Bee Attack! - Appalachian Trail

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#1

I am not sure what is going on but maybe the rain and wind from recent storms have really stirred up the yellow jackets in our area. For the second time in just a few days a hiker has recieved multiple bee stings on the trail.

This time the hiker could have died from the attack. This man disturbed a nest almost directly on the trail and was stung as many as 40 times. He ran away and then collapsed on the trail. When he regained conciousness he was very sick and knew that he could not make it out. It was raining and he made the decision to set his tent up and try to get some rest. He made it to a road this morning and hitched back into Erwin where I took him to the local emergency room. He was swollen really bad from the stings and experiencing chest pain. They determined that he had had a heart attack but don’t know if it brought on by the great number of stings or if the anxiety brought on the heart attack. He is undergoing heart catheterization right now and could use all of your good wishes.

Miss Janet

#2

Interesting you mentioned that Miss Janet. Three weeks ago I was hiking in the Smokies and all the the sudden was attacked by yellow jackets. As I was swatting them off me I was stung on the arm and leg. I was hiking with a friend who was in front. The only thing we could figure was his poles poked the nest in the ground… then I walked by as they were all stirred up. Who knows. Fortunately, I’m not allergic to them. I also carry benadryl pills as part of my first-aid kit, so I popped one within a minute of the stings. We were also heading towards our vehicle and only had about an hour or so to hike. This could have been really bad if we were just starting out on our trip or miles from help, or if I were attacked all over. That hiker will be in my prayers, thats for sure.

guru

#3

(Not) funny you should bring them up. I ran across a ground nest in Maine visiting Cheers. I’m not allergic either but what ever these were I got tagged by one I guess at least ten times, the repeat sting type of bee. The next day my leg bloated up like a dead fish. All squishy with fluid.
My brother carries an epi-pen and according to his doc if you’re going to take any benadryl at all take five for any effect. And follow your own doctor’s advice of coarse. RUN!

Bushwhack

#4

i like to stick my head in the bee nest and look for honey!!!

ball sack

#5

I hiked to Abrams Falls in the Smokies this weekend, and a short way into the trail was a yellow jackets nest on the side of the trail, and they were going at it. The park service put a red flag next to the nest so as to warn people and hikers were passing it on to other people. I didn’t know it was a more spread out issue as this seems to be.

Lizz

#6

I have to comment on this, seeing as both parts are somewhat right up my alley… :nerd

Yellow jackets are not really bees, at least not honeybees…different evolutionary history…and quite a big difference in them…but some similarities as well, i.e., parallel evolution.

Apis mellifera (the most common found in N.America), from the Apidae family including honeybees, carpenter bees, and bumblebees, are actually relatively passive, unless you do something to them, such as disturb the hive (also, low level increases in CO2, some perfumes and other scented products, high humidity days sometimes)…they sting once, and die…simultaneously, the sting also releases a pheromone for others to respond to, so after first sting, get away from there…they have tremendous value though, including pollinization, honey and wax production, etc…

Yellow jackets are from the Subfamily Vespoidea, Genus Vespula, and are part of the social wasps…they can be highly aggressive, and are capable of repeated stings per individual…read, they are mean little suckers…but they too have value, as they kill catepillars who in turn due tremendous damage to crops…they are agitated from similar reasons to honeybees, but react much more so, especially to invasions of the hive…

Neither if these is to be mistaken for the Africanized hybrid bees…note I did use the term the press loves to use, “killer bees”…they do not exist, except maybe in some grade B movie…a subspecies of A.mellifera, A.m.scutellata (also called A.m.adansonii) can be very aggressive, especially when provoked, or swarming…I doubt many of you have ever seen a true swarm, defined as 20,000+ bees (be honest now, 100 flying bees around your head can be unnerving, 20k bees is incredibly loud, and is roughly a cubic meter, packed no space, worth of them)…I did research in bees for 2 years, and only saw a few, and I was actively looking for them, and have walked within 10 feet without problems…most of the attributed deaths are/were small children, or elderly who have medical histories of cardiac, pulmonary/respiratory, and or renal problems, who did something stupid like walk right up the the swarm resting on a tree and sprayed it with a can of insecticide or a hose…the Alfred Hitchcock image of swarms miles wide swooping down from the skies and killing the townsfolk are only scenes from a really bad science fiction film, or a journalist trying to sell newspapers…

