# The bees are holding my car hostage **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344 "2016-08-28T23:33:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/21 "2016-08-29T18:10:48Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > (Africanized, for sure) around it. “How do you know that they are Africanized bees and not European style bees?” “Oh, I don’t know.” _ **WhAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhh…!** _ ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/22 "2016-08-29T20:30:52Z")
I’m surprised the bee guy killed them - I thought they relocated them. StG ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/23 "2016-08-29T20:35:43Z")
[quote=“StGermain, post:22, topic:764344”] I’m surprised the bee guy killed them - I thought they relocated them. StG[/ Something like 90% of the wild swarms out here are Africanized, which beekeepers don’t want. If they find a migrating swarm, they will sometimes relocate them, but once they have a bee-home, they get too defensive to move. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/24 "2016-08-30T17:41:43Z")
[Here’s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/28719668034/) another photo from this morning. I emptied two cans of foaming wasp spray into the hive to take care of most of the escapees (escabees?). I think the battle is almost over. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/25 "2016-08-30T18:53:50Z")
Well, **beowulff** , you seem to be in good company: [F-22 Raptor grounded by 20,000 bees](http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/12/politics/f-22-raptor-grounded-honey-bee-swarm/index.html) > [@CNN](#): > > The US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor may be the most advanced fighter jet in the world but even with $143 million-worth of stealth and supersonic capabilities, it proved to be no match for one unlikely adversary — a huge swarm of honey bees. > > An F-22 aircraft from the 192nd Air Wing was temporarily grounded on June 11 after crew members at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia discovered nearly 20,000 bees hanging from the jet’s exhaust nozzle following flight operations. On a more serious note\*, is the the start of some kind of Bee Uprising or something? First **beowulff** ’s car, now\*\* the most advanced fighter jet in the world: It’s like the bees are progressing at a geometric rate. Has anyone heard from the International Space Station lately? Have we checked all the nuclear missiles? \*No, not really. \*\*Well, actually, the F-22 thing was back in June. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/26 "2016-08-30T20:00:02Z")
I think this has been a topic for a fiction story, but if the insects got their act together, we would be doomed. It’s one thing to shoot a Bear with a gun - it’s a whole 'nother thing to try to kill a zillion tiny flying stinging things! ---
**Author:** ![smileysue74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@smileysue74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smileysue74)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/27 "2016-08-30T20:07:08Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Yeah, no thanks. It can only be worse than my imagination. Yeah, some of those videos uploaded from youtubers can put a lot of horror flicks to shame…but at least there’s relief in knowing that other people have had much worse zits, bug infestations, accidents leading to near fatal injuries, pranks gone awry, etc… but hey, don’t miss out on all the valuable info to get you through the end of the world, NWO, zombie apocolypse, alien invasion, etc… And that’s found in the 5% of the internet that is easy to access… Imagine what the deep web has… I’ve totally gone off topic, haven’t I ? So, what happened? Were there updates that I totally neglected to read before responding here? Okay, on it… ttfn ---
**Author:** ![smileysue74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@smileysue74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smileysue74)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/28 "2016-08-30T20:12:57Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Here’s](https://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/28719668034/) another photo from this morning. > I emptied two cans of foaming wasp spray into the hive to take care of most of the escapees (escabees?). I think the battle is almost over. Compared to my previous experiences with dangerous flying insects, yours is “YUGE!” Damn straight they’re gonna get theirs, damn squatters, evidently don’t know the laws pertaining to motor vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/29 "2016-08-30T23:58:42Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > So, I’m waiting for the Bee Guy to come and save my car from the Bees. My fatigued brain parsed the sentence as waiting for the \*\*Bee Gees \*\*to come. Now I am wandering around going “Ah ah ah ah killing a hive killing a hive” … and coming up with more lyrics every few minutes. And I have the song buzzing around in my head. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/30 "2016-08-31T00:24:20Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > My fatigued brain parsed the sentence as waiting for the \*\*Bee Gees \*\*to come. > > Now I am wandering around going “Ah ah ah ah killing a hive killing a hive” … and coming up with more lyrics every few minutes. And I have the song buzzing around in my head. I can just see them in their matching silver Bee Suits! ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/31 "2016-08-31T01:00:34Z")
* * * > [@beowulff](#): > > I can just see them in their matching silver Bee Suits! Welcome to the weird and wonderful universe that is my brain. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/32 "2016-08-31T01:08:45Z")
