They had situated their hive at the entrance to a cave and we only succeeded in getting into it by slipping past the bees in the middle of the night. On that occasion, a beekeeper advised us to use red filters on our lights, to move slowly, to keep silent and not to wear deodorant. As a result of all these precautions, we succeeded in surveying the cave with only a few stings per person.
In May of 2006, I was hiking with friends near La Laguna de San Marcos. We passed a hollow log and a cloud of bees surged upward, attacking every one of us as we ran for our car. Anthropologist Susan Street fared worst, with around 100 stings. We all took Avapena, an antihistamine made by Sandoz, recommended for scorpion and insect stings and available in all Mexican pharmacies. Nevertheless, on arriving home, Ms. Street fainted and had to be taken to the hospital. Because I was wearing long sleeves, gloves and a hat attached with a chin strap, I only received 7 stings, even though I was closest to the hive when the attack began. Reviewing the situation afterward, we realized that the loud singing of cicadas had completely masked the humming we should have heard as we approached the beehive. A beekeeper later told us that the Africanized bees of San Marcos are infamous for their ferocity and have killed several people in the area. (The complete story can be found on the Reporter web page by searching for “killer bees” in quotes).
Curious about the likes and dislikes of bees, I discussed the subject with naturalist Jesus Moreno, who told me about experiments he and his students carried out years ago. They attached cotton balls to the end of a fishing pole, dangling them in front of a bee hive. “The bees ignored a small yellow ball but ferociously attacked a large one of the same color, reported Moreno, “and of all the colors tested, the one they hated most of all turned out to be black. Then, when we impregnated a ball with perfume, hundreds of bees swarmed out of the hive and began stinging each one of us as well as the cotton ball. We had to run for our lives.”
Tips
These various experiences led my friend Cesar Guadarrama and me to formulate a list of recommendations for avoiding or surviving an africanized bee attack in Mexico. Here they are:
1. Listen! If you hear the loud hum of bees ahead, backtrack! Slowly go back the way you came. If it’s noisy because of cicadas, waterfalls or whatever, you have lost your early warning system and should be extremely cautious.
2. Don’t use lemony (citrus) or flowery scents. Any of the following, if scented, may provoke an attack: perfume, deodorant, hair spray, hair gel, cologne, aftershave, soap, shampoo, even chewing gum!
3. Don’t wear black or yellow.
4. Be quiet! If you’re in the danger zone, they only need to hear you to attack you.
5. Remove or cover shiny objects such as carabiners, harness parts, earrings, rings, etc.
6. Wear long pants and have a windbreaker handy (tie it around your waist if it’s hot). Wear a hat with a chin strap. Put a beekeeper’s veil (or your own homemade version of one) and a pair of gloves (very handy in the thorny Mexican bush) into your backpack.
7. Carry Avapena, enough for all members of the hiking group. If stung, take one pill and head for a hospital.
8. Run! Bees can’t fly as fast as people can run. Don’t jump in a lake (They will wait for you).
9. Smoke! Smoke always scares them away, even if it’s coming from a single cigarette.
10. Scrape to remove stings. Use a credit card or knife blade. Don’t pull out with your fingers as this will squeeze more venom into the victim. Tweezers can be very useful.
For pictures and more stories of our encounters with bees, please see www.ranchopint.com.