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 ...
Thanks for the bee attack advice
Walked into a nest/swarm when I was 14...bees up and down both arms, stinging as best they could. Walked/ran home, and went to a neighbor woman for help. Nearly passed out while waiting for my mother to come home from work to help me. Individual bee stings haven’t bothered me since.
I don’t know about A-Bees (chart says none in NY), but in my experience I have outran bees. It’s my guess the guy panicked and just stood there. Maybe he was allergic?
“a bee’s flight speed averages about 15 miles per hour”.
” Some bees may pursue victims a half mile or more before giving up the chase.”
SOME bees. The farther you run, fewer bees follow.
“If you’re attacked there’s not much you can do unless there’s a lake you can jump into.”
” couple tried diving in their pool. “We were trying to stand up in the water but every time we stuck our heads out for air, they would cover us and start stinging us,” she said. “We were trying to breathe and they were stinging us in the face and in the nose.” Water is a poor shelter from bee attack.”
“A bee can obtain speeds of from 12 to 15 miles per hour, but most healthy humans can outrun them. So, RUN! And when you run Keep Running ! Africanized honey bees have been known to follow people for more than a quarter mile.”
http://citybugs.tamu.edu/2013/07/29/what-to-do-if-youre-attacked-by-bees/
Trivia question; What classic movie did this come from? ‘Ever been bit by a bee?’
If Africanized bees, no provocation or attraction required; just mean and aggressive. Bees can fly at 45 MPH, and Africanized variety will chase up to 1/2 mile. Can’t outrun them; shelter only option.
Bee stings are the largest killer of humans in the U.S. directly caused by animals. An allergic reaction to the venom is bee’s kills approximately 53 people per year. This number is increasing every year due to the aggressive African honey bee that is taking over in the Southwest.
This young man was from Louisiana. This story was in the news here yesterday.
RIP. What a horrible way to go.
Oh no...poor man. There are active Africanized bees in Arizona. They actually use them as honey bees in some areas now. Hopefully they can domesticate them in time and avoid these horrible tragedies in the future.
Probably diving into some water would be the only way that I can think of.
I haven’t been stung by a bee since I was a kid but I’m guessing it would take only 10-12 to do me in.
Mosquitoes are attracted to black but I didn’t know about bees. It doesn’t take anything in particular to attract killer bees.
We had a swarm in our driveway. We didn’t know what to do so we called the police and they called a local bee collector and he came out somehow got rid of them.
When I’m out hunting around here (Yavapai County AZ), bees are the only wildlife I worry about. I hear that Africanized bees will continue to pursue as far as a mile, and I could not run that far over this country even if I were not being stung.
A local beekeeper told me that Africanized bees have a warning behavior of flying into an intruder, so if you ever notice bees bumping into you, get away from there. She said not to swat any, because the pheromones released by the dying bee would trigger an attack by the rest.
If only Obama had been there in time, the poor guy could have used the Ladies Room to hide in.
Interesting story. I’ve been successful blasting wasp hives with a shot gun, and finishing off the returning ones with wasp spray.
The locals better pray these things dont scout out Detroit or Chicago. You think African on black crime is bad now?!!
“To Have and Have Not”, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. They don’t make em like that anymore.
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