Africanized "Killer" Bees in the mountains

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redison
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Africanized "Killer" Bees in the mountains

Post by redison »

September 3, 2005

The season for hiking and camping in the mountains is almost upon us. Before venturing into remote areas of the Superstitions, a lot of thought should be given to the topic of Killer Bees, and what you would do if you encountered them in a remote area. There is little doubt that they have colonized in many remote areas. This story relates to only one area (Tortilla Mountain) and if anyone knows of any others I would like to know about them.

No more than 3 years ago, Tortilla Mountain was a wonderful place to go if you wanted to visit an area that was still pristine compared to the rest of the Wilderness Area. Several modern day Dutch Hunters including myself have had experiences on the mountain that will be remembered for the rest of our lives. It is one of the last frontiers so to speak in an otherwise tamed Wilderness Area. There was a time when you could camp on top of the mountain near the center of it and explore in a different direction every day for a week without ever seeing another human being. The beauty and solitude of the top of the mountain would draw you back to it time and time again even when the lack of promising geological formations or landmarks pertaining to the many legends and stories of the mountains were not forthcoming. The simple act of reaching the top of that mountain by any route you choose to take is followed by a reward that not many have experienced. While sitting on top of Tortilla Mountain one can appreciate the full value of the statement that ?The treasure is in the search?.

In the past, I often recommended Tortilla Mountain to my friends that were seasoned hikers, wise to the hazards of a rugged and remote Wilderness, and were in search of unique and challenging places to visit. I often drew them maps which pointed several different routes by which the top of the mountain could be accessed. Many of these maps were never used. Others were only partially used because they soon discovered that they had greatly underestimated the magnitude of the task.

I no longer recommend Tortilla Mountain as a nice place to visit for anyone. Sadly it has become the domain of a powerful and unrelenting adversary like the mountain has never known. The Africanized ?Killer? Bee. These Bees colonize in crevices and caves of which there are many in almost every canyon within the boundaries of Tortilla Mountain. They travel up to five miles each way to and from their colony to water sources. Permanent water exists at Charlie Boy, Kane Spring and Hell?s Hole and of course, Canyon Lake leaving no part of Tortilla mountain inaccessible for colonization by them.

There are places on that mountain that my heart longs to see again, but my every attempt (in the last few years) to ascend the mountain from every direction been met by ?Scout? Bees buzzing my face and ears in constantly growing numbers. The only thing you can do is RETREAT and FAST before they can communicate your presence to the rest of the colony.

I was told about an experience a friend had that started up the mountain from Tortilla Ranch at daybreak on a cold January morning about 2 years ago. He never encountered a single Bee as he made his way to a favorite campsite several hours from his starting point. Arriving at his selected campsite before the sun was high enough in the sky to warm the air enough to warrant the removal of his winter attire he proceeded to set up his camp and gather wood for his evening campfire. While gathering wood the sun rose higher and higher and layer by layer he began stripping off his outer clothing. On his last trip back to his camp carrying the remainder of what he felt would be enough wood for the first night he began noticing the presence of Bees traveling with him that seemed to be more interested in his face and ears than any other part of his body or anything else in the area around him. The closer he got to his camp, the greater the number of Bees he encountered. He didn?t swat at the Bees or show any aggressiveness towards them in any way partly because his hands were full of firewood and partly because he had no fear of Bees. He had been sharing the mountains with them for many years and never had any problem with them.

Upon reaching his camp and dropping his last load of fire wood onto the pile of wood he had already gathered, he looked over and saw that his backpack which was leaning against a boulder was totally covered with Bees! The noise of dropping the wood on the pile appeared to upset the Bees and they quickly started moving towards the woodpile to investigate it. My friend, that was directly between the backpack and the pile of wood also became a subject of their curiosity. Immediately surrounding his head in such great numbers he had no choice but to try to fan them away with his arms. This action seemed to cause ALL the Bees from the backpack and the woodpile to make him their primary point of interest! Fortunately for him, his tent which had a full floor and zippered screen door was already erected and no more that 10 feet away.

He managed to make it into the tent and get the screen zipped up with only a small number of Bees making it in there with him and a minimal number of Bee stings to his face and neck. He killed the Bees inside the tent with him and sat there looking out the screen door at the growing number of Bees outside his tent. No more than twenty minutes passed before the entire outside of his tent was cover with so many Bees crawling around on it, that it became too dark to see inside it. He sat there in the dark (in the middle of the day) with no food, because it was all still in his backpack and no water because his canteen hung on his backpack. He stretched out on his sleeping bag and waited for the darkness caused by the swarming Bees to lift. Time passed very slowly and the daylight never came. He fell asleep several times and upon waking each time he banged on the wall of the tent to temporarily knock the Bees away so he could tell if it was still light outside. Finally he awoke to see the glow of moonlight and stars clearly visible through the screen door of his tent. He pushed on the screen to stretch it out so he could look around his camp and not a Bee was to be seen.

