# Why do all the bees die by my car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2008, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360 "2008-12-16T04:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/1 "2008-12-16T04:54:06Z")
I live in an apartment building and I park my car into a two-car carport area. It’s covered, but otherwise open to the elements. [It sort of looks like this except it just holds two cars.](http://www.house-for-sale.gr/apartment-for-sale-1.jpg) There are no plants where I park my car except for an occasional weed coming through the asphalt. Every day I notice one or two bees on my car and they are never flying. They appear to be just wandering aimlessly. And every week there are about 20-30 dead bees in between the two cars in the carport. Someone comes by and cleans up the grounds and then, a week later, there is another buildup of dead bees. This doesn’t seem to vary by the time of the year. It started in the spring and it’s still going on now. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/2 "2008-12-16T05:10:33Z")
Dude, time to take the socks out from under the back seat! _cough_ Hmm, this sounds like a curious bee-havior. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/3 "2008-12-16T05:31:08Z")
Is there a light on the ceiling of the carport that might be attracting the bees at night? Maybe they die from repeatedly running into the light. I’ve seen other bugs do this, but I’m not sure about bees. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/4 "2008-12-16T05:32:59Z")
There is a light, but there are other carports that have light. And the bees are on the ground walking in circles in the daytime. I see many more of them alive during the day than at night, although that is just a factor of them being easier to see in the daytime. None of the bees has ever tried to sting me. ---
**Author:** ![Strider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Strider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strider)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/5 "2008-12-16T06:10:00Z")
From the sounds of the behavior, they sound like Carpenter Bees… > **[Carpenter bee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee)** > > See text > Carpenter bees are species in the genus Xylocopa of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. The main exceptions are species in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which dig nesting tunnels in suitable soil. > The French entomologist Pierre André Latreille described the genus in 1802. He derived the name from the ... -n ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/6 "2008-12-16T07:24:43Z")
> [@Strider](#): > > From the sounds of the behavior, they sound like Carpenter Bees… > > [Carpenter bee - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee) > > -n from your cite: **Some are often mistaken for a bumblebee species, as they can be similar in size and coloration, though most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely clothed with dense hair.** If They’re dead then you can look them over. However, I think carpenter bees in the numbers described would be drilling holes all over the place. I’m wondering if bees would be attracted to antifreeze. Is there a puddle under your car? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/7 "2008-12-16T07:28:01Z")
These don’t look like carpenter bees. They look like regular old honey bees. My car doesn’t leak anything, although my neighbor’s did at one point. We both have white cars and I don’t know if that makes a difference. On the other side of the small lot where the cars park, there are some plants and there used to be a colony of bees there, maybe five or six years ago. But it was taken out because those bees would go after the people who parked near that plant. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/8 "2008-12-16T07:38:42Z")
The possibility exists that they are suffering from [colony collapse disorder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/9 "2008-12-16T11:23:23Z")
What are your night temps? In the fall I find bees on anything that provides some warmth. Your car fits the bill. They also go to white objects. I don’t suppose your car is white? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/10 "2008-12-17T02:00:54Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > What are your night temps? In the fall I find bees on anything that provides some warmth. Your car fits the bill. They also go to white objects. I don’t suppose your car is white? I have a white car. The guy next to me has a white car. I live in Southern California, so night-time temps are relatively cool even in the hottest parts of summer. For example, a 100 degree day would still have night time temps in the high 70s. ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/11 "2008-12-17T02:38:43Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > I live in an apartment building and I park my car into a two-car carport area. It’s covered, but otherwise open to the elements. [It sort of looks like this except it just holds two cars.](http://www.house-for-sale.gr/apartment-for-sale-1.jpg) > > There are no plants where I park my car except for an occasional weed coming through the asphalt. > > Every day I notice one or two bees on my car and they are never flying. They appear to be just wandering aimlessly. And every week there are about 20-30 dead bees in between the two cars in the carport. Someone comes by and cleans up the grounds and then, a week later, there is another buildup of dead bees. > > This doesn’t seem to vary by the time of the year. It started in the spring and it’s still going on now. My son is a beekeeper. He says that colony collapse disorder is a good possibility, given that you’re living in an area which has been badly hit. He says you should look carefully at the dead bees to see whether their wings are folded straight along their bodies, or if the wings are sticking out from the body the way they usually do. If their wings are against the body, it’s something else killing them, but if the wings are extended, it is most likely a mite infestation in their hive. The mites he is talking about are “[tracheal mites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_the_honey_bee#Acarine_.28Tracheal.29_mites)” which get in their trachea and prevent them from breathing. If you have any idea where the hives are (it could be a wild colony, but probably not), it would be a kind thing to tell the keeper (or the farmer who has rented the bees) that tracheal mite infestations are easily treated. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/12 "2008-12-17T07:37:58Z")
I checked the dead bees. They all have their wings sticking out. I’m pretty sure it’s a wild colony of bees. I don’t think there are any beekeepers in the area as I live in the suburbs and I don’t see that as something that my city would allow. But that’s interesting to find out. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/13 "2008-12-17T08:52:21Z")
Maybe your car is the previously unknown cause of CCD! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/14 "2008-12-17T15:24:32Z")
And I thought I was helping the environment by driving a Prius. Now I’m a bee killer. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/15 "2008-12-17T19:26:28Z")
propylene glycol? ---
**Author:** ![mwbrooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/16 "2008-12-17T20:33:37Z")
The question remains, why by the car? If mites are the cause, why aren’t there dead bees all over the area? Would dead bees be as visible elsewhere, or is the carport the only surface in your area that isn’t covered by foliage, etc? Have you checked other carports nearby? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-the-bees-die-by-my-car/477360/17 "2008-12-18T00:19:20Z")
I can say that neither car has any leaks. I haven’t checked other parts of the building, but I think I’m Dead Bee Central. I am the furthest away from any foliage.