You are viewing a single comment's thread from:

RE: Spring break for the bees

in #honeybees6 years ago

Gloves make you clumsy, and then you'll squish bees. And then they'll get pissed (they release "mortal danger; kill!" pheromones on death that enrage the other bees). I can take stings on the hands without flinching, but they go for your eyes (bees also are loaded with face-recognition software. Really.) and a sting on the head is much harder to stay calm through. I got squeamish when I had to collect my swarm and reach right into the bees, and I put gloves on then, after a half dozen stings.

Sort:  

Gotcha, fair enough! But if they release the pheromones of death, and you're totally covered..what's the harm? Just curious!

Also, explain the face-recognition software! Do they run on Windows or Linux?

I don't want to kill any bees, and wearing no gloves, I rarely do, and they rarely sting me. I only wear the suit when I'm going deep in the hive or there are a ton of them already active for some reason.
Ha! I actually read that they were studying how bees recognize faces to improve face recog technology (!). I just know that they're extremely good at it. They know me from my husband. They zoom at your eyes to warn you, and when they start getting tired of you messing with their hive, their second-stage warning is to thump you on the head. Wasps will also go for the face.

Whaaat! Bees are full of surprises.

They really, really are!