The Projects boulders/crags- BEES

Just a heads up, Rhino boulder (the Projects boulders/crags near Superior AZ) has a very large bee hive in what would be the ass of the rhino boulder. I've seen hundreds of bees flying in and out of the hive to the saguaros and would hate for someone to stumble into it.
Also, there is a security guard at the road construction site on highway 177. He watched us through binoculars and was possibly taking pictures of us, must be bored.

The hive is in a hole just left of the second bolt on 5.8 Cool Whip. Usually this hive spot is only occupied in the fall but for some reason the bees are still there. Possibly a killer bee hive moved in. We spent the day bouldering on the Rhino and had no bee trouble. Climbing the Rhino routes may be a different story.

Rock on!

Marty

i have a degree in biology, so please listen to this:

africanized bees that are stuck in a rhino's ass are really really pissed off all the time. be careful out there.

You would think that the rhino would bee the one having the issues.

Marty

Geir Hundal wrote: africanized bees that are stuck in a rhino's ass are really really pissed off all the time.

Now that's fu*king funny!!

So are you guys going to do something to get rid of them, or is that not cool? Just wondering, we have a similar bee problem at a local crag. Hive just keeps getting bigger and bigger, kind of sucks.

My greatest climbing fall was due to a bee attack. In Lower Devils Canyon AZ I was climbing a route named Free Willy. The route has a few bolts on it but I decided to Free the route with trad gear only. As I topped out on the route getting ready to clip the anchor bolts, I looked 10' in front of me as a massive bee hive came after me. I mean every bee like millions. I frantically yelled "dirt me" "dirt me" to my belayer as I, without a thought, jumped off of the pinnacle. My belayer said he added 20' of rope to the fall before the catch. I never clipped the anchor bolts, blew my only two cams on the upper runout face and finally stopped falling landing me in a chimney near the start of the route. I fell 70-80'and never knew I was falling. I just kept smacking my hair trying to kill the bees that were still stuck in it. We both looked up at the top of the route and the mass of bees looked like a black cloud. I walked away with only two stings and a few scratches. Kinda scary!
Bees are a tough subject especially in AZ. In most cases you are dealing with killer bees. Just spraying the bees can kill many of them but that queen bee is the one that has to be killed to get rid of the hive. I have had too many close calls with bee situations that if I see bees, I go further away. There is always other stuff to be climbed. However I keep my hopes up that somebody will do the bee removal job someday. The biggest bee hive I have seen was a swarm in the Superstition Mtns that was so thick it shadowed the ground, so figure it was as large as a shopping mall. The noise sounded like a train was going by.

Bee careful out there!

Rock on! Marty

I haven't had any problem yet with these bees, they seem to be just after the saguaro flowers for now. We bouldered and TR'd, just away from the hive, w/o any problems. I don't think there is a need to kill the hive, they seem pretty chill for now. There were nesting birds near that area of the boulder anyways (maybe gone now), people should just keep some distance.

Wow, crazy story Marty! Better bee careful out there!

Yeh its bee season - Saw a swarm on Tom Thumb - moving in a cloud around a queen -
There is a swarm on the top of the chimney next to Black Death on Sven Slab too... Got stung repeatedly!

Bee Safe LOL

amazing story marty!!!

having done some technical ropework with exterminators around here, i'd suggest staying far away from any known hive. my understanding is that almost all the honeybees around here are now africanized. the exterminators i was working with (friends of mine) are quite seasoned and i trust their judgment; they indicated that these bees are prone to attack without provocation. please be cautious and sensible out there.

Shiloh wrote:Yeh its bee season - Saw a swarm on Tom Thumb - moving in a cloud around a queen - There is a swarm on the top of the chimney next to Black Death on Sven Slab too.. Got stung repeatedly! Bee Safe LOL

There has been a hive just below the overhanging of Over The Hill for ever. This route sits just around the corner and up above Black Death. Most likely that same crack on BD travels back there. The hive was empty one winter when I was up there. I took a look and there was all kinds of honey and crap ozzing out of the cracks. Most likely that entrance is all cloged up and they are coming through the top of Black Death now.

So if they're "Africanized", can I lay waste to them with an M80 or something? Not sure if ours are, how can you tell?