He unzipped the screen just enough to slip out and quickly closed it again making sure the two zipper handles met at the very top of the door so he could easily locate them if he needed to make a fast reentry into the tent. After retrieving his flashlight from his pack he inspected the entire area and became comfortable that the Bees had returned to their colony for the night. The temperature was dropping fast in the darkness and he found comfort from the cold wind on the mountain as he climbed back into the outer clothing he had removed earlier that day.

Having rested and slept most of the day, he was full of energy and had only minor discomfort from the few stings he had suffered. He thirstily drank from his canteen and snacked on items that didn?t need to be cooked from his backpack as he sat there 3/4 the way up the side of the mountain in the moonlight trying to decide what his next move would be.

It took little thought, to decided that he had to be far from this place by the time the sun came up in the morning. The only decision to make now was whether to try to make it back to his truck through rugged terrain in the dark carrying a heavy backpack with his entire camp, wait for daybreak and hope to make it out before it warmed up enough for the Bees to get out and about, or to leave most of his camp behind and come out in the darkness with as light a backpack as possible. He decided on the latter. Tent, sleeping bag, food, cooking utensils, a full box of .44 magnum shells (which are absolutely useless against Bees) and any water that would not be needed to make the trip to where his truck was parked was all left behind . After about 6 hours of traveling in the cold darkness of a winter night on the mountain , the beam of his flashlight finally fell upon the welcomed sight of his rear license plate lighting it up like a fluorescent lamp in the night.

The camp he left behind, as far as he knows is still there just as he left it, unless the wind and wildlife has carried it all away. He would not go back on that mountain if someone gave him a map that unquestionably guaranteed that the Lost Dutchman Mine, any other lost mine or a buried Jesuit Treasure could be found no more than 200 yards from where he left his belongings. There is no way a hiker on the mountain that had his tent tied to his backpack could get it loose and erected in time to have refuge from the swarming Bees if he should encounter them.

This situation was certain to come. We all knew it. It was just a matter of time. I have heard nothing about government plans to do anything about the growing number of Killer Bees in this country. As more time passes, the number of colonies in the mountains can only be expected to increase in any area within 5 miles of any permanent source of water available to them.

Could we build screen houses over them to make them inaccessible to the Bees? Possibly, but what about Canyon Lake? As the Bee flies, it?s not far enough away to be out of their reach from some of their already establish colonies. Until the threat from Killer Bees is extinguished one way or another, I?m afraid all the Wilderness Areas in our state are going to become more hostile to man than they ever were when the Apache roamed them. Be careful in these areas and make sure you have a plan about what you would do under circumstances similar to the one described above any time you venture too far from your parked vehicle to use it as a refuge in remote areas.

Anybody got any ideas?

redison
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Post by TGH »

Goodbye
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lazarus
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Killer Bees?

Post by lazarus »

Killer bees?
It is not uncommon to encouter enormous swarms of bees in the wilderness.
Killer bees?
I know that such a threat exists, but even killer bees, as aggressive as they are, will generally ignore humans unless provoked.
On more that one occasion, I have stuck my face right into the thick of things, with countless bees passing within inches of my eyes.
So far, the bees have always been far too busy to bother with me. In fact, I have never been stung performing this little trick.

Here is the poop.
If you are uneasy, the wildlife will be the first to notice.
Most animals, including dogs, and house-cats... (and yes, bees) size up the threat level based upon the amount of adrenaline released. In other words, if you panic, or show any fear, your adrenaline will cause most creatures to anticipate danger. I have avoided attack, primarily because I am not perceived as a threat.

The best bet is to avoid confrontation. If bees make you uneasy, it’s obviously best to avoid them. However, I really don’t think it is advisable to treat the bees like roving packs of little monsters. If you insist on reacting to them as adversaries, you should not be surprised when they live up to your fears.

Laz
azdave35
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Post by azdave35 »

everyone says that if you leave the bees alone..they will leave you alone...i wish someone would tell the bees that...last year i got attacked by bees in the supes..all i was doing was walking down the trail and a bunch of them started buzzing around my face and they were quite pissed off...i got nailed a few times before i could get out of harms way...so to all the poeple that say bees dont attack for no reason...you'll never convince me of that....lol
Gene Reynolds
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Killer Bees

Post by Gene Reynolds »

Check this out -

http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/sep/stories/kbees.html

Yea though I walk through the mountains of evil.............
Writer of Borrego 13
lazarus
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Killer Bees

Post by lazarus »

Gene,
Thanks for providing the link to the article on Killer Bees.
It's really quite informative.

It is tue that bees can remain agitated, and thus aggresive for extended periods of time. Fortunately, I have not encountered such an angry mob.

I have posted a photo on the archive page that you may find interesting... a swarm of bees gathered on a large Saguaro.
As I am not an expert, I have no idea if these bees are the hostile African mutants of which we speak, or simply the docile variety.

Laz
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Cu
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Post by TGH »

Goodbye
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redison
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Bees

Post by redison »

P,

That's a good question that I forgot to ask. I doubt that it was Jerky or trail mix tho. That stuff gets old about the third day. I have been camping with him a number of times and he usually carries canned stuff.

