Bees are often perceived as insects that readily sting. However, beekeepers regularly interact with thousands of bees without being stung. This prompts a deeper look into the relationship between bees and their keepers. Understanding this involves exploring the biological reasons behind stinging, the methods beekeepers employ, bee colony traits, and subtle chemical communication.
The Purpose of a Bee Sting
A bee’s sting serves as a primary defense mechanism for its colony. When a honey bee stings a mammal, its barbed stinger becomes lodged in the skin, leading to its death as the stinger, venom sac, and internal organs are left behind. The act of stinging ensures the hive, queen, and stored food are protected from perceived threats. Bees generally resort to stinging when they feel their home is in danger or when they are directly provoked, such as being squashed or stepped on. This instinct prioritizes colony survival.
How Beekeepers Prevent Stings
Beekeepers employ several measures to minimize stings during hive inspections and manipulations. Protective gear forms a physical barrier, including full-body suits, hooded veils, and gloves, made of durable, sting-resistant materials. These suits feature elastic cuffs at wrists and ankles, along with secure zippers, to prevent bees from entering. A bee smoker is also used, as smoke calms bees by masking their alarm pheromones and prompting them to gorge on honey. When engorged with honey, their abdomens become distended, making it difficult for them to curve their bodies to sting.
Gentle and deliberate movements are crucial when working with bees. Jerky or sudden actions can startle bees, making them more defensive. Beekeepers learn to handle frames and hive components slowly and smoothly, minimizing disturbances to the colony.
Timing inspections appropriately also contributes to a calmer experience. Bees are less agitated on warm, sunny days, especially during the middle of the day when many foraging bees are out of the hive. Conversely, avoiding inspections during cold, windy, rainy weather or at night helps prevent stings, as more bees are inside the hive and potentially more defensive.
Bee Colony Behavior and Temperament
The inherent characteristics and conditions of a bee colony influence its stinging behavior. Genetic factors play a key role, as different bee breeds exhibit varying degrees of docility. For example, Italian bees are known for their calm temperament, while Africanized honey bees are notably more defensive. Beekeepers often select queens from genetically gentle lines to foster calmer colonies, as the queen passes these traits to her offspring.
The presence of a healthy, productive queen also contributes to a stable and less defensive colony. A queen that is actively laying eggs and producing sufficient pheromones helps maintain colony cohesion and a balanced temperament. Conversely, a queenless colony or one with a failing queen can become more agitated and prone to stinging.
The overall health and strength of the colony are additional factors; strong, healthy colonies are more resilient and less defensive than weak or diseased ones. Environmental conditions, such as periods of nectar scarcity or adverse weather, can also make an otherwise docile colony more irritable and prone to defensive behavior.
The Role of Pheromones and Familiarity
Pheromones, which are chemical signals, are fundamental to bee communication and play a direct role in stinging behavior. When a bee stings or perceives a threat, it releases alarm pheromones from glands near its stinger. These volatile compounds spread rapidly, alerting other bees to the danger and prompting a defensive response, which can lead to more bees joining the attack. The smell of these alarm pheromones is often described as resembling bananas. Beekeepers use smoke to disrupt these chemical signals, making it harder for bees to communicate the alarm.
While bees do not “recognize” individuals in the human sense, their highly developed sense of smell allows them to perceive and react to various scents. Bees possess a significantly higher number of odor receptors than many other insects, making their sense of smell about 100 times more sensitive than humans’. Through repeated, calm interactions, beekeepers develop a consistent scent profile, often a mix of their personal scent and the natural aromas of propolis and beeswax from the hive. Bees may associate this familiar scent with non-threatening visits over time, reducing their perceived threat level. This subtle form of learned association, rather than individual recognition, contributes to the observed calm when beekeepers interact with their colonies.