I do not know the individual who was stung repeatedly, but i suspect an underlying history of cardiac problems, whether known by the individual or not…anxiety in a short time frame can hardly initiate a myocardial infarct, at least not without everything lese already set in place, ie CAD, previous MI, ASHD, etc…we all experiance occasional bouts of very high anxiety, we all dont get MI from them…lets not get into a long discussion on this, I am sure some cardiologist, or entomologist, or phrenologist will disagree with me here…

The benadryl suggestion is an excellant one, so is an epi-pen for some, though the dosage only gives you about 5-8 minutes window to seek definitive care…best advice is don’'t ever swat at bees, yellow jackets, etc., just keep moving…they can fly at approx. 5mph, a brisk walk or light jog is sufficient to get out of there…

If you are being attacked by multiple bees or yellow jackets or wasps or any number of insects, drop the pack and run…fast!!! You can always go back for your pack later, they will invariably clam down…If you are being stung alot and somewhere in that terror filled feeling you begin to smell a slight banana smell, your dead…just joking!! actually, the pheromone does smell something like bananas at high enough doses, but that is a good time to get out of there, really fast…

OK, I am done spouting off, maybe a tiny piece of this helps somebody out there, or at least clears up some misunderstandings… :tongue

-xtn (the real one) :smiley:

airferret

#7

two types of yellow jackets in the south guys. small ones (smaller than honey bees, lean and mean looking) and tiny ones that are even smaller!! the tiny ones hurt much worse in my experience!!! and are more agressive also to me. bees are out a lot right now in the fall, gathering last minute nectare. they are getting lethargic though, and if you don’t swat at them as airferret said, they usually leave you alone. I used to raise bee’s for side money on the farm…honey bees are like hummingbirds. they get used to humans and don’t attack unless you disturb them severly or in a way they are not used to. we mowed grass in from of hives, bees never attacked. robbed supers (the honey box) with no smoke most times, but some hives are more used to humans than others…kinda like dogs in the hood! yo know which ones can be “petted” and which can’t

ref. “killer bees” -africanized bees have been in the u.s. since the fifties!!! they were imported (or the bee sperm was) back then to improve the strength and honey production of our standard honey bees. the “hyper agressive” killer bees you read about chasing people are for the most part doing what wild hives (not used to people) of bees have done for thousands of years, not being “killers”. any wild hive will swarm like that if disturbed severly. africanized bee’s are no more agressive or poisinois than regular, they just are stronger hives genetically and therefore greater numbers of bees are in the hives and therefore greater numbers of bees attack!. they actually can be captured and tamed i suspect, but it would take a lot of work and sting proof clothes!

i always carry benedryl pills also. “sting kill” swabs are failry cheap and light also. if stung close to home… a paste of water and baking soda helps releive the pain, even better if you add meat tenderizer to the paste, pack it on as a “poltuce” and keep it damp.

now, “buzz off”!!:boy (kidding)

Big Dee

#8

And, then again, you never know what some people are going to be allergic to. I recently had a nasty case of lepidopterism. A caterpillar fell into my collar (probably a gypsy moth caterpillar). I seem to be allrgic to caterpillar hair! I had a nasty, itchy rash on the back of my neck for two weeks. It required a doctor’s visit, and liberal use of a steroid cream.

Harry Dolphin

#9

When I returned to my car today after a short section in Shenandoah, I found it semi-occupied by yellow jackets…about 30 all around and on the car. Wanting no part of this action, I tossed in my pack, jumped in and drove down the road a bit to an overlook to change into my sandals. When I stopped, there were still two of the little buggers hanging on to the car. Must be the season.

Tyger

#10

I wore a yellow jacket to work this morning. Yep, it must be the season for yellow jackets.:eek:

Buzzoff

#11

Oh. How. Nice. I wish all forums were this … catty. Maybe we should start a new thread about letting everyone participate without being afraid of teenager-type commentaries and condescending remarks? I just KNEW someone was going to pipe up with a textbook definition of bees versus yellow jackets.(No offense intended airferret, I’m just making a point here…) It happened to me when I used the word “cooties” in a post. And it’s happened to others, as well. Greenie comes to mind off the top of my head. Just because someone doesn’t have knowledge or writes in conversational tones doesn’t necessarily mean they’re butt-dumb. We all have specialized knowledge. I was sharing my experience today with yellow jackets. Lighten up, people. Try something besides linear thinking.:bawling

Tyger

#12

Point taken, Tyger.

