Honybees on top of the Ritz Carlton (Charlotte: hotel, house)

[bs13690]

Am I crazy in thinking that I don't want to stay in this hotel for fear of being stung repeatedly?

120,000 honeybees buzz atop Ritz-Carlton - CharlotteObserver.com (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/22/1390920/hive-rise-living-atop-the-ritz.html - broken link)

[brokensky]

Honey bees are NOT aggressive! Have you never spent time around hives? You have nothing to fear at all. This is a super idea and very forward-thinking (and environmentally conscious) of Ritz's management.

Truly, you have nothing to be concerned about. Bees are all around us. They are going about their business - and unless you crash a hive, they are not gonna bother you. Really!

[coastalgirl]

I think it's fantastic! We planned our flower garden to attract bees of all types. It's important to encourage bee population growth or we are all out of luck! (you do like to eat, right BS?)

[BxRosie]

That's pretty cool!!

[eman1200]

Holy @#$(!!

BEES!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

what I want to know is, who counted them all?

[DaddySpice]

Is there really enough greenery in the Ritz's neighborhood to support a couple of beehives?. Wouldn't the bee colonies be better used on a farm that needs them to pollenize crops? I think this is just a little publicity stunt to pay some lip service to "being green."

[bs13690]

@Ani, I don't know much in the way of Apiology. I assumed that all bees sting. Two things I remember learning about bees in my lifetime:

1. They were disappearing at some point which I was told was the end of the world as we know it.
2. When I was a kid, we were told killer bees were supposed to come up to Pennsylvania and kill us all. That Michael Caine movie didn't disabuse me from this notion and I spent many summers avoiding bees altogether. Africanized bee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[cmhousesearch]

Even though they normally aren't aggressive, those who are allergic to bees know that it just takes one "unhappy" bee to cause a severe allergic reaction.

It is kinda a wild idea though--I enjoyed the article in the paper today.

[brokensky]

Originally Posted by bs13690

@Ani, I don't know much in the way of Apiology. I assumed that all bees sting. Two things I remember learning about bees in my lifetime:

1. They were disappearing at some point which I was told was the end of the world as we know it.
2. When I was a kid, we were told killer bees were supposed to come up to Pennsylvania and kill us all. That Michael Caine movie didn't disabuse me from this notion and I spent many summers avoiding bees altogether. Africanized bee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HEE HEE. Well, I had a granddaddy who was a beekeeper. Had 70-some hives, so I grew up around them. Loved those bees!

Typically, they fly high above us and aren't bothering us unless we tangle with 'em. Usually, what stings us would be yellow jackets and hornets, not honey bees.

And those killer bees (Africans)- they scare the bejeebers out of me. They can, indeed, mate w/ "good" honeybees and Africanize the whole colony, wh/ is a horrific thing, indeed.

In ages past, folks regularly kept a hive or two in their gardens - even gardens around the house - as honeybees pollinate flowers while gathering nectar. So if you want beautiful flowers, you need to attract honeybees.

I plant many different flowers/bushes to attract bees and have never been stung by a honeybee in my life, except on two occasions. Once, when I inadvertently stepped on several and once when I messed with my granddaddy's bee hive. That was a very bad thing, for sure.

[Whytewulf]

Hey, bees are people too!