Bees!

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Gothgar

Lifer
Sep 1, 2004
13,429
1
0
C&
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,307
12,824
136
I pissed off a yellow jacket nest once. Boy, that was a big mistake. I had about 30 of them chasing me. Those bastards don't die after they sting you.

And years later I hit a nest while trimming our hedges. They got me six times before I could get to safety.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
I pissed off a yellow jacket nest once. Boy, that was a big mistake. I had about 30 of them chasing me. Those bastards don't die after they sting you.

And years later I hit a nest while trimming our hedges. They got me six times before I could get to safety.
Bald-faced hornets are also loads of fun. They're big, aggressive, territorial, and build big nests. They also like to sting more than once, just in case the first one didn't get the message across.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,307
12,824
136
Bald-faced hornets are also loads of fun. They're big, aggressive, territorial, and build big nests. They also like to sting more than once, just in case the first one didn't get the message across.
there was a nest of them at my dad's house last year. They never bothered me, although I did keep a safe distance from them.

Its those little yellow jackets that scare me. They can get you in the most unexpected places.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
I would not want to run into a nest of Japanese Giant Hornet

"The Japanese honey bees on the other hand, do not get attacked in this (referring to european honey bees getting owned by giant hornets) manner. When a hornet approaches the hive to place its markers, the bee workers emerge from their hive in an angry cloud-formation with some 500 individuals. As they form a tight ball around the hornet this ball gets hot [47 °C (117 °F)) by their vibrating wing muscles and by chemicals they produce. Because bees can support much higher temperatures (48 to 50 °C (118 to 122 °F)) than the hornet (44 to 46 °C (111 to 115 °F)), the latter dies and knowledge of the hive location with it."

That's pretty interesting... (wikipedia)
 

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,559
4
0
"The Japanese honey bees on the other hand, do not get attacked in this (referring to european honey bees getting owned by giant hornets) manner. When a hornet approaches the hive to place its markers, the bee workers emerge from their hive in an angry cloud-formation with some 500 individuals. As they form a tight ball around the hornet this ball gets hot [47 °C (117 °F)) by their vibrating wing muscles and by chemicals they produce. Because bees can support much higher temperatures (48 to 50 °C (118 to 122 °F)) than the hornet (44 to 46 °C (111 to 115 °F)), the latter dies and knowledge of the hive location with it."

That's pretty interesting... (wikipedia)
A Weapon of Heat Destruction!
 

geno

Lifer
Dec 26, 1999
25,074
4
0
the bee workers emerge from their hive in an angry cloud-formation with some 500 individuals. As they form a tight ball around the hornet this ball gets hot [47 °C (117 °F)) by their vibrating wing muscles and by chemicals they produce. Because bees can support much higher temperatures (48 to 50 °C (118 to 122 °F)) than the hornet (44 to 46 °C (111 to 115 °F)), the latter dies and knowledge of the hive location with it."

A video of this would be sweet...I'm not even sure what to search for on Youtube, "honeybee sphere of death" "honeybee hornet death chamber"?
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
That reminds me, last fall I had two underground bee nests that I conveniently found with my lawn mower. Time to get a couple cans of starter fluid. aka flame throwers. I'm sure there are other methods of ridding my soil of bees, but I can't think of a more fun method.
 

bob4432

Lifer
Sep 6, 2003
11,727
46
91
"The Japanese honey bees on the other hand, do not get attacked in this (referring to european honey bees getting owned by giant hornets) manner. When a hornet approaches the hive to place its markers, the bee workers emerge from their hive in an angry cloud-formation with some 500 individuals. As they form a tight ball around the hornet this ball gets hot [47 °C (117 °F)) by their vibrating wing muscles and by chemicals they produce. Because bees can support much higher temperatures (48 to 50 °C (118 to 122 °F)) than the hornet (44 to 46 °C (111 to 115 °F)), the latter dies and knowledge of the hive location with it."

That's pretty interesting... (wikipedia)

maybe this is why we don't have many hornets in phx az...110F in the shade is pretty common in the summer. interesting.