And not wanting to be [Eddie Izzard]covered in bees[/Eddie Izzard], I head for the nearest lake and jump in.
Does this handy trick actually cause the bees to lose interest in me, or is it just a movie/TV device? And if it does work, why?
TIA
DO NOT!! I repeat…DO NOT EVER JUMP IN WATER
This is the worse thing you can do!!! Africanized bees are very very deadly especially in large swarms. The have been known to swarm after a target for more then half a mile and to linger over ones head if you will for up to twelve hours if you jump in a pool or a lake.
Having lived in the southwest it is very common in the winter months to see reports of people dying from attacks. best thing to do is run. and run fast and far. if you are around a house or car get in it and fend off the few that follow. if in the woods just run your ass off. DO NOT JUMP IN WATER!!!
slight hijack… imagine Bin Laden in a cave, and that cave being “introduced with” a monster swarm of africanized bees. 
Well this site tells you not to jump in the water because they will simply wait for you to resurface. This site is a personal account of a bee attack and also says that jumping in the water is poor advice.
I would imagine the idea comes from the misguided assumption that since bees can’t get you when you’re underwater, they’ll simply go away. It appears they wont [insert sinister music here].
IANAA (apiarist), but my grandfather is, and he told me that theoretically it could work, because bees are hydrophobic, if for no other reason than the fact that they can’t swim. The problem is, for this trick to work, you have to be able to stay underwater for at least an hour or two (much longer for Africanized). That means staying below the surface (you keep diving weights in your pockets?) and being able to breathe (unless you have gills). However, a simple breathing tube won’t work; bees could find their way down and give you a nasty surprise. A screen is required between you and the surface.
As for cinematic devices, the “chasing swarm of bees” is more fitting of this description. Rarely will bees chase very far, at least in the numbers shown in film. You might get a few stings, but not many if you’re able to run for some distance (100’ for European honeybees, up to a 1/4 mile or more for Africanized). Most serious multiple sting cases are from those who disturb hives and are unable to get away before being overwhelmed. However, as Phlosphr points out, there are exceptions to these numbers, and even a track-and-field star may not be able to outrun a really angry hive.
So, I second Phlosphr. [Cipher]Run. Run your ass off.[/Cipher]
Let’s get a few things straight:
Swarming bees are usually extremely docile and don’t attack as they have no honey or brood to defend.
So, if you see a huge bunch of bees, and the air is filled with them, don’t panic. If you go running or otherwise make sudden motions, you may disturb a few of the nearby bees. Basically, they communicate in a big way through pheremones, and if you piss one off, you piss them all off.
They way you know that you’ve pissed a bee off is when you get stung. The sting sight is basically a big pheremone sign that says “sting me” to all other bees.
This is when it’s a good idea to run, but not before. You should try to walk away calmly at first with you hands on your face.
The best way to run is through thick brush or leafy branches. Don’t go rolling on the ground, and try to stay away from open areas. Get lots of obstacles in between you and the bees.
I guess you could dive into a lake if you could swim far underwater, but you’re right, they will just hang out and wait for you where you dived in.
-Scylla, who keeps bees.
The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook lists these five steps on how to escape from killer bees:
It’s a little yellow book and it has all kinds of handy tips on how to handle bad situations. Among other things, it tells you how to jump from a motor-cycle to a car, win a sword fight, wrestle an alligator, deliver a baby in a taxi cab, and perform a tracheotomy. It’s a great book for reference whenever you find yourself in a worst-case scenario.
The first fatality due to Africanized bees in Panama was a fisherman on Lake Gatun who had the mistfortune to disturb a hive in a tree on shore. He and his friend jumped out of their boat, but they were stung whenever they tried to breathe. He apparently had a heart attack and drowned.
scylla first of all, NEVER EVER JUMP IN WATER. That is the worst thing you could do. lake. stream, pool, all are bad. The docile European bees are just that pretty much docile. The Africanized bees inhabiting southwestern and midwestern America are very dangerous. And there are not too many trees and bushes one can run into in the middle of the desert. Saguaro’s won’t help ya neither will the cholla. Best thing one can do when in the open is run your ass off and try to get in a car or some other cover.
DIGNAN Rock on thats a great book, the little yellow one but there is another as well. A redish orange one, and I hear worse case is coming out with a third regarding worse case scenerio’s for dating!
It’s already out (in the UK at least) - we sell it in my shop. It covers such things as: How to deal with a stuck zipper, how to sober up quickly, and how to climb out of bathroom windows 
[/hijack]
Just between you and me Scylla, I think it is about time to increase the price of our honey!
If there is any doubt, simply copy the above responses and offer a copy to all your potential buyers.
Up here in Idaho, we look for any oportunity to cross-breed our queens with African queens. To quote our esteemed FORMERcongressional representative Helen Chenowith, “Them black things and them mud things just don’t like it in Idaho, it’s just too cold for them to prosper up there.” [sub]shouldn’t have added the quotation marks…gives her too much credit[/sub]
For a true-life case-of-the-willies inducing bee story, read this. The guy worked at my place in charge of our email system’s mass distributions.
Follow-up:
It turns out that they were not Africanized bees, just pissed off European ones. And the autopsy showed that he died of a heart attack, not death-by-bee.
I have had the pleasure of working with both european and africanized bees. They are beautiful and fascinating creatures!
Bees are easily outrun if you start at the first sign of danger. Don't bother with the water or wait to be tagged more than once. When a bee stings you, she releases a chemical signal that basically screams out to other bees "STING HERE!" Honey bees have a maximum range of about two miles from the hive and ALMOST NEVER chase a perceived threat for more than half a mile. NB-I said almost never! Honey bees are not particularly fast fliers, either.
While it is true that africanized bees sting at the slightest provocation and tend to protect the hive very zealously, their venom is no more dangerous than the docile european bee.
The one really important thing to remember is to carefully but quickly remove the stinger because it will continue to pump venom into you for about 20 min if left to its own devices. This is fairly easily accomplished by placing the fingernail under the venom sac and scraping against the stinger, lifting it away from the skin. Do your best not to squeeze more venom into the sting!
-FosferoFosfero…
Well said. Many people think africanized bees are more venomous than honey bees…but they aren’t. They are just more tenacious in their defense. Thanks for making that clear.