Y'know - It really confounds me that bee populations have been declining for years, the "experts" still aren't certain why, and the general public still doesn't know about it. Whenever they see bees, they kill them (if they don't run away). I've seen articles in major newspapers from time to time and I've seen television news segments about it. Yet, the average Joe has no idea that there is a problem.
Maybe I'm a bit over-concerned about it, but I don't think so. Without the bees, we'd be hard-pressed to survive. I get excited everytime I see the honeybees in my garden or anywhere else because it's good to know that they are still here.
I've been stung by many yellowjackets and wasps/hornets. I have yet to be stung by a honeybee. I hold my hand out for them to land on it and watch them crawl around to the amazement of others. I once bagged a recycling bin full of soda cans which was full of a hundred or more honeybees. I was duly careful as they swarmed all around me, but never got stung. When the cans were all bagged, they went elsewhere. They're very docile.
Of course, I know better than to disturb their nests. I also realize that many folks are dangerously allergic to stings. I've even heard the unfortunate horror stories of folks killed by stinging swarms. Still, I see no reason to kill honeybees. A beekeeper or knowledgeable exterminator can relocate them in most cases. The act of killing them creates the most risk to being stung.
Now, if I see a wasp nest in an inconvenient location around the house, I don't hesitate to eradicate them by any means. I'm sure they have their place in the ecosystem, but nobody has educated me about that