I think I wrote this half asleep and apologize if it came off wrong, was probably having flashbacks of these hysterical and exagerated reports I would get and read about of bee attacks, where the 3 foot long bees were snatching little children off the ground and flying away, sometimes there were reports of dingos circling on the rim of the camp as well… :wink:

Though, let us be honest here… You and I and most anybody here have met others who are butt-dumb, hell, I’ve met some that I honestly believe my arse is smarter then them… Try teaching sometime, especially at the university level, you would understand then :smiley:

OK, back to studying again, my 5 minute break after 15 hours of studying is up…

-xtn

airferret

#13

Nothing to do with the bee story.Is this the airferret from the class of 2004.

richard

#14

Hey Airferret, I enjoyed reading your post about bees/yellow jackets (Big Dee’s post too). Always like to learn something, thanks.
Around here when you say “yellow jacket” it’s just as likely to mean “Georgia Tech” as it is the stinging kind:)

RockyTrail

#15

I also appreciated the long, detailed post about bees and bee-like things. This was something I had just been wondering about and I was anticipating a long, frustrating search around the web for useful information. It sounds like mass stingings are not uncommon on the AT (I met someone else with such a story) and probably deserve more consideration.

Eric

#16

I also appreciate the detail and the taxonomy lesson. I just posted a series of similar questions last night on the women’s list re: the difference between the various stinging insects. I (correctly) said that “bees” are commonly targeted as the source of the allergic response, when in fact it is more likely a wasp (hornet-same thing?)type insect.

So one of my real questions is, which kind of stinging insect such as this nests at ground level? I won’t reiterate my long winded story (which can be read in my '02 AT journal) about my repeated stingings that summer and subsequent anaphylactic shock response that finally occurred that Sept. What I’m trying to say is, I was stung twice this summer by what I call a “wasp”, which evoked a moderate reaction to the site locale (leg and arm) which lasted for several days, but not as severe as to warrant use of my epi-pen. (thanks for the 5 Benedryl advice, I believe that’s what saved me in 02 and I carry them everywhere now). Was my lessened reaction this summer due to less stings over a longer period of time? or was this a different animal, so to speak?

Bluebearee

#17

Bluebearee----yellow jackets nest in the ground most of the time. People walk right upon the nest without knowing it and disburb them----and they are all over you----generally your feet and legs, but some will get you above the waist also. Honey bees nest in bee hives above ground or in hollow trees, high above ground. Hornets and wasp generally build nests in trees. Most bee stings people refer to are actually yellow jackets stings.

I got into a nest of yellow jackets yesterday right beside the AT. I got stung five times, three or four times on the arm and once thru my jeans on the back of my leg. I was wearing 12 inch high leather boots and long jeans and they were all over my boots. I ran and stopped a ways down the trail and killed about 10 or so of them trying to sting me thru my leather boots and still hanging on to them----foolish yellow jackets. Thats another reason to wear long pants and boots—yellow jackets right in there with poison ivy, snakes, ticks, etc. I would have probably been stung 20 times or more had I not had long pants and boots on.

There was a recent post about a city boy and his counselor encountering a bear and the boy died from anxiety as a result of seeing the bear and running from it. So that fellow, who got stung a lot, then had the heart attack, probably had it as a result of the yellow jacket stings bringing on high anxiety (rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure). I’ve had some anxiety attacks and they are bad things to have-----they will kill you quicker than anything. It is not what we experience and what happens to us, it is often the way we react to it that does us real damage.

Hope this helps. See you out there. :cheers

Maintain

#18

One of the reasons that I like this site is because I can learn a lot about things related to trail life, nature, etc. So, IMHO, I enjoyed learning about bees etc. I do understand that folks here sometimes DO indeed get kind of “preachy” or times intolerant; but didn’t catch that @ all from the post.

leah

#19

The reference to the child who died after running from a bear had more to it, as in congenital heart/pulmonary/resp defects which were not evident until exertion, and extreme over-exertion to a kid who was not exactly in shape to be running like that. The anxiety contributed to it, but the main cause was heart/pulmo/resp defect. As with many things, better to read the whole story first. Similar to, Did Grandpa die from having sex, or was it the fact that Grandpa hadn’t had that much physical exertion in many years, took a little blue pill, and stressed his ol’ heart right out? We prefer to say it was the sex, but really now… :smiley:

God save the queen (bee?), tally-ho, and all that jolly stuff !!!

-xtn (approaching psychosis, is it the all nighter studying, the excessively high amounts of caffiene, or is he really psychotic?? ) :tongue :tongue :tongue :tongue

airferret

#20

A Yellow Jacket sting is almost sure death for me. At the very least a ER trip. Epi-Pens and Benadryl offer only a 5-7 minute window of help. Because I am so sensitive to the stings I am not able to hike in the warmer months. I would like to know when the safest time to venture out in the fall would be…is it ok the hike after the first frost?

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