Posted on 05/27/2016 10:37:02 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A 23-year-old man died Thursday after being swarmed by bees and stung 1,000 times while hiking in Usery Mountain Park in Arizona, authorities said.
Alex Bestler and a friend were on the Merkle Trail when a large swarm of bees descended on them “without provocation or warning” shortly before 9 a.m., according to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The victim’s friend — identified only as Sonya — managed to escape by seeking shelter in a restroom, but Bestler was overcome by the swarm, the release stated.
He was lying on the ground covered in bees when Sonya returned a short time later with an unidentified good Samaritan, according to the Sheriff’s Office. They were unable to approach Bestler “due to the aggressiveness of the bees,” but flagged down help.
It took three attempts for park employees and first responders to load him onto a park utility vehicle and transport him away from the scene, authorities said, noting bees continued to cover the victim’s body while the swarm pursued them.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
And a water balloon full of lighter fluid for the hive, and a shooting flare.
I hate those damn vicious beasties!
Was chased by a swarm on my tractor, got bit all the way to the house, filled my sprayer with full strength pyrethrin, and drove down there, cracked the wind wing, and emptied the whole sprayer into their hive.
Think I drowned them more than killed em, but it was a pleasure watching them seize
.RIP to the hiker.
I wonder what the poor gent was wearing that attracted the bees.
Pretty rotten way to go:-(
Best Regards
alfa6 ;>}
There's probably no way you can protect yourself from them once they are swarming and target you like that. It's something to think about when you're out, especially the south where the killer bees are but probably aren't necessarily those.
I wonder if you took some folded, never mind, this site might be somewhat helpful.
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/ahb/inf18.html
Be safe. Have a nice holiday weekend.
Afrikanized bees? Aggressive.
How about a huge mylar bag with face netting like those Muslim women wear, really sticky tape, PRE-TAPED, lighter than duct, maybe a drawstring from inside. I’ll have to think about it some more. You want to keep as many out as possible, and they will find a way in. Could cause heat stroke if prolonger Better minds than mine have probably tackled it. Non-aerosolized spray of some sort that won’t poison you?
They were probably just mad because you accused them of biting when they were stinging.
Suckers felt like flesh was being removed from my ears and forehead, as I drove the tractor full speed the f out of there.
The girl was really lucky there was a restroom nearby. The terrain in much of AZ is so rocky and full of thorny spiny plants it would be dangerous to run through it in a panic. Or simply not possible.
Anything that is black. Killer bees attack anything that is black. I rode a motorcycle in southern Arizona and wore a black helmet, they would occasionally slam into the helmet when I rode around 35 MPH.
Interesting that Africanized bees get angry at seeing black.
Huge thanks for posting that sobering map.
Please tell us where you got it for keeping track of updates.
I’ve heard swarms of bees right in my winter home neighborhood and while out exploring old mines. This is south of Tucson.
Scary stuff. I’ve been attacked by swarming yellow jackets in Virginia a few times, but never encountered the Africanized bees. Looks like they skipped Daytona Beach on their trek north and then decided to camp out in Jacksonville and coastal South Carolina.
I had a few hives once. One was German bees. They’re a lot more aggressive than Italian bees but will make three times as much honey. They’ll also sting the crap out of you.
A regular bee keeping suit will protect you. Do NOT wear cologne or perfume around bees. If you’re attacked there’s not much you can do unless there’s a lake you can jump into. If you can make it to your car turn the AC on as cold as it will go. That will calm those down that got into the car with you.
The most important thing to know is NEVER grab the stinger and pull it out. The stinger has a bag of venom attached and a muscle keeps pumping the venom until the bag is empty. If you squeeze it attempting to pull it out you’re just pushing the venom in. The proper way is to “push” or “scrape” it out from one side. Your fingernail will do the trick.
Kinda think you don’t like bees...
Excellent information I never knew that.
https://livingwithinsects.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/living-with-killer-bees/
The article above has the map...it also says that “Surveys for killer bees are conducted by the states and the USDA.”
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/docs.htm?docid=11059&page=6
In the states it is known as “Cooperative Extension”, such as here...
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