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Photo du Jour 501
Photo by Mike Chino
Holy smokes, this is the most harrowing thing we've ever reported. Allan Hough over at Mission Mission reports (via Inhabitat's Mike Chino) that bees have descended upon the Mission district. And they're out for blood! Check it:
Today (August 2nd) at 12:00 noon I spotted this itinerant horde of bees slowly making its way down 14th street between Mission and Valencia. The roving mass was apparently following a fugitive queen as she made her way down the block, clustering on top of cars and buildings with no concern for private property...
Go here for more detail.
Anyone else see the roving swarm? (Also, anybody else ever been stung by a bee before? We haven't. What can we expect? Please advise.)
Update: Bees quarantined, says MM. If you should ever need emergency beekeeping at a moment's notice - and, really, who doesn't? - contact sfbee.org. Bzzzz.
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Whoa, that's pretty cool. As far as getting stung by bees, t's like getting poked with a needle, and then you get a little itchy/sore bump. Not too bad. They only sting you if they think you're trying to kill them, anyways.
Best thing to do in case of a sting is to ice it (indirectly, putting ice directly on skin for a long period can actually do damage, so wrap a bag of ice in a towel) and apply hydrocortisone to stop the itching. Taking an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or a antihistamine can also help a lot.
So can getting drunk.
Unless you're allergic, in which case you might die without an EpiPen.
Imagine walking out the door to go to work and you see THAT on your car. Talk about harshing the morning mellow.
If you have never been stung by a bee then you don't really know if you are allergic. In which case you getting stung could kill you.
ack!!!@%$~$%TRhb ew HE ndWE$W$^
Nature is fucking awesome.
Please post any photos of these bees attacking fixies. Thanks!
I thought bees were dying everywhere. Will we have to move all bee pollinated agriculture to the Mission? Maybe they. like all of us, just love burritos.
we don't need the bees to attack fixees, we have cars for that.
Yes!!! I hope they stay and pester the fixies :D
Ha, I love the phrase "itinerant horde of bees"! What a bunch of hoodlums.
Only commercial bees. Wild bees are doing just fine.
Only commercial bees. Wild bees are doing just fine.
Heh. Sort of the reverse of Pilgrims giving syphilis to the Native Americans.
A roving mass going after the queen? Looks like these bees are just a little too horny.
Oddly enough, I got stung by a bee last Friday at the corner of Fourth and Market waiting for a bus. I felt an insect land behind my ear, whisked it off with my right hand, and the frigging thing dug its stinger down as hard as it could into my second finger. Then I watched it die on the sidewalk and I was glad. I have a sister who went from non-allergenic to total encephalitic shock in her teens from bee stings, so I waited to see if I was going to puff up and die, but no. The immune system is still balanced. And that ws my happy story for the day.
Brock- didn't you do a story a few months back about a bee-keeper who lived in the mission? Can he be reached for comment? Was there a bee mutiny in his garden?
That is indeed a beautiful photograph. Magnificent creatures.
"Commercial" bees vs. "wild" bees? What the hell are you guys talking about? There is no such thing. All bees are wild. Some are kept, some are not. They're all been victims of the colony collapse disorder.
I can't believe the SFPD didn't know they could call a beekeeper to collect the swarm. I suspect the fire department guys would have known though.
i don't know about commercial, but the bees could do both print and runway.
Arnaud: honey bees have been hybridized for a long time now. Some species are only around because of beekeeper types, so yes indeed "commercial" vs "wild" is a valid distinction.
These are benign European honey bees. Like other bees they swarm when the queen decides to create a new hive. They swarm around her to protect her. They rarely sting when swarming. You have to actively threaten the queen. However it is scary to see a bee swarm especially if you have been influenced by Hollywood horror movies and thus believe that these bees are out for blood.
Now the Africanized bees that are in Texas and a few southern states are a different story. They are truly capable of full on assault with hundreds of them aggressively chasing you 300 yards. However even they do not generally sting you when they are swarming.
I was witness to the swarm moving down the street on the alleged day. Yes it made me nervous and yes it was cool looking. Thanks mother nature!