Is the California bee population exploding?

Hey, has anyone else noticed this?

On my past few trips, involving the Sierra, the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, and the Trinity Alps, I've noticed something strange. It seems like everywhere I go there are LOTS of bees. In particular, in the Trinity Alps, it seemed like there were REALLY a lot of them. It seemed like the bees were as I normally would expect flies to be.

It was especially true in meadows. As I walked through I'd hear a constant buzzing. And (especially when I stopped), there'd always be a handful buzzing around my pack, me, and of course my food.

Most of them seemed to be of the relatively docile variety - in fact when they got too annoying, out of habit (thinking of flies), I'd swat them away, and they'd fly off.

But every once in a while there'd be a really mean one (maybe a hornet) - once I made the mistake of swatting at him, and he really came at me with a vengence. I'm really surprised I didn't get stung.

Anyway, I'm not new to being outdoors... but I don't ever recall seeing this many bees before. And it's not like it was springtime, or even summertime, with lots of flowers in bloom or anything (well, it still feels like summer, but Fall/winter isn't far off, and in most places there aren't a whole lot of flowers left).

Is there something going on in our environment that's causing them to multiply (or come in from somewhere)?

p.s. I think they were honeybees, like this:
http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/honey_bee/
except for the few big mean ones, which I couldn't identify clearly.

in Florida there is actually a shortage of bees for pollinating crops.

Africanized bees are starting to show up.

As Ed said, there is a shortage of bees. Seems there is a virus that is drastically reducing the honeybee population. I forget the correct name, but it is something like Sudden Abandonment Syndrome. Apparently the bees with the virus suddenly abandon their hives. It isn't clear whether they die or (maybe you have made the discovery) whether they head for the hills, having forgotten their way home (lost the ability to navigate due to the virus?).

Interesting! There definitely was no shortage of bees in the Trinity Alps last week. In fact, I've never seen so many bees before, aside from around bee hives :).

Maybe they were all lost! :-|

Yesterday, hiking out from the Roche Edges climbing event, I got hit by 2 bees. First sting in decades. Either I had forgotten, or got hit by a new type of beast, but the two hits really hurt. There were more coming after me, one of which rode all the way back to the car (spotted him just as I was about to close the door). From the frenzy, I guess they might well have been the Africanized variety. Reason I know they were bees was that, like bees and unlike other relatives (wasps, hornets, etc), they left their stingers and venom sacs behind, sticking into my hand.

Sorry to hear that Bill. Were the ones that hit you the type that fly viciously at you - they give you the impression they are "angry"?

I saw a few like that - and made the mistake of trying to swat one away - that really got him going. I was lucky I didn't get stung.

They were "Killer Attack Bees", or KAB for short. All I know was that I was climbing the hill from the Edges back to the access trail, passing the ramp between 2 boulders, meeting Umberto (our guest from Italy) heading down, when I got stabbed in the little finger and started yelling in pain while trying to shoo the others away. Umberto backed up the ramp quickly and managed to avoid them. The second stab came from one of the little yellow blurs that were zooming around as I flailed wildly (didn't follow my own advice - flailing excites them even more). I learned a few more words of Italian (not for mixed company).

Are they all bees you are seeing, or are they wasps or yellow jackets? Here in East TN, the bee population has dwindled, but the wasps and yellow jackets seem to have increased quite a bit. I have found 5 yellow jacket nests in my yard in the last 6 years - fortunately all but one without being swarmed (now that was fun - they really don't like lawn mowers. I only got 3 stings, but my daughter got 5, and my wife one while trying to brush them off me with a long broom).

In my case, they were bees (loss of stinger and venom sac is characteristic of bees and not wasps, yellow jackets, etc). I see wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets around my house in enough varieties to tell the difference among them (gotta know them because of dealing with young scouts who seem to attract them, as well as having a knack for discovering and stirring up yellow jacket nests).

Yes, the ones I've been seeing have been bees too.

Geeze, it's quite a year... bears, bees ... I wonder what's next!

Bats.

I haven't witnessed it myself, but I have read that this may be a record year for bats in Michigan.

Hmm, Bees, Bears, and Bats.

Now that you mention it, I've seen a few bats swooping overhead in the evening hours in a couple spots where I've camped recently. I didn't think it was particularly out of the ordinary though.

What you were referring to is 'CCS, or Colony Collapse Syndrome', caused by a mite infestation. This type of bee mite was unknown until the investigation this past Summer into why hives were dying off.

I have kept and worked with bees for over 20 years. It can be a very demanding hobby if you have to deal with critters getting into your hives, mite infestations, sudden weather events, and heavy pesticide usage in the local vicinity.

As for getting stung, NEVER swat at any of the wasp family members. They are particularly aggressive when you attempt to fight them off. Best bet is to remove yourself from their area, head through dense brush letting it fling back towards them, cover up with heavy clothing, enter a tent or other enclosed structure where less numbers of them can be dispatched easier....and finally, Watch out for them! Yellow jackets are ground nesters and very aggressive when they sense vibration, hence the lawn mower annoying them. If you see YJ's emerging from a hole in the ground leave the area immediately! Hornets and wasps make their nests in trees and bushes ususally above head height. Hammock hangers might encounter them more frequently than other campers.

I tend my 20 hives in a veil and tee shirt and shorts most of the time. An occassional sting keeps me honest around the hives. That occurs mostly from grabbing one of the 'supers', part of the inside of the hive, and not seeing a bee resting on it, my fault.

In an obvious situation such as a field of flowers, or meadow area with lots of bee activity I would naturally tend to circumvent the area. Swarming bees tend to stay in a much closer mass, usually massing on a bush or tree limb. I've had to suit up in a full bee keeper's rig to chase down some of my hives as they swarmed off. Nothing beats a guy in a bee suit running alongside a country road to attract attention let me tell you! Especially these days with the state of affairs in this Country.

I've seen a couple of swarms over the years - very interesting to watch. One swarm settled on a branch in the yard while they were scouting for a new nest site, and then left when they found one. The other time I saw one was at Biltmore estate, a large swarm arrived all at once. I don't know if they were using the place as a staging area to find a new nest site, or if this was the chosen new nest site.

The time the swarm arrived in our yard I asked someone I knew who kept bees if he wanted this swarm, but he declined. He said he did not want to risk bringing disease into his hives from this probably wild colony.

And a few weeks ago I took care of a paper wasp nest inside my bird feeder.

I hope the bees make a comeback. It's not just the pollination service they perform - I like honey. I don't know how many varieties of honey I have in the house right now, but it's more than a few.

I have not been in the Trinities for over a month but I have not noticed any unusual bee/yellow jacket/wasp activity when I was there.

I do not live far from the Trinities and have not noticed any unusual activity in our general area.

From time to time there are years when some of them are more abundant - there are definitely occasional heavy yellow jacket years from time to time when we have to be more careful around here.

I have noticed lots of Bee's this year as well. The Moke. Wilderness was full of them in the meadows.

-Eric