Why are there so many bees in Napa/Sonoma?

August 29, 2011 10:54 AM

Why are there so many bees in Napa/Sonoma?

I was on a trip to Napa and Sonoma this weekend. It was wonderful with one exception - the BEES! Every time I tried to eat or drink outside, I would be swarmed with bees within 5 minutes. It was incredibly annoying for everyone involved, having to shoo away a bee without trying to get stung seemingly every two seconds. This wasn't just at one location - it was at wineries, outdoor patios of restaurants, the deck of a friend's home. I live in Los Angeles and I have never experienced that level of annoyance with bees. Is it just the time of year? Is there a different time of year to visit where the bees may not be as prevalent?

posted by emily37 to Science & Nature (13 answers total)

Were they bees or yellowjackets?
posted by kdar at 10:59 AM on August 29, 2011

I think it's more a difference between city and country. If you're used to being in LA all the time, you're usually in a pretty urbanized environment that isn't very bee-friendly. On the other hand, Napa/Sonoma is agriculturally based and much more rural (mostly). Bees like it there. There are probably fewer active bees in winter when there's not much for them to pollinate but things are pretty ripe around there right now. For what it's worth, I was about an hour northwest of you this weekend in the Anderson Valley and there were a lot of bees there, too.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 11:02 AM on August 29, 2011

they looked like regular honey bees but there were definitely some yellow jackets around too...
posted by emily37 at 11:02 AM on August 29, 2011

I lived in Napa for 25 years. I have so many bee, yellowjacket and wasp stories it's not even funny. If it's any comfort, the makers of the Epipen (Dey Labs) is located in Napa.

In sum, it's not just you, there's just a lot of the flying, stinging critters about. Especially as compared to LA.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:24 AM on August 29, 2011

This is a good thing!!! Bees pollinate. If there weren't bees at the wineries, I'd be worried.

On preview, what otherworldlyglow said.
posted by Sophie1 at 11:32 AM on August 29, 2011

Bee populations have been plummeting worldwide -- maybe you're just seeing normal in Napa, vs. extinction in LA.
posted by yarly at 11:40 AM on August 29, 2011

This is a good thing!!! Bees pollinate. If there weren't bees at the wineries, I'd be worried.

Grapes do not depend on pees for pollination.
posted by jedicus at 12:02 PM on August 29, 2011

It's not that there are so many bees in Napa / Sonoma...it's rather that there are so few in Los Angeles due to its hyper-urban status. We took a pristine wilderness paradise and essentially covered the whole thing in concrete, creating a biological dead zone called a city. If you hike around the San Gabriel Mountains to the North you will certainly experience more bees...likewise the further you get outside the city limits. It is quite easy to assume this is how it must have always been around here, but historically, Los Angeles used to be a biological / wildlife paradise. It was even one of the great strongholds of the California Grizzly Bear up until the 1880s and even 1890s. Hard to believe that when walking around LA now...
posted by jnnla at 1:09 PM on August 29, 2011

When my grandparents were young Napa was filled with fruit orchards and family farms. I live in Napa Valley and know of quite a few people in my town who keep bees. There is a class at the art center on bee keeping. There is even an airstream trailer that is a bee learning museum that travels around the valley! Also, nearly every house in town has lavender and other bee friendly plants growing. We always have to conserve water so lawns are discouraged. My neighbor has a "lawn" of lavender in the front, you can hear the buzz from my front porch! My town (St Helena) even sends around info on bee and butterfly attracting landscaping. I think maybe we just like bees!
posted by Swisstine at 1:12 PM on August 29, 2011

Yikes! Any tips for keeping them away while you're trying to eat and drink? I have no problem with bees and their place in the ecological world, but man can they be a nuisance when you're trying to enjoy a meal outside!
posted by emily37 at 1:33 PM on August 29, 2011

Bees are attracted to things that might be flowers. Avoid wearing red, pink, orange, and to a lesser extent any bright colors. Certainly no floral prints. No perfume or scented things. No plastic flowers or real flowers either.

Yellowjackets will land on your plate and start eating if you have meat or fish. Go vegetarian if you're getting a lot of them.

There's no point in shoeing the bees away if you are sitting outside. It makes them more likely to sting. Be careful not to sit on top of one though.
posted by yohko at 2:50 PM on August 29, 2011

It's counterintuitive, but don't shoo them away unless they're on something you're eating that moment. It's a lot less effort. I'd you're trying to keep them away from your table, it's not going to happen. After a few minutes you get used to them buzzing around you and landing on whatever you aren't currently eating.

As for yellowjackets, it can be helpful to put decoy meat down on the table for them, but they eat FAST. This also arguably encourages more of them to come over, but I've never seen a huge increase and they won't stop landing on what you are eating otherwise; it seems the choices are to share or go inside.
posted by Nattie at 5:51 PM on August 29, 2011

Put decoy meat away from where you are eating. Also, you can put it partially-submerged in some soapy water to really slow them down.
posted by Four Flavors at 1:51 PM on August 30, 2011