HMC Bee Lab: No Need to Bee Afraid

Given how scared of insects I was growing up, it might seem surprising that I now work in the Bee Lab. As a kid, I was so scared of bugs that on more than one occasion I broke down in tears if I saw an ant on the kitchen table. Every time I saw any sort of insect all of my muscles would tense up and I would very quickly yell and or run away. Living in an old house, that often meant a weekly freakout over a small spider on the wall. When asked, I could never provide an actual reason for my fear of insects. They just seemed to make me very, very uncomfortable. Over time, I grew out of the fear and developed a genuine interest and appreciation of the creatures that make up so much of our planet. I can now confidently say that I am a ‘bug person.’

[1] : A Black Widow spider some friends and I saw down the street from Harvey Mudd this fall

This fear of insects has been developing for millions of years as humans evolve with their surroundings. Some of these fears are driven by legitimate risks, such as dangerous venoms or toxins that a small minority of insects and other arthropods can employ. Black Widow spiders, which can be found around the Claremont area, are one of the most venomous spiders in the world. It is not unreasonable for someone to be afraid of them, it’s a natural instinct for self preservation. Even so, out of the 43,000 spider species on the planet, less than one tenth of a percent are able to cause human death. So, why do we apply the fear of just a few spiders to all of them? This phenomenon translates to many types of insects as well. Vespid wasps like hornets and yellowjackets are some of the more aggressive species in the insect order Hymenoptera, yet we hold more docile species like bees to pose the same level of threat.

[2], [3], [4] : These are some spiders I visited a couple of weeks ago at the California Natural History Museum. They had an exhibit called the ‘Spider Pavilion’ where you got to walk around an enclosed spider habitat and see them up close with no barriers. These are two different Orb Weaver spiders and a large tarantula that was said to have a leg span the size of a dinner plate! (The tarantula was in fact enclosed in its own space, that would be a little much for me)

Bees, of which there are about two trillion on the planet, can present as one of the many frightening insects. Even though they are relatively harmless unless threatened, people tend to get very nervous when they see a bee. Now, fear of insects like bees should not be disregarded as something pointless. Allergic reactions are very serious, and a bee sting can cause a lot of pain regardless of susceptibility. Beyond that, however, there still seems to be an underlying fear of creatures like bees whose reasoning is not fully understood.

Some say that a fear of bees is often learned rather than innate. For example, it could come from negative experiences, like being badly stung as a kid. Others say that it can develop through social learning, such as seeing a peer’s fear towards them and developing one of your own. That being said, everyone's fears present individually and there is not one known cause for phobias. Moreover, phobias can be treated over time with the proper approach and resources such as positive reinforcement as a child, therapy or even peer support groups.

[5] : Honey Bees at the entrance of the Bee Lab’s observation hive!

As I mentioned before, honeybees are typically non aggressive and only sting for protection. In fact, the only things that tend to push a bee to attack are threats made upon their hive. If bees detect a threat, they often rely on cues like alarm pheromones, large movements, carbon dioxide, hair and dark colors to decide what to sting. This actually makes sense considering that many predators of bees (like bears and skunks) tend to be hairy, dark colored and breathe out carbon dioxide. If presented with these factors within the vicinity of their hive, bees are only attacking to prevent harm upon their colony. The same could be said about our own habits as humans. If something poses a threat to us, our loved ones or our home, we would be expected to lash out in some way as well. Beyond that, however, bees are fairly docile and prefer to live their lives peacefully. Recent studies have even shown that bumblebees like to play and perform tricks (learn more about playful bees here!).

Which brings me to now, where I am working with a research team to study bees, rather than flee from them in fear. Just the other week, I was conducting my first field study and interacting with bees using my bare hands. I was a little bit intimidated going into the experiment, we had only been at the field station once before on a tour, but my research partner and I quickly became comfortable around the colony. After learning how to trap unmarked bees in designated cups, we set off to run the study! By the end of the experiment, I was reaching around bees to pick up artificial flowers and gently swiping them off the ‘wicks.’ It was actually kind of astounding to me how quickly I was able to feel comfortable around the bees. Even though I have come a long way from my early childhood fears and someone asked me if I was the “bug girl” last semester, I wasn’t expecting it to feel so mundane. The bees, it seemed, just wanted to do their thing and I was merely a blip on their radar. There was even an instance as we were driving out of the field station and I noticed one of them was quite literally crawling out of my pant leg, but we just pulled over and gently removed them back into the conservation area.

[6], [7] : Photos from the field experiment we conducted this October. Bees were everywhere!

My main point is that bees, and other insects, are just that: Insects. While they can be scary and threatening, they’re no different than any other creature in nature. They work, play, and go throughout their lives doing their best to avoid danger. It’s no different than what we do as humans and honestly, as my family would often tell me when I was little, they’re probably much more afraid of us than we are of them.

[8]: More bees with artificial flowers from the field experiment, and me in a bee suit!

HMC Bee Lab

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Thursday, December 8, 2022

No Need to Bee Afraid

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