Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
will engage in intimidating behavior before stinging. They will fly at the intruder's
face (they are attracted to the face because of the eyes and expelled breath) without
stinging. This action can be annoying but—if the beekeeper wears a beekeeping
veil—inconsequential. If such warnings fail to drive off the intruder, more guards will
be attracted to the intruder. If the intruder's attack on the hive continues, the bees will
sting.
When a honey bee stings, her sting pierces the skin of the intruder. The sting is a
three-part apparatus, made of two barbed, moveable lancets and a grooved shaft. The
lancets are manipulated by muscles. The shaft is connected to the organs that produce
the venom and acid that are injected into the skin.
After the sting is imbedded, these muscles contract, relax, and contract continuously.
Each contraction pushes a barbed lancet farther into the skin with the venom gushing
down the shaft.
Because the lancets are barbed, the bee cannot extract them. When she makes her
escape, the sting apparatus is torn away, remaining in the victim's skin. This is sel-
dom a slow, methodical process. Guards approach an intruder, land, sting, and escape in
seconds. You seldom see the bee that leaves her mark. When the guard bee stings, she
is mortally wounded. She may, however, continue to harass the intruder. You may see
one or more of these bees, when working a colony, with entrails hanging from the end
of their abdomens.
When a bee stings, she also leaves behind an alarm pheromone, which alerts the
whole colony that an intruder dangerous enough to sting is threatening it and serves as a
call to arms. It marks the intruder, enabling other guards to home in on the sting site and
further the attack. If the intrusion continues, the number of guards recruited increases
until many, many reinforcements are in the air. This increase in guards usually drives
off the intruder.
Guard bees make sure they are successful in thwarting your intrusion by chasing you
as you leave the colony. This behavior is variable, however. If there is a nectar flow oc-
curring, with many bees coming and going, and the weather is cooperative, guards will
seldom follow you farther than 12' (3.7 m). However, the same guards may follow you
much farther if there is a dearth of nectar or if the weather is cool and cloudy.
Cleaning Protective Gear
After you have worn your bee suit and your gloves for several colony examina-
tions, the amount of venom and alarm pheromone begins to build up in the ma-
terial. Frequent washing will eliminate these chemicals, reduce visits from guards
