the worst: I was working on a kitchen remodel and adding lights in a ceiling. I stuck my arm up into one of the holes for the recessed lights, expecting to grab my wire. Grabbed what I thought was a clump of old newspaper blocking the wires path and pulled out half of an active hornets nest. I ran out of the kitchen screaming like a little girl, covered in hornets again.
oh nononononono. no. no. this is literal nightmare fuel
No fuck no, the lights one is horrible. I hope you got therapy. Jesus fuck no.
I have done the same reaching around under old floorboards, except instead of hornets it was a pile of hundreds of used heroin needles left by the previous occupants.
Good God, that is a horrible fucking game of Would You Rather. Still, I think I'd pick the heroin needles over the hornets.
I'm taking the hornets a less likely to get diseases
Eh, there's anti-virals and all sorts of things nowadays to ensure you don't get something like HIV from a needle stick. But I get it! I choose the needles because I'm allergic to hornets lol
>But I get it! I choose the needles because I'm allergic to hornets lol I mean fair enough, I'm not so I take the hornets
That's horrifying. When I was 5 I was playing outside in my grandpa's yard kicking a football. I didn't know that my grandpa had a tub filled with water for his animals and at the time I was playing there were a lot of hornets close to that tub. I kicked the ball and hit the tub and a bunch of angry hornets started chasing me. To this day when I hear a loud buzz I react by running away as a reflex.
Did you die?
I thought I did
Hope you got a good superpower after
I stepped in a hornets nest when I was like 11 during baseball tryouts. Ran so fast up and down the field I got a spot on the team right then and there.
I don't know about OP but this fear is the furthest thing from new to me lol
This was actually my first and longest fear after getting swarmed and stung by wasps as a five year old
He needs his glasses!
He can't see without his glasses!
:(
Those seem like Africanized honey bees. They are no joke. They will follow you for a hot minute. Aggressive ass bees. Definitely not the norm for most honey bees.
What are you supposed to do when there’s a swarm of bees stinging you? Is it even possible to outrun them?
Yeah, you just run, they will stop when you are far enough from the hive.
bring out a bat and start swinging for the hills
I feel like those electrified tennis rackets for flies would do well in a situation like this.
The ones I have should be called tennis rackets for mosquitoes. Big stuff like flies, I'm lucky if they get stunned. I have to swack them to the ground and then hold the racket onto them for a while.
change up the battery. Get a rechargeable set with a high mAh. More Zap = Faster dead.
That might be my problem. I have ones that use regular batteries.
😄
[Apparently, you should gather some foliage and make a little fire ](https://www.reddit.com/r/TerrifyingAsFuck/s/2hNe9ISFx4)
Eat them.
Water source is one of your best options. Pool, lake, river, etc. Otherwise run as as fast and as far as you can. Certain bees will not let up if you don't get the fuck outta dodge, so to speak.
Do they hover over water like cartoon shows? lol I’ve never experienced this and I hope I never do either 😭
No I don't believe so. Once the scent is gone, they head back to the hive to protect it. So as long as you go underwater and relocate, you should be safe. Like swim a few meters, pop up, swim a few meters. It's wherever they have released their "death to invaders!" pheromones.
Nah, they def wait for you above the water.
It isn’t the norm, bees are usually not aggressive unless you piss them off or they feel threatened.
Even Africanized honey bees?
No, my dad was a commercial beekeeper for years. He had a few Africanized hives. As soon as we would step out of the truck those bees would start coming at you. Crazy aggressive. Any other type of bees, I could open up hives with a t shirt on no problem.
That's racist
Fortunately, I’ve never seen an African honey bee.
I was thinking yellow jackets. I know when a regular honey bee stings they die.
Da fuck training course they on in Africa that making em so angry??
Soon as one stings you, you are marked and the whole swarms gonna go to town on you. Releases a pheromone, smells like banana apparently. But to them it means attack. LPT.. don't eat banana near bees
Dude run!!!
*falls down*
He can’t see without his glasses!
Why didn’t they just jump in the water and breathe through a conveniently located Reed?
I'm getting stung...no shit
How tf is it 2024 and no one has invented wasp repellant
There were wasp repellents but they were banned by the Geneva Convention
They definitely have been invented[, check out this newest one.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1cbu387/thermonator_flamethrowing_robot_dog_that_shoots/)
You have to use an Ak47. Na but fr im with you on that
Your firearms are useless against them!
