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Young Man Dies After Being Stung by 1,000 Bees While Hiking Arizona Trail: Sheriff’s Office
ktla ^

Posted on 05/27/2016 10:37:02 PM PDT by BenLurkin

A 23-year-old man died Thursday after being swarmed by bees and stung 1,000 times while hiking in Usery Mountain Park in Arizona, authorities said.

Alex Bestler and a friend were on the Merkle Trail when a large swarm of bees descended on them “without provocation or warning” shortly before 9 a.m., according to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The victim’s friend — identified only as Sonya — managed to escape by seeking shelter in a restroom, but Bestler was overcome by the swarm, the release stated.

He was lying on the ground covered in bees when Sonya returned a short time later with an unidentified good Samaritan, according to the Sheriff’s Office. They were unable to approach Bestler “due to the aggressiveness of the bees,” but flagged down help.

It took three attempts for park employees and first responders to load him onto a park utility vehicle and transport him away from the scene, authorities said, noting bees continued to cover the victim’s body while the swarm pursued them.

(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...


TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: arizona; bees; hiking; swarm; wildlife
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To: Red Steel

What is it about Africans that is always tied to violence. Even the bees.


41 posted on 05/28/2016 6:41:44 AM PDT by Old Yeller (Calling Obama a POS is a major insult to S.)
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To: Caipirabob; VerySadAmerican

Advanced bee keepers try to re=queen an African hive to to try to keep them. The aggressiveness (10X) is related to the bees general lifestyle. They will sting you in organized fashion until and after you die. They also gather and produce staggering amounts of honey. $$$$$

I re-load my own rifle and pistol ammunition. 38spl, 357 Mag, .45ACP, 30-06. An I am proficient enough at it not to have killed myself yet playing with and having fun with explosives. I do not tinker with C-4, nitroglygerin, or Mercury Fulminate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still looking for a bee-Feeper ping list for FR. Spring time has hit and the ladies are coming and going with purpose.

All we ever here about is killer bees and their attacks while we sip our coffee sweetened by honey. Just as Chicago and the hoodlums grab all the news coverage, so to is it with the bees. Its the bad element that gets reported about and thats what forms every ones stereotypes about them.


42 posted on 05/28/2016 6:47:44 AM PDT by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: BenLurkin

Lots of details in this article, poor guy was allergic to bees?!

http://www.kplctv.com/story/32086405/family-bee-sting-victim-had-allergy-to-venom?clienttype=generic&sf27177658=1


43 posted on 05/28/2016 7:00:10 AM PDT by rainee (Her)
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To: rainee

If he was allergic, it didnt take 100 stings from africanized bees to kill him. One or two stings from the most gentle bee is all it takes.


44 posted on 05/28/2016 7:05:21 AM PDT by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: Mr. Mojo

Bees don’t like dark and furry. Looks like a raiding animal .beekeepers wear white.


45 posted on 05/28/2016 7:08:49 AM PDT by heartwood (If you're looking for a </sarc tag>, you just saw it.)
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To: BenLurkin

Never a campus safe zone around when you need one. Microagressed to death by bees.


46 posted on 05/28/2016 7:31:24 AM PDT by FlipWilson
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To: jonathonandjennifer

Yes! You’re right.
(Classic movie buff here..love them)


47 posted on 05/28/2016 7:35:59 AM PDT by patriot08 (5th generation Texan (girl type) ANGRY? REFUSE TO VOTE? HELLO HILLARY!!!)
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To: BenLurkin

It is very difficult to guard oneself against ALL dangers. We hear of incidents like this because they are news-worthy, yet standing on the sidewalk and getting hit by an errant car or in your living room and killed by a drive-by shooter get so much less news attention.

Always be ready for Death but never allow that to keep you from enjoying LIFE!


48 posted on 05/28/2016 7:36:44 AM PDT by SES1066 (Quality, Speed or Economical - Any 2 of 3 except in government - 1 at best but never #3!)
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To: going hot

Last year I was helping a good friend disassemble a log home built in 1870. I disturbed a bee’s nest near a window opening. We knew they were in the structure somewhere, so we’d tooled up with enough cans of wasp spray.

Any way, after I got stung a few times, I beat a retreat some thirty feet away to let things clam down. After a moment or two I got stung again. Then again. etc. with increasing frequency. I finally realized the whole colony would not rest until the offender (me) was taken out.