Glenn Schuler wrote:So if they're "Africanized", can I lay waste to them with an M80 or something? Not sure if ours are, how can you tell?

Had a bee keeper come to remove a hive from my neighbors and he said the they are pretty much all Africanized now.

Hey folks-

Before removing any bees, let's check with the locals to see what they'd like to do. Some of the old timers like Marty, Manny, Greg, etc should probably be consulted. If the consensus seems to be for removal, let's hire someone to do the job right and neatly.

Having bees removed from your house is one thing. Having them removed from their natural environment completely something different(lame IMO). Sure it sucks to lose climbing to anything, bees, birds nesting, housing development, mining. Things of the nature of the last two we might have some say in. Bees perform an important function in our world. Their numbers are decreasing at alarming rates for some unknown reason which could impact how we live greatly. How about we let each other know of the danger and just simply stay away from the hive. I think this was the original intent of this thread. This is how we always dealt with Bee Gee at Pinnacle Peak over the last 3 decades. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE RIGHTS TO THE ROCKS THAN OTHER ANIMALS.

Chris Bastek wrote:Having bees removed from your house is one thing. Having them removed from their natural environment completely something different(lame IMO). Sure it sucks to lose climbing to anything, bees, birds nesting, housing development, mining. Things of the nature of the last two we might have some say in. Bees perform an important function in our world. Their numbers are decreasing at alarming rates for some unknown reason which could impact how we live greatly. How about we let each other know of the danger and just simply stay away from the hive. I think this was the original intent of this thread. This is how we always dealt with Bee Gee at Pinnacle Peak over the last 3 decades. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE RIGHTS TO THE ROCKS THAN OTHER ANIMALS.

As many of you know, I'm highly allergic to bees... but I'm with Chris on this one. Bees are paramount to the health of the desert. We shouldn't go removing things just because we don't like them.

I'm with Chris and Eddie on this one. Bees are found nearly everywhere we climb. They are still on Camelback where people are still attacked (Hart Route). The Welcome Wall in Homestead has a hive next to it. I've climbed near both hives and not been stung. Just move quietly and don't kill even one. Even then you are lucky if you are not attacked. The best thing is to keep your distance and boulder/climb further away. Wait til the coldest days around and it may go then. Have fun and stay vigilant.

manuel rangel wrote:I'm with Chris and Eddie on this one. Bees are found nearly everywhere we climb. They are still on Camelback where people are still attacked (Hart Route). The Welcome Wall in Homestead has a hive next to it. I've climbed near both hives and not been stung. Just move quietly and don't kill even one. Even then you are lucky if you are not attacked. The best thing is to keep your distance and boulder/climb further away. Wait til the coldest days around and it may go then. Have fun and stay vigilant.

i agree. although i don't boulder in this particular area, i think a good general rule for climbers is to respect the wildlife. as eddie intelligently pointed out, why should we have a greater right to the boulder than the bees?

if you are absolutely intent at climbing/bouldering near known hives, consider manny's advice and climb there on the coldest days. this may not eliminate the risk of being attacked, but should reduce it.

Chris Bastek wrote:Having bees removed from your house is one thing. Having them removed from their natural environment completely something different(lame IMO). Sure it sucks to lose climbing to anything, bees, birds nesting, housing development, mining. Things of the nature of the last two we might have some say in. Bees perform an important function in our world. Their numbers are decreasing at alarming rates for some unknown reason which could impact how we live greatly. How about we let each other know of the danger and just simply stay away from the hive. I think this was the original intent of this thread. This is how we always dealt with Bee Gee at Pinnacle Peak over the last 3 decades. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE RIGHTS TO THE ROCKS THAN OTHER ANIMALS.

Ditto! And a note to whoever the jackass is that has taken to spraying yellow expando-foam into the hives at the Homestead: KNOCK IT OFF!

Brigette wrote: Ditto! And a note to whoever the jackass is that has taken to spraying yellow expando-foam into the hives at the Homestead: KNOCK IT OFF!

you call them a Jackass...I would call them a Hero,

David Stephens wrote: you call them a Jackass...I would call them a Hero,

Really?

WOW!