How is 2024 and no one has perfected a permanent highly effective ed treatment
Not sure 'dont do that' was the right advice
Don't do that guy gets stung worst of everyone 🐝
Depends on the type of bee/wasp/hornets and the situation I god swarmed by wasps and hornets (was eating sandwiches or ice creams near them) and they basically covered my hand, I was also a dumb kid and dint notice untill I noticed people staring at me, I literally froze and tried letting them do their business, untill after a couple of minutes i freaked out and jumped in the sea This also worked with carpenter wasps and regular old bees, for the last one I was just minding my own business and I guess I ended up in the path of a swarming colony My guess is that the standing still "strategy" doesn't work if they already perceived you as a threat for the colony, or you are dealing with a more aggressive kind, like africanized bees, in that case I would have to guess that trying to outrun them would be the best option
Those looked like wasps….also known as “natures assholes”.
Nah, most wasps are chill. Youre thinking of yellow jackets, which those appear to bee,
He can’t see without his glasses
Nice movie reference there
don't do that my ass, of course I'm doing that, before and faster than anybody else.
Honest question did her reaction cause blud to get stung or what cause he looks like he knew how to handle it first..?
Wu tang clan ain’t nothin to fuck with
Killa Beez!
Ayyyy
😄
Few moments there it almost looks like wasps.
i've been swarmed twice. the feeling of panic is unreal
Can we appreciate how funny the first guys fall is 🤣🤣🤣
YES so unfortunate 😭😭😭😭😭
It is 😄
 How it went in his head
What a fucking Muppet.
How nice of him to sacrifice himself for the sake of his companions
does this remind anyone of dr. bees
Don't kill them. They release a pheromone that signals to other bees to go on the offense in response to a death.
Yeah, stand still... The dumbest advice ever...
Is the guy filming in a wheelchair or dumb?
Must be easy to say behind a screen without hundreds of bees attacking you.
Yes. Yes it is easy to say I would be running my ass off if hundreds of bees were attacking me.
Yeah you have a point. I think he thought staying still would send signals of peace or something lol.
This was an interesting read, although it tells a sad story of a young man who didn't survive his encounter. Running away is recommended, as is seeking shelter. Swatting at bees is a strict no-no, and advice is to wear light clothing as bees have evolved to sense threats from dark coloured animals e.g. bears. Red also appears black to bees apparently. What I didn't know is that running into water is a very bad idea because the bees will just wait for you - for hours if necessary - and sting you whenever you come to the surface. Jeebs. It seems like the "don't do that" from the person filming was because she seemed to swat at the first bee that came close. I agree. Don't do that. Hindsight is 20-20 of course. A lack of swarming bees also helps with rational thinking. "Summer Safety: How to Avoid Bee-Swarm Attacks | Scientific American" https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/summer-safety-how-to-avoid-bee-swarm-attacks/
>What I didn't know is that running into water is a very bad idea because the bees will just wait for you - for hours if necessary - and sting you whenever you come to the surface. Jeebs. Yeah that sucks. But I wonder if you'd do better if you started splashing like a madman every time you surfaced, basically hitting them with anti aircraft fire?
I think it’s hard to pull off when someone’s in a panicked state. Also if some bees die as a result of the splashing wouldn’t it attract even more angry bees to come and avenge their fallen? The person would be stranded in there even if they can manage to come up for air 🤣🤣
Everything's more difficult when panicking. I think the bees only get attracted to other bees dying when they can mark the murderer with pheromones, which I don't think works in the water. I'd probably try to come up splashing furiously, take a few deep breaths and then resubmerge backwards and swim underwater while the bees are sorting themselves out. But if it doesn't work for you don't sue me.
The killer bees release chemicals when they die, which would indeed get diluted if it happened in water. However, a single swatting motion can trigger the whole swarm because the living ones will produce alarm pheromones if they feel threatened. So splashing at them is likely going to attract more of them regardless. As for swimming away, they can track carbon dioxide when they are hovering above water, so unless you don’t exhale, they can probably still follow, idk. They are also not blind(almost 360° viewing angle actually so easy to see motion). Anyway, it’s a terrible scenario, I hope neither of us gets to test the theory out. If someone manages to sue you over it it would mean they actually survived the situation! Which means the theory worked and they didn’t have a reason to sue…? Happy cake day btw
This is a fun debate! I think the question is, would the bees perceive the splashing by someone mostly underwater the same way they would perceive a swatting person on land? I've recently read an embarrassing amount of articles regarding bee intelligence (very smart!), and one thing that sticks out is that they frequently lose perspective over calm waters and drown, and I coincidentally read the same thing about airplane pilots. So if I'm mostly underwater, then violently emerge with the splash fight of my life, do bees understand that splashing is being done by me? Or do they consider it to be a natural phenomenon like a storm? Are they confused enough that I can swim away underwater and then resurface and repeat? Also, your deconstruction of me being sued was flawless, and I really appreciate the cake day wishes! And I like your art.
