BEEware Of The BEEs

by Nick Coons
May 14, 2003

There is no shortage of outdoor activities here in Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

. Camping, hiking, backpacking, sports, and of course, exploring. But there is one minor danger that many people don't think about - The bees.

For the average person, a bee sting is no more than a painful inconvenience. But for someone who suffers an allergy from bee venom, one sting can land you in the hospital, or worse. And, of course, a swarm of bees has never been good for anyone.

Bees are very territorial. They will swarm to you and attack if they feel that you are endangering their home, and you may be completely unaware that you've encountered them until it's too late. Wearing white clothing is helpful, as this makes you virtually invisible to them.

I've seen bees hanging out almost everywhere I go outside of the city, though usually just one or two, and the generally accepted practice is to calmly walk away from them. They can sense an increased level of anxiety, or adrenalin, and are attracted to it. And don't ever swing at them - If they weren't mad before, they'll be mad after they think you're attacking them.

We went to the Tonto National Monument this past weekend; an interesting set of cliff-dwellings, which may be related to the Hohokam

Hohokam

(HO-ho-ko'm)

The prehistoric Hohokam people lived in central and southern Arizona from about AD 1 to 1450. Drought, floods and perhaps internal strife, forced the Hohokam to abandon the Salt River Valley in the fifteenth century. When Spanish explorers arrived in the sixteenth century, they found the Hohokam villages in ruins. However, they also found thriving villages of Akimel O'odham (Pima) natives, who claim to be descendents of the Hohokam.

and their mysterious disappearance around 1400 AD. In any case, this is the first time I've seen an actual bee warning. A sign on the entrance to the visitor's center read "BEEware of the BEEs." They even had to close the trails down a few times in the past because of regular bee attacks on visitors.

As of this past weekend, the trails were open, but there were two known hives in the immediate vicinity of the monument.