I might as well ask this since I got stung or bit by a bee yesterday during America day.
Last year, when taking strolls, it was rare enough for a bee to swarm around me that I could go whole strolls without it happening sometimes.
This year, they swarm around me everywhere. Everywhere. It’s like fighting your way through putty patrollers. They respawn instantly, there’s absolutely no lag. Shoo one away and one comes back five seconds later. Sometimes for three hour strolls encompassing six miles.
What the heck happened? Anyone else notice this?
I haven’t noticed, and was about to reply with a story about the declining bee population. But a quick Google search says that yes, the bees are back in town
Edited to a non-paywalled link:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hobbyist-beekeepers-buzzing-reversing-america-212213119.html
There’s a WaPo article too for those who want that
A part of the problem is importing bees people think are “more efficient”. The old reasoning was that American bees were clunky and not as rapidly efficient as European bees, so the latter were brought over, but not only did this cause the American ones to be threatened by competition but also that vegetation swayed in favor of what European bees preferred while things only American bees would’ve pollinated waned. It’s those European bees who are hording after me while I’m outside.
I drive the same way on holiday every year. I noticed that, for the first time in recent years, there’s a massive uptick in insects on the windscreen this year. Might be because it’s cooler and insects living in a lower air layer.
Not so much bees, but I have noticed an uptick in fireflies the past few years which I have enjoyed.
Opposite situation here. I’ve seen literally 1 so far this year. A decade ago we would’ve been seeing thousands a night.
No, but if you are, I’d call it an encouraging sign.
If you’re getting them flying into your face or stinging you when you’re not messing with their nest, it’s very possible you’re dealing with Africanized Honey Bees (AFBs). They’re basically impossible to tell apart just by looking at them. Aside from genetic testing, you have to do it by behavior. Lots of little differences, but two more obvious ones are:
- They’ll pretty much make a nest in any kind of a hole, including in the ground, while European bees like larger cavities in walls or hollow trees.
- They defend their nests much more aggressively and at a greater distance. They’ll fly up to your face, and tend to sting much more liberally (European bees rarely sting unless you try to squash them or actively threaten their nest).
Also, most people in the US think that yellow jackets are bees when they are in fact wasps. So it could be a wasp that stung OP.
For sure could be. They don’t leave their stingers, they hurt like hell, and they’re complete assholes.
The ones I deal with only ever stung/bit me twice despite dealing with them all year by the minute. Do the stings/bites have any difference? My thumb feels felt like it got a flu shot jab, but it didn’t hurt after five minutes except for a very mild flu shot kind of soreness. No stinger in the skin either, at least none I can see.
I don’t believe there’s a venom difference. They got called “killer bees” because they tend to swarm people much more often than European, not because an individual sting is worse.
With that reaction, and no stinger, are you sure it was a honey bee? They pretty much always leave a stinger.
There’s a tiny, tiny black spot on my thumb, like the size of a dust mite due to how small it is. I’m lucky with my glasses I can even see it, but I don’t know if that’s the stinger or just a dent it left. The bee did fly away unharmed afterward.
