Apiphobia—Fear of Bees—Don’t Bee So Afraid
I had this friend who always flipped out about bees even as an adult. She would scream and flail her arms wildly as she ran around like a maniac. I wasn’t a huge fan of anything that could sting me, but I figured if I left bees alone then they would leave me alone. Plus they are kinda cute…in a way. Who doesn’t love a puffy bumblebee buzzing about the garden?
Apiphobia (also known as melissophobia) is a persistant fear of bees and is prevalent in young children. This can cause avoidance and panic. The fear may stem from a bee sting, so the progression into a fear can be quite natural. However, an excessive and constant fear is considered abnormal.
It’s important to note that bees attack when bothered or squashed and in defense of their hive. Also, if you’re flinging your arms about wildly, the bee sees this as aggressive behavior and may sting you.
Interesting fact: MythBusters co-host, Adam Savage is a well-known apiphobe and his fear has been displayed in many episodes.
Symptoms of Apiphobia
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Restlessness
- Extreme distress—shortness of breath, heavy breathing, sweating
- Avoiding the situation—avoiding bees or avoiding the outdoors
Treatment for Apiphobia
If a bee comes near you, keep calm, take a deep breath and stay still. These tips will decrease your risk of being stung by a bee.
Try reading a book about bees. Then watch a video that shows a colony of bees and think about how their colony works. Once you’re ready, try to go outside and be around bees.
If you’re trying to help your child overcome his fear of bees, show him that you can handle being around bees.
DO NOT try to move or harm bees because you could end up with more problems (plus you should be humane to animals anyway).
–Nolan
Do you have any remedies for a phobia? Comment and tell us about it!
Bees are to bee feared. They even look angry.
I agree with Not Ben.
Plus, what’s always left out of the discussion of apiphobia is that most people are afraid of aggressive stinging insects. Sometimes those are bees, but more often it’s wasps or yellowjackets. That leads the phobic person to generalize to bees as well, irrespective of the level of aggression displayed.
So you can sling the whole adage about “if you don’t bother it, it won’t bother you” till you’re blue in the face, but the fact is, most of the time, it’s just not true. There are plenty of aggressive stinging insects out there, and they should be feared and avoided.
Feared? Yes. Avoided? No. I hunt down all bees in or around my house with extreme vengence. I encourage all to do the same.
Bees are great for your flowers and usually do leave you alone. When is the last time you had one come up to you and sting you. They just want to get pollen, not sting up your arm.
Wasps on the other hand… yeah, I fear those.
Bee’s SUCK. My grandfather’s allergic to them. They’re his kryptonite. I find a bee, I kill it. I kill it hard.
One sneaked inside my Coke can when i was little and it stung the inside of my mouth. It’s been revenge time ever sense - not that i don’t respect mother nature and all.
HATE EM HATE EM HATE EM!!!!!!!
ok so this whole apiphobia for me started when we were at a church gathering and a boy knocked over a recliner outside when saying a prayer. i got stung several times at my neck and seized the prayer. now all i will do is run and scream, even in public.