DESCRIPTION: The honey
bee is covered with short, dense hair, usually golden-brown and black, and its
abdomen is striped. There are three castes of honey bees in the colony: workers
(2/5 to 3/5 inch long), drones (3/4 to 5/8 inch long), and the queen (3/5 to ¾
inch long).
HABITAT: Around
flowers and flowering trees
LIFE CYCLE: The queen
is responsible for reproduction. The drones are fertile male bees that mate with
new queens. The workers are sterile females responsible for feeding the queen,
maintaining the hive, gathering the pollen and nectar, and protecting the hive.
TYPE OF DAMAGE: Honey
bee workers have a barbed stinger that becomes detached along with a venom sac
after the sting.
CONTROL: When stung by
a bee, immediately remove the stinger and venom sac by gently scraping or
flicking the stinger with a fingernail or knife. Do not use tweezers or try to
squeeze out the stinger- this pushes more venom into the wound. Next, wash the
sting site with soap and water. Apply ice to minimize pain and swelling. For
normal sting reactions, a solution of ½ teaspoon meat tenderizer dissolved in 1
teaspoon water (or commercially available sting solution) can be applied to the
skin to relieve discomfort. If you experience anything more than a localized,
normal reaction, seek medical attention immediately. Sting victims should be
kept calm, quiet and inactive. In some cases, an allergy specialist may advise a
series of injections to lessen sensitivity for persons with case histories of
severe allergic reactions to insect stings.
PREVENTION: Wear
proper clothing and use caution when worker honey bees are foraging around
houses on flowering trees and plants. When flowers finish blooming, the danger
will decrease. It is best to allow swarms of honey bees to leave on their own. A
swarm of bees will remain clustered until scout bees have located a suitable
site for permanent nesting. In two days or less, the swarm will usually break
the cluster and fly away. If it is necessary to remove a swarm, be sure to
contact a local beekeeper, who usually will be happy to get the bees.
REMOVAL FROM BUILDINGS:
When honey bees establish a nest in your house or other undesirable places, you
can either hire professional help (certified pest control operator or beekeeper)
or do the job yourself. Remember that after the honey bees are killed, they must
be removed with their comb nest along with honey. Untended honey soon begins to
decompose and/or seep out of the comb, causing odor problems, staining walls or
ceilings, and encouraging secondary pest infestations by ants, cockroaches, wax
moths, flies, and dermestid beetles.
INTERESTING FACTS:
Most people see only the workers because these are the bees that regularly fly
in and out of the nest.
Ermones® Pest Management 
