Saturday, June 18, 2011

Honey, Have you Met the New Neighbors?


My husband noticed that some new residents had moved in to our birdhouse – and they don’t look anything like bluebirds.   In fact, he was about ten feet away and one of these bees flew straight toward him and stung him on the face without warning - Ouch!!

In the summer weather it’s easy to come into contact with stinging bees or wasps that make their homes in the ground or in cavities such as a birdhouse.  Some can be very aggressive.  While it’s important to be careful, it’s more important to know what to do in the event of a sting.  Don’t assume that a sting will just be a minor irriation; for some it can be life threatening.  Check out this website Bee Sting Treatment to learn what to do in the event of a sting….. and be sure to watch out for those new neighbors! 

2 comments:

Ros Horton said...

I can't tell from the photo what kind of stinging insect those are. The behavior doesn't sound typical of a honeybee, but if he was eating bananas and petting the dog... well, you know. :) Let me know if I can help.

ANNE DURRANCE said...

Hi Ros, they seemed a bit bigger than honeybees.... bumblebees perhaps? We treated the birdhouse with insecticide but these tough guys came right back. We're just giving them some space - figure they will move along when the weather moderates.