Be mindful of bees...

[lowflyer]

We climbed back from a dive onto the SCC Reefstar on April 18 to find that a swarm of African bees gathering on the boat. It was terrifying. Thousands of bees forming a living mass hanging off the deck cover. Only one person was stung.

I doubt those were Africanized bees. If they had been, more than one person would have been stung; everyone would have been stung multiple times. Africanized bees go nuts. That is what distinguishes their behavior. Regular old honey bees swarm as you describe.

 

[JohnN]

We climbed back from a dive onto the SCC Reefstar on April 18 to find that a swarm of African bees gathering on the boat. It was terrifying. Thousands of bees forming a living mass hanging off the deck cover. (They form a huge living solid mass around the queen). Once all divers were retrieved, the swarm clung to the moving boat despite the salt water spraying them. Eventually the swarm dissipated before our second dive. Only one person was stung.

That was the first time I’ve ever witnessed that and it was scary. I’m glad that it was a large boat - we went to the upper deck and no-one doffed their wetsuits on the SI. Are the bees common on Cozumel now?

I have pics if anyone is interested.

I keep bees as a hobby. When European bees swarm, they are extremely docile. In fact, the hardest thing about collecting a swarm is making it look difficult, so that your efforts will be appreciated (and they might call you back) Unless you were to do something really foolish (like swat at them and break up the swarm), they'll happily stay in place until they decide to move. The swarm will send out "scout" bees that are looking for a permanent/better home. When they return, the swarm will pick up and move there on its own.

An occasional bee from the swarm may land on you, but unless you threaten them, you're of no interest and they'll move along eventually

 

[Coztick]

An occasional bee from the swarm may land on you, but unless you threaten them, you're of no interest and they'll move along eventually

Great!
Um, what's plan B, when Sally starts swinging?

 

[tridacna]

I doubt those were Africanized bees. If they had been, more than one person would have been stung; everyone would have been stung multiple times. Africanized bees go nuts. That is what distinguishes their behavior. Regular old honey bees swarm as you describe.

He was stung by a straggler after most all had left. Agree that when one stings, they all go nuts. No real way of deciding this.

 

[sisu29]

I was on that boat and have never seen anything like this in my life. The boat crew suggested that the bees were lost or displaced by the rainstorms and high winds earlier in the week.

The bees were very aggressive. We kept our distance as best we could but they repeatedly swarmed.

I looked at the map where the cemetery is located. Interesting that it isn’t all that far from the boat harbor where the SCC boats I believe are kept.

It might be useful if the folks on Cozumel investigating the cemetery incident were to interview the SCC boat crew about what we experienced and whether they’ve seen anything like this before.

 

[deepsea21]

...Another reason to invest in that hooded vest I've been thinking about to wear under my full 3mil and pack my gloves even if I don't intend on wearing them. With that gear on and my mask I think I could take on the whole swarm myself... Just hand me something - a towel, boat hook, whatever to start swinging with. Oh, what to do about my mouth and chin though? Maybe I need to think about this some more.

 

[tridacna]

Here's a picture when they started forming a cluster. It ended up much bigger than this. They had three major clusters which merged into one. All in the bow section.

Other divers confirmed to me that the humming sounded more like Hakuna Matata and not La Marseillaise confirming that they were indeed Africanized and not of European origin.

 

[ggunn]

In a marginally related story...

One day when were fishing along the coast near Playa del Carmen a bee flew into the boat and was buzzing all around me. I took off my hat and waved it around in an effort to convince the bee to go elsewhere. It appeared to be gone, so I put my hat back on and was immediately stung right in the middle of my bald spot.

 

[tridacna]

Ouch! You were a B-student.

 

[BRT]

...Another reason to invest in that hooded vest I've been thinking about to wear under my full 3mil and pack my gloves even if I don't intend on wearing them. With that gear on and my mask I think I could take on the whole swarm myself... Just hand me something - a towel, boat hook, whatever to start swinging with. Oh, what to do about my mouth and chin though? Maybe I need to think about this some more.

Full face mask?