I know, it's heavy! but what you don't eat, you can stash.. His favorite quick snack I know is beenie-weenies right from the can. I have seen him eat them for breakfast out there. Yuk! lol

R
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Post by TGH »

Goodbye
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Wiz
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Re: Killer Bees?

Post by Wiz »

lazarus wrote:I know that such a threat exists, but even killer bees, as aggressive as they are, will generally ignore humans unless provoked.
Laz,
You can't count on that. I've been attacked by Africanized bees on two occasions for no more reason than I was passing nearby. The little bastards just swarm you, and chase you when you run.
This is a good thread. We all need to be very careful, and think about this before it happens. My experience is that they will attack dark colors in preference to light, so don't wear black clothing.
Wiz
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Post by azdave35 »

you might have a point...i had a black shirt on when the little devils attacked me
redison
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Bees

Post by redison »

Last night I remembered something else about my friend's experience that I forgot to mention. I have also experienced this same thing with the Scout Bees I have encountered in the mountains.

When you first encounter these Bees, they will actually bump you in the head and face. Not sting, just bump as in a warning that they will sting if you don't retreat.

I have had a lot of regular honey bees buzz around me, but never make contact before stinging like that.

Anyone else experienced that?

redison
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killer bees

Post by JIM HAMRICK »

Years ago when the valley was mainly farms and desert, bee hive colonies were every where. The bee keepers would establish these colonies and the bees would help to pollenate the crops and produce honey. I am allergic to bee stings and have had both eyes swollen shut from being stung but I did not fear the european bee as I could walk among the colonies with care and not be bothered. Wild honey, when found, could be harvested with a little smoke and not many stings. My family did this when a wild hive that was accesable was located.

The Killer bees are another thing. From what I have read and seen on T.V. these bees are supper agressive, react to sound, dark colors, smells and movement. One of my fears when in the desert or mountains is to stumble on a hive unexpectedly. If I see bees around a water source I check to see how I am accepted by them and if they are aggresive I back off and go another way (I'm to old and fat to run).

All of your trekers should be on the watch for bee activity as there are people killed every year from bee stings, not because they are allergic to the venom, but because of the hundreds of stings received from killer bees.
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Re: killer bees

Post by Wiz »

JIM HAMRICK wrote:If I see bees around a water source I check to see how I am accepted by them and if they are aggresive I back off and go another way
That reminds me. I recall seeing (I don't remember where) that bees getting water won't attack. Once I was out of water, and I found a small pool covered with bees. I went right into the middle of them and filled my bottles, and they didn't bother me. They may not have been africanized, though. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the above, but in case of emergency, you might be safer around bees at water than otherwise.
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Re: Bees

Post by Wiz »

redison wrote:His favorite quick snack I know is beenie-weenies right from the can. I have seen him eat them for breakfast out there. Yuk! lol
Killer Beenie weenies! (Especially later).
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Post by TGH »

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murphy
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Post by murphy »

Seems like a lot of you have had or know people who have had close encounters with these bees. Like Jim I am also alergic to bee stings so it is a concern. I wonder if the Forest Service has any statistics on Killer bee attacks in the Superstitions?
murphy
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redison
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Post by redison »

The Bees have been in the mountains for as long as anyone can remember. There has been a huge Hive on the Peter's Mesa side of Tortilla mountain that appears on maps all the way back to 40's. It's almost a landmark.

The only thing that has changed is that they have mixed with the Africanized Bees.

redison
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Post by Bushrat »

Just read your excellent posts and I thought I would add my two cents in.

My brother-in-law lives in Tucson (having moved there from Anchorage five years ago). He was offered a job with a company that specializes in bee eradication. He is one of the top bee "experts" in the U.S. and owns a patent on a queen bee shipping container that he invented. Therefore, he is one that knows:

The bees we encounter in the Superstitions are 100% africanized.

They will continue to grow in numbers because they easily survive the Arizona winters and their extra large hives require frequent splitting to stay manageable...thus the many swarms we see buzzing around. And new hives being formed.

The most dangerous hives are seen hanging under cliffs and ledges; because the hives are releatively unprotected the bees react much more aggressively toward intruders. (I have walked past many hives in deep rock crevices and found those bees to be fairly passive ....but I didn't stick around too long to test the theory).

The africanized bees are here to stay.

One important recommendation from my brother-in-law was to purchase an emergency bee hood available from StingShield.com. It is light, inexpensive and small enough to carry in your pocket. I've never tested it under attack but it looks like a potential lifesaver. At $15.00 you can't go wrong. And they make great Dutch Hunter gifts!

And no, we don't manufacture or sell these........
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Post by murphy »

Bushrat,
Thanks for the link. Great site with lots of good information. It appears that this is something we are all going to need to be prepared for. I ordered 2 this morning.
murphy
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Post by TGH »

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Post by WyattWestwood »

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