[LEPS-L:7910] Nice account: An encounter with honeybees

[Michael Gochfeld]

Dave Green gave us a nice (and affectionate account) of Honey Bees. 

Every time I wander through a field of flowers searching for skippers, I 
am intrigued by the fact that I never get stung by any of the 
Hymenopteran creatures I disturb from their nectaring.  What's even more 
intriguing is the specificity that emerges when one looks closely at the 
nectaring bees and wasps. Polistes (Paper Wasps) for example, I only see 
on Goldenrod, even when Black Knapweed (Centaurea) is abundantly 
blooming, while conversely Honeybees seem to favor Knapweed over 
Goldenrod (though not to the complete exclusion of the latter. 

A decade ago in Costa Rica, when the Africanized bees made up about half 
the numbers seen "drinking" at various water sources at Palo Verde, I 
couldn't detect any difference in behavior, aggressiveness, or 
disturbance distance between the Africanized (="Killer") and the 
"wild-type" non-native Honeybees which I presume were (Europeanized), 
and thought it would be a really nice thing to study.  This was far from 
the hive.  However, this was the same station where a student was killed 
for inadvertently getting too close to a hive. 

Bee stinging is not a random event, but is linked to threats. 

MIKE GOCHFELD


 
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