We have a saying down here that when something weird or out of the ordinary happens we remark "only in Africa"
Well yesterday was one of those "only in Africa" situations.
I parked on the lands to do some work and after driving off noticed a lot of bees displaying a lot of interest in my car. I drove back to the house only to discover this...
A swarm of bees was hanging on for dear life in the wheel well of my car.
They didn't seem too perturbed by the drive but that's only because its winter and its cold enough that they can barely move. In fact they are all huddled together like this not only to protect the queen but also to keep warm.
These are African bees, so not something you want to be messing with. The media in the US likes to call them "African Killer bees" because they are not used to the defense mechanism of our bees in Africa. When an African bee stings it releases a pheromone that immediately turns other bees into a defensive state and they will sting anything moving or otherwise detected in the area.
If this happens close to the hive where there are thousands of bees present then you are in big trouble. One or two bee stings is no big deal unless you are allergic, but a couple of hundred or a thousand bee stings can kill humans and other large animals.
Yikes, that's scary! It's funny, I think many places have this saying "Only in _____" to celebrate or lament the peculiarities of our respective locales.
Perhaps we are soft here in America that we have to call them "killer." The thought of being stung 10+ times by a swarm is a terrible one!
I can't believe these bees can actually survive on the inside of your tire, lol.
Wow! I wonder if they were trying to establish a hive? Were the car a forever-stationary object, it would be a great spot... nicely shielded from the elements.
Where in Africa do you live? My brother @jhimmel recently became a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia. He's started Steeming about his experience, most recently writing a post titled "The honeymoon month...".
Holy crap! thats alot of bees lol You might need a bee suit if there are that many bees around!
Time to get a new car? lol
I'm curious what you end up doing. Maybe a bee keeper can help you?
OMG..
hopefully you are protected from bee stings.
you have to wear racer clothes, if you want to drive @gavvet
Hi, @gavvet am from Africa but I too fear bees they are literally among the most dangerous insects, when a bee stings you it dies and when I saw this picture I got goosebumps thought they had hurt you but hey they spared you. The pics are cool
Bees pick the most interesting places to swarm, don't they? You could scoot them into an empty hive, but it might be safer to let them dissipate on their own. Speaking of insects and cars, we had a grasshopper hitch a ride on the outside of our windshield last week, which made it for almost 40 miles before jumping off near a creek; it chose one of the best spots on the trip to relocate.
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Ohh Man how they been there?Have you removed them ?
Bees dangerous creatures man they are small but their unity makes them strong and dangerous.
You really need to get them removed bro before they attack anybody.
Actually the bees are very hard working, they all protect their queen bees, and we should also learn from the way we live.
Good post @gavvet, i like it, i resteem.
A very useful description of the narrative this morning, it has grown my knowledge of bees in Africa.
Amazing, the honey bee is very useful
The car wheels have honey on them.
I usually live in a tree forest or house eaves.
Africa is different.
Incredible.
OOOOOHHH NOoooo!! Thats a big trouble...
Africa seems to have a lot of things in it with an intent to kill you.
A terrible situation. Maybe somebody can handle it, be careful, sir.
@gavvet OMG, honey bees have made their own house in a beautiful place, they have not been able to wake up anywhere in the world, on the tires of the car, Hahahaha, very funny ,,,,, actually it's my picturesque pictures my dear friend @gavvet ?? ?? UpVote please
they're giving honey to you, haha
That would be so scary and I hope you guys figured something out without any danger.
I had one time heard a very loud noise,(sounded like an airplane) when I lived in El Salvador and when I looked outside, one of my trees was thickly packed with bees (in less than 5 minutes) but they were not killer bees.
A very interesting place was found by the bees in a motor vehicle. If they are disturbed, they can sting.
I wonder what upset them enough to make them swarm when it is so cold?
Ah that's awesome! We have a lot of honey farmers around here and we love having them in the area.
That's quite a find I think, but still a lot of headache to move them without hurting/disturbing too much.
Good luck!
Wow...that's a tricky situation. I think you may need to consult a professional on how to safely remove them from the tyre .
Huh, ONLY IN AFRICA! Very true, and what an event? You might want to 'relocate' them, carefully!
Omg, I would scare a lot if I saw these. How are you going to get ride of them? I wouldn't like to kill them but I don't know what kind of method you could use.
I know what will get rid of them...
Fascinating and spectacular at the same time, you definitely dont wont to disturb them you need someone to smoke them out for you.
They look dangerous like this! It's like you say a bite maybe annoying but many can be a danger, they were fleeing from the cold in his car?
OMG!!
Think of it this way, free security for your car. If someone tries to break into your car, you will hear screams as an alarm. Or if they are smart enough, they will see the bees flying around your car and stay away.
So how did you get them leave?
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