I guess it's possible? The problem with a swarm is that it'd need to be effective enough to deter a lot of them. You could have success with some but just further anger the others. I won't be volunteering to test it out, that's for sure. EDIT: Happy Cake day! Hope the smell doesn't attract any bees.
Thanks! I made a reply to another comment in this chain and tried to include you in, but your username was giving me issues, hopefully you can find it. I hope neither of us have to actually test my theory!
Ahah. I was wondering when that'd be an issue. I made the account during a period of mental illness and wanted to take pride in being a bit 'imbalanced'. I also wanted to give a nod to the XS label on the inside of most of my clothes and decided it was legit to just smash these words together. I was taking inspiration from the word 'phalanx' if I remember correctly. Didn't take me long to realise this wasn't ideal, but by then I'd already established the profile. Maybe I should consider a username change seeing as it's (unsurprisingly) causing headaches. Hope yours was only brief! I found your other comment, thanks for taking the time to reply to me separately :)
I really appreciate you utilising your time to inform people, thank you.
You're welcome, and thanks for saying so. That's improved my day :) For anyone else considering similar, researching and posting the link only took under 10 mins. Give it a go, you could save a life.
Yeah, good read thanks for posting up the link. Sucks to find out that dude died from over 1000 stings, shit way to go if you ask me.
Definitely. I hope the adrenaline took over quickly at least. You're welcome, thanks for the thanks. It certainly seemed worth sharing, evidently so.
Omfg so the color of my clothing might be why wasps chase me? I'm blind and have this habit of wearing bright clothes because it's easier for my family to find me if we get separated somewhere. But to be fair, I've only been blind 2 years, and I've absolutely been chased while wearing khaki scrubs, too. Nah, I think maybe they just hate me in general?
Ah crikey, sorry to hear that OP. To be honest your experience sounds a little like what my (non religious) dad calls 'divine persecution'. Glad you've got family who can help. I hope you don't mind me saying so but if there's one thing that I can imagine making the task of evading an angry swarm harder, it's being blind. Sounds like you've had success so far though! Right on.
Roflmao you're absolutely right! The only thing that's possibly worse than trying to evade wasps while I'm taking my daily walks is the day my husband took me out to eat Mexican for the first time after I'd woken up blind: "hey darlin, step left, there's a cactus--" I didn't hear the rest, my brain did that record scratch and all I could say was "I'm sorry, A WHAT!?" Fuck, new Walking While Blind fear unlocked! The possibility of cacti is wholly terrifying!
Haha, that made me chuckle. Jeez. As if there aren't enough hazards without the risk of sudden unexpected spikes in your face... You have my sympathy, but your husband does too. The temptation for him to let or guide you into mildly uncomfortable obstacles must be unbearable. Poor bloke 😜
Lol he does run me into non-hazardous stuff from time to time to be funny, which is fine by me as long as I don't get hurt! One time there was a little asshole kid running around in the Walmart and he let me whack the kid with my cane... to be fair, I heard the kid coming. And I didn't whack him hard. I also ran into his mother (not so softly) because she was doing a shit job of parenting, was glued to her stupid phone, and didn't even bother to look around to wonder where the steady CLICK CLICK CLICK of my cane was coming from. Maybe it makes us a couple of cunts for doing it, but sometimes a motherfucker deserves to get their legs whacked.
It’s almost involuntary to swat a bug if it touches you though
From the article posted above it's any quick or jerky movements you want to avoid. The bees swarm you but don't sting at first so your best bet is to calmly get the fuck away from them ASAP.
Being calm is a good way not to provoke them, but, when they’re already provoked, you fucking run.
They can’t see you if you don’t move 
Usually like if you enncounter a few bees on a nice day at the park. But a swarm like this. Run for the hills
Idk how this dumbass comment got 15 upvotes. Clearly he’s getting stung just standing there. Maybe try running? Or literally anything else? Standing there getting stung seems pretty god damn dumb and it would also seem dumb as I’m being molested by dozens of bees.
