Another beautiful spring is upon us and I just wanted to remind
everyone that the McDowell bee population sends its warmest regards.

If your new to the area bee aware - they strike fast and
swarm quickly when threatened.

If stung, try not to flail too widely, and exit the area as quickly and safely as possible.

I was there a few weeks ago and got stung in the face. The weird thing was that the bee just flew directly to my face and stung. I did nothing to provoke it. I did not even have time to react; there was no warning. It just hit my face and stung. I am looking forward to getting back out to the McDowells, but not looking forward to the bees!

Exactly. Started with one checking me out. Then the pain.

The same thing happened to me on Mt. Lemmon like 18 months ago (mt. lemmon bee attack 8/10/ 2010) and I was stung over 1500 times. I now carry a small head net (sea to summit, $9) cliped to a gear loop on all climbs and belays. Even single pitch sport. If multi- pitching have a "Swarm Specific" escape plan. The better the plan is understood by all involved the faster and calmer/quieter it can be carried out. The verbal communication between a climbing team, especially a frantic one, can and probably will turn a "defencive swarm" into a pissed off stinging frenzy. Hope my advice is never needed, but it seems this type of incident is becoming more common every year. Good luck and safe climbing out there.
-Mackley

Every time I have topped out on Sheepshead in Cochise, there has been a swarm of bees that have buzzed us while signing the summit register (pun intended). Haven't been stung yet, but it has happened twice now on two different trips in different years!