On Thu, 22 Jun 1995, Paul van Westendorp 576-5600 Fax: 576-5652 wrote:
 
>     Gentlemen,
>
>     I think there is no need to call the man with the hair gel an idiot or the
>     bees that were attracted, unacceptably aggressive.
>
>     If we ignore the sensational tone of the newsreport (and accept the reported
>     bee behavior as factual), it is interesting that some odor caused the bees
>     to behave the way they did.  The question would be to determine the exact
>     nature of this odor and what kind of possibilities substances like these
>     could offer in controlling bee behavior.
>
>     Paul van Westendorp                         [log in to unmask]
>     Provincial Apiarist
>     British Columbia
 
I had  similar situation a few years ago.  A young man, Pat was working
for me and he was often driven out of the bee yard by the intensity of
the attacking bees around his head and shoulders.  Meanwhile, no one else
had any difficulty at all.  We tried different veils and making certain
that he came to work with clean hair and do scents sprayed on his hair or
body.  Nothing worked until I asked him to use no shampoo.
 
That was it.  The shampoo he was using was called 'Wild Strawberry' or
something similar and it drove the bees mad.  He changed his shampoo and
the problem went away.
 
Eric Abell                           email: [log in to unmask]
Gibbons, AB, T0A 1N0
Canada
(403) 998 3143
 
>