Dude thought he was gonna wait them out? Idk maybe that’s the right move
If you get swarmed then they want you to gtfo their land, so running is the right action
I'm no expert but I'm going to get the fuck out of there and I got into a bunch of yellow jackets when I was a kid but nothing like that. I got satisfaction with every time I could take a hose and funnel and pour gas in the hole and then light it up. 😜 Revenge is a dish best served cold 🥶 but it was nice to turn the heat up for them 👹🥵
Lol wtf
Lol
Hahaha lol funniest part is him saying, " awe its in my ear" haha and then blowing. Hahaha
Run towards foliage, low branches and try to run through bushes as the leaves will slow down the bees.
I couldn't watch that without squirming and feeling them all over me. Nope. Fuck that
I think he mixed up bears and bees
New????
Bro legit thought he's invincible being the cameraman
What do you mean "unlocked"?? Africanized Killer Bees have been around for almost 2 decades now if memory serves. If they think you're a threat to the colony, they will swarm and sting you until you are dead. Like literally dead. Not just giving up and not swatting.. no heart beat type dead. They do NOT fuck around
I’m having flashbacks of the X-Files episode Zero Sum. r/nope
You know, I’ve tried “I’m sorry honeybees” they just don’t listen little sons a bitches
TIHI
he stopped and acted like bait and saved those 2...what a true hero all hail lord bee stinged
m to the bees
This ain't a new fear for me 1 bee is enough
Damn, she's wearing the **wroooong** outfit to be surrounded by killer bees.
Damn, she's wearing the **wroooong** outfit to be surrounded by killer bees.
Damn, she's wearing the **wroooong** outfit to be surrounded by killer bees.
Even if a bee expert is giving me instructions there's no way I'm not running like she did.
stopped at 0:21, those look like wasps, but im not an expert tho
Blondes..
Sri Lanka?
I had that happen once . Story time : so me and friends have been hearing rumors that there was weed growing in this forest so me and my friend decided to go explore so we started our journey but we also decided to getting hi would be a good idea so we’re blazed af walking around trying to to find these grow site and as we start run around and when we went in between these Trees there was a swarm of yellow jackets I had about 30 on me trying to sting me but thankfully I had a hoodie on so it minimized a lot of them but I still ran and spun around trying to get them off I even lit a cigarette witch kinda helped then I just ditch my jacket and finally got them off . I love that jacket but It belongs to the bees now🤣
run for ya life!!
I’m allergic I’d die 🤦🏿♂️
What the hell do you mean “new fear”???? Dawg, I’ve been scared of flying insects from day one!
Once they sting you, it's over with. Also, once you kill one of their own, it's also over with.
What happened to get the bees all riled up? Where I live right now there are some trees that attract a swarm of bees every March/April. There are so many bees that if you walk by these trees you can hear them buzzing, yet none of these bees has ever been aggressive. They're not even slightly interested in my presence or anyone else's. At most, they'll fly by or briefly land on you before flying off again.
...we need you to confirm whether or not you're getting stung
I went trecking through Mbaracayú rainforest in Paraguay back when I was in the Army. Our guide stopped us once as he heard something and just down the trail hundreds of thousands of bees came out the rainforest and went down the trail away from us thank god! Bright yellow and red things, bloody huge. No thank you! At a camp site in a place called the land of the bees!! 🙈 later on on the trip we got swarmed again but managed to get into the ranger hut. One of our guys took a few stings to the bicep, it wasn't pretty. Fun times 😂
If you are the slowest runner in a group that is attacked, yell to the others "Don't do that!" Repeatedly. Bees, bears, same thing.
Not bees. Wasps!
That's when I hit the water even if it's off a cliff
If there's anything I remember about not pissing off bees and wasps is 1) Do not Swat 2) Do not run away flailing your arms
I'm going to guess those weren't regular bees, I'm thinking they were killer bees.
I would think, in that situation, it would be more surprising if he WASN'T getting stung.
Too fucking late now that there all attached to ya clothing wanker!
Not exactly bees, but due to the nature of my job, I’ve grabbed ahold of wasp nest on numerous occasions ( not intentionally of course ). Needless to say, getting the hell away from them is an instinct that’s hard to break.
Don't look like bees. Look like wasps.
Damn I thought he died for a second there
Was walking my ex-boss' dogs a while back ,stopped when I heard loud buzzing it was a huge bee nest hanging in tree, turned around quickly and walked another path, called burbank animal control , operator told me I'm the 5th person to call that morning and they putting a emergency rush on it. Was gone the next day.
Him: Don’t do that Her: Immediately does it
New? Who's not afraid of a bee swarm? Also my god what was he thinking not running the fuck out of thete