Also, show some sympathy for my family. I am unable to carry a tune, or tap to a beat. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/33 "2016-08-31T03:03:49Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Well, it could have been worse: > > I totally had this picture of **beowulff** ’s car being driven merrily down the highway by a swarm of killer bees. > > **steering wheel bees** : “_BZZ BZZ BZZZ_ Guys! Shift! SHIFT! _BZZ BZZZ_ Now, give it more gas! _BZZ BZZZ_” Yeah, me too. And of course, when it inevitably runs out of gas, they’ll head for a Shell station. Except for that one bee who wants to go across the street to the Esso. \ Because there’s a Esso bee in every crowd. ::ducks and runs like there’s a swarm of bees after him:: ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/34 "2016-08-31T03:45:01Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > The Bee Guy came out and found a YUGE (YUGE I say!) hive in the feeder of my mulcher, which has been sitting unused for years. He dusted the colony, and turned the car off, but said I should wait until after dark to retreive it. So, I rode my bike to dinner, and when I get home I’ll put on my jumpsuit and a hat and try to get the car without getting stung by the stragglers. > Then I need to dispose of all the comb… How horrible ! You could had called a bee keeper and see if they would had remove the bee for free! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/35 "2016-08-31T04:22:42Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > How horrible ! You could had called a bee keeper and see if they would had remove the bee for free! As I mentioned, Beekeepers don’t want Africanized (“Killer”) bees. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/36 "2016-08-31T04:24:49Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Yeah, me too. And of course, when it inevitably runs out of gas, they’ll head for a Shell station. Except for that one bee who wants to go across the street to the Esso. > > \ > > Because there’s a Esso bee in every crowd. > ::ducks and runs like there’s a swarm of bees after him:: _adds Slow Moving Vehicle to The List_ ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/37 "2016-08-31T13:14:04Z")
Not to bring the thread down, but this story involves a tragedy that happened in 2000. The aftermath is similar to the OP’s story. My dad was a beekeeper, and he and my brother were driving back from a honey harvest when the weather turned sour. A sudden storm and fog came up, making sight difficult. A car in the other lane swerved over and hit them dead-on. My brother survived, but my dad did not. While taking care of all the paperwork, I asked where dad’s truck had been taken to and visited the junkyard to see if I could salvage anything from the wreck. The caretakers told me they couldn’t get near it because bees were swarming all over it. When I got there, a few were still flying around, but they didn’t bother me. My dad wasn’t one to trust people, so I like to think he somehow got the bees to guard the truck against strangers until I got there. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/38 "2016-08-31T14:23:26Z")
I am reminded of a story I once heard in a sermon. Our minister was also an amateur beekeeper, and one day, with a van load of hives, he was stopped for some minor traffic violation. The policeman asked him to open up the van, which he did. The moment he saw the hives, all the color drained out of his face. “Close the door,” he whispered. I don’t remember how this applied to scripture, though. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/39 "2016-08-31T15:36:08Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Not to bring the thread down, but this story involves a tragedy that happened in 2000. The aftermath is similar to the OP’s story. > > My dad was a beekeeper, and he and my brother were driving back from a honey harvest when the weather turned sour. A sudden storm and fog came up, making sight difficult. A car in the other lane swerved over and hit them dead-on. My brother survived, but my dad did not. > > While taking care of all the paperwork, I asked where dad’s truck had been taken to and visited the junkyard to see if I could salvage anything from the wreck. The caretakers told me they couldn’t get near it because bees were swarming all over it. When I got there, a few were still flying around, but they didn’t bother me. My dad wasn’t one to trust people, so I like to think he somehow got the bees to guard the truck against strangers until I got there. Wow. Sorry to hear about your dad, but glad that the Bees had his back! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344/40 "2016-08-31T22:35:10Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Yeah, me too. And of course, when it inevitably runs out of gas, they’ll head for a Shell station. Except for that one bee who wants to go across the street to the Esso.… Really, now, surely they would just fill up with Bee Pee? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bees-are-holding-my-car-hostage/764344.md?page=3)