This is a thing, isn't it? Bees defending their hive from very large animals will just bump into them at first, hoping the animal will take the hint and leave before the bees have to sting?
This is a thing, isn't it? Bees defending their hive from very large animals will just bump into them at first, hoping the animal will take the hint and leave before the bees have to sting?
Normally they would buzz really angry as a large animal approach it as a warning of an impending swarm.
This is a thing, isn't it? Bees defending their hive from very large animals will just bump into them at first, hoping the animal will take the hint and leave before the bees have to sting?
Funnily enough bees won't attack 'enemies' outright, unlike wasps. It's a story from quite a long time ago, but short version was we was camping and someone struck a large tree with the tentpole, not knowing there's bees nesting in the hollow (it only looks like a small hole) and the bees came out threateningly. Our bags are placed below the tree and there's no pond nearby, so we can't exactly run away.
The campsite manager just...walked to the tree, into the middle of the buzzing cloud and took our bags like nothing happened. He explained that the bees won't attack people just because something disturbed the nest, but it will only sting if it detects certain aroma- like for example, honey from damaged hive, or pheromones from dead bee or crushed larva; that's also why beekeepers uses smoke to deter bees from being 'hostile', since it overrides the aroma of those things.
Of course, this behaviour WILL be different depending on what kind of bee you're faced with, so tread accordingly.
