Only in Africa
We have a saying down here that when something weird or out of the ordinary happens we remark "only in Africa"
Well yesterday was one of those "only in Africa" situations.
I parked on the lands to do some work and after driving off noticed a lot of bees displaying a lot of interest in my car. I drove back to the house only to discover this...
A swarm of bees was hanging on for dear life in the wheel well of my car.
They didn't seem too perturbed by the drive but that's only because its winter and its cold enough that they can barely move. In fact they are all huddled together like this not only to protect the queen but also to keep warm.
These are African bees, so not something you want to be messing with. The media in the US likes to call them "African Killer bees" because they are not used to the defense mechanism of our bees in Africa. When an African bee stings it releases a pheromone that immediately turns other bees into a defensive state and they will sting anything moving or otherwise detected in the area.
If this happens close to the hive where there are thousands of bees present then you are in big trouble. One or two bee stings is no big deal unless you are allergic, but a couple of hundred or a thousand bee stings can kill humans and other large animals.
Yikes, that's scary! It's funny, I think many places have this saying "Only in _____" to celebrate or lament the peculiarities of our respective locales.
Perhaps we are soft here in America that we have to call them "killer." The thought of being stung 10+ times by a swarm is a terrible one!
I can't believe these bees can actually survive on the inside of your tire, lol.
Wow! I wonder if they were trying to establish a hive? Were the car a forever-stationary object, it would be a great spot... nicely shielded from the elements.
Where in Africa do you live? My brother @jhimmel recently became a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia. He's started Steeming about his experience, most recently writing a post titled "The honeymoon month...".
Holy crap! thats alot of bees lol You might need a bee suit if there are that many bees around!
Time to get a new car? lol
I'm curious what you end up doing. Maybe a bee keeper can help you?
OMG..
hopefully you are protected from bee stings.
you have to wear racer clothes, if you want to drive @gavvet
Hi, @gavvet am from Africa but I too fear bees they are literally among the most dangerous insects, when a bee stings you it dies and when I saw this picture I got goosebumps thought they had hurt you but hey they spared you. The pics are cool
Bees pick the most interesting places to swarm, don't they? You could scoot them into an empty hive, but it might be safer to let them dissipate on their own. Speaking of insects and cars, we had a grasshopper hitch a ride on the outside of our windshield last week, which made it for almost 40 miles before jumping off near a creek; it chose one of the best spots on the trip to relocate.
Hello @donkeypong this portrait was a gift for you i posted it last week but unfortunately you didn't saw it that is why i decided to upload it for you here
https://steemit.com/art/@soufianechakrouf/portrait-for-donkeypong
Ohh Man how they been there?Have you removed them ?
Bees dangerous creatures man they are small but their unity makes them strong and dangerous.
You really need to get them removed bro before they attack anybody.
Actually the bees are very hard working, they all protect their queen bees, and we should also learn from the way we live.
Good post @gavvet, i like it, i resteem.