With that, I grabbed two cans of spray and headed directly for the nest. I proceeded to bang on the logs to get them to exit. I just kept spraying; they were falling like rain. I was yelling out movie quotes; “Say hello to my little friend”, “Oh Warriors, come out & play”, etc. I blew through both cans. I probably lost six months of future hospice time with all the spray I inhaled myself


49 posted on 05/28/2016 7:37:11 AM PDT by BraveMan
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To: BraveMan

Lol, sometimes you just have to take it to them.


50 posted on 05/28/2016 7:38:52 AM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a Momma deuce)
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To: Aliska

Bee’s release alarm pheromones that serve as a target identifier for a swarm attack. Decoys saturated with a synthetic version could serve to redirect an attack. A deployment mechanism that doesn’t further contaminate the user; and, possibly provides the user with a chemical deterrent to a swarm would be ideal.


51 posted on 05/28/2016 7:52:08 AM PDT by Ozark Tom
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To: going hot
Yep, like putting a screen over the shop vac exit port and then sticking the hose into the exit of a nest. Once all the wasps, yellow jackets, whatever are in the tank you just shut off the vac, close off the hose, and spray in a little bug killer. Caution is advised to avoid sparks from the motor igniting the bug spray...

I saw a couple of flaming arrows made from kerosene soaked rags tied onto target arrows work pretty effectively on a large paper hornet nest once. That was kind of fun too.

52 posted on 05/28/2016 7:56:30 AM PDT by freeandfreezing
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To: freeandfreezing
Used to have wood shake roof, lots of wasps between the shakes.

They all used the koi pond to pick up water, I could not enjoy the pond.

Whipped out the wet dry shop vac, and had a great time vacuuming them up around the waterfall.

The bounce off the barrier at the end of the hose and splat themselves.

New roof greatly diminished their numbers!

53 posted on 05/28/2016 8:01:32 AM PDT by going hot (Happiness is a Momma deuce)
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To: heartwood

I learned about 30 years ago that bees are driven crazy by plaid. I was attacked in the Grand Canyon while wearing a plaid shirt. I threw it off and the bees left me alone.


54 posted on 05/28/2016 8:25:27 AM PDT by sevlex
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To: MarchonDC09122009

I simply typed “Africanized killer bee map” into Google Images and found a bunch of them.


55 posted on 05/28/2016 8:31:29 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: rainee
One thousand stings is the threshold where the venom will kill you whether you are allergic or not.

On the other end, depending on the level allergy and location of the sting, one might kill you.

And then there is the problem that any flying, stinging insect is a "bee". Most honey bees are pretty unlikely to sting -- a beekeeper can completely disassemble the hive, rob honey, drop a frame of bees and not get a single sting. Youtube has lots of videos of beekeepers working hives in t-shirt and shorts.

A true honeybee swarm is generally harmless. Bees defend the hive and the honey stores, and a swarm is bees leaving to establish a new hive.

With Africanized bees, none of this applies. But most of the time the African genetics just get mixed into the normal honeybee genes and you get hives that are far more likely to sting, but still fall well short of the all-out kill response of African bees.

56 posted on 05/28/2016 8:33:41 AM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: Aliska

Aerosal can of foam


57 posted on 05/28/2016 8:33:50 AM PDT by advertising guy
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To: Delta 21

The number of bee hives are falling. Without bees man will starve to death.


58 posted on 05/28/2016 10:19:54 AM PDT by VerySadAmerican (The day Trump is sworn in I'm changing my screen name.)
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To: faucetman

I’m aware that they’ll keep stinging you when you come up to breath. But it’s a last resort.

I saw a study on some TV show and they said Africanized bees will follow you up to a mile. And they’re definitely adapting to colder climates.

So, do native Africans “harvest” honey from Africanized bees? Or does the term “Africanized” refer only to a strain that came out of a once in a life time mixed breeding episode? In other words, when a mild queen from Africa bred with a normal bunch of drones from Italy.


59 posted on 05/28/2016 10:23:39 AM PDT by VerySadAmerican (The day Trump is sworn in I'm changing my screen name.)
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To: BenLurkin

Bookmark


60 posted on 05/28/2016 10:58:12 AM PDT by freepersup (Patrolling the waters off Free Republic one dhow at a time.)
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