What to do when attacked by bees?

What should you do to avoid a bee attack? This is the question many people ask when a swarm of bees recently attacked a passerby when their nest was destroyed.

Don't wave your hands to chase away the bees.

According to Dr. Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist specializing in insects and arthropods, most people's knowledge of how to escape a swarm of bees is incorrect.

When approached by bees, many people's first reaction is to wave their hands or hold something to wave at them, to chase them away. To bees, this is a sign that a large predator is about to attack them.

So if a beehive is nearby, the bees will tend to defend their nest. You will be in danger.

Schmidt emphasizes that when bees feel threatened, they will rush towards you together to protect the queen.

If you kill a bee, it will give off an "alarm scent", and its mates will come to the scene to investigate.

Run and hold your breath

According to the Saguaro National Park Guide, part of the US Department of the Interior, the bees will first send a few worker bees when they think you are a predator, to convey a warning message.

At that point, you should immediately leave the vicinity as you may be facing a full-scale attack from the bees.

Dr. Schmidt shares, run away instead of trying to fight them because all your efforts will attract hundreds of other bees.

Dr. Schmidt also said that bees' primary sense is their sense of smell, which helps them navigate by scent. So you can take advantage of this by holding your breath to avoid being "in the line of sight" of the bees. This can cause the bees to "blind" them for a moment, giving you a chance to escape them.

The danger of bees

Bee venom can kill an adult primarily through anaphylactic shock, when the immune system releases large amounts of mediators to neutralize the venom. This reaction of the body can cause shock, even life-threatening for the victim.