HikeArizona.COM

be careful out there

https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/h ... ng-by-bees

I was attacked a few years back up on North Mountain. Scariest 5 minutes of my life. Can also confirm it was quite windy the other day, would have taken a skilled pilot to pluck someone out of that area.

@DixieFlyer
"He recommends anyone hitting the trails to have a bee net handy to protect your face and head." I question how realistic a protection this is. If you didn't have it on before the attack started, I have some doubts about whether you would have the time/presence of mind to pull it out of your pack and effectively put it on while trying to escape/ward off the buggers in the middle of an attack.

ddgrunning wrote: ↑Sep 06 2022 9:28 am @DixieFlyer
"He recommends anyone hitting the trails to have a bee net handy to protect your face and head." I question how realistic a protection this is. If you didn't have it on before the attack started, I have some doubts about whether you would have the time/presence of mind to pull it out of your pack and effectively put it on while trying to escape/ward off the buggers in the middle of an attack.

The bees that wind up on the inside of the net will make you wonder if it's better to run faster instead of trying to put it on. Or you'll trip and break your face trying to run while putting the net on.

@ddgrunning To have your bee veil accessible and at the ready, secure it to one of the elastic loops on your pack’s shoulder strap. Like keeping bear spray in the same location, and not in your pack.

Here is an updated story on the bee attack:
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/i ... bee-attack

I was resting at the intersection of Bull Pass and Dutchman's trails one time, in April I think. A cool rainy day. Cacti were flowering. A steady hum pervaded the area. It sounded like there were millions of bees. But they weren't swarming or really that noticible ... except for that hum. It was a pleasant sound. But now I'm wondering if I was actually in danger? Perhaps great danger? Or am I overthinking it?

@quietstorm - What I've been told and experienced a couple of times is that when the bees are swarming and moving they are not a threat. Had a swarm fly over my head while hiking in the valley between Shaw Butte and North Mountain once. I simply hit the ground, they flew over and nothing happened. It's when the bees have an established hive to protect that they get aggressive.

Spent 10/1-10/2 in the Wilderness of Rocks. We noticed that the bee's in camp were more aggressive than usual. No one got bit and no swarm but I remember reading this thread and thought I should mention it.

@whereveriroam Probably Africanized like most in southern Arizona I’ve read. We’ve had a couple Africanized hives removed from our back yard here in Oro Valley. They were no joke, vicious, vengeful little things, stinging neighbors 2 doors down because their hive was removed.

@PrestonSands
According to a beekeeper I talked to recently, although it was in Needles, California, pretty much all bees are Africanized now. The beekeepers don't care because the African bees produce more honey. It is possible for a beekeeper to replace hives with a queen that has more gentle traits, but then the honey production might go down. The thing is that African bees were always the exact same species, just a different strain.