Got attacked by a swarm of bees today!

hpilot · May 25, 2020

BassNasty said:
I was playing around with RTH accuracy just a bit ago while my daughter swam and I realized the MA2 had a swarm of bees around it! Has anyone experienced this before?

I did not expect to see what I did once my drone landed.

Here are a few pics. After reviewing the SD card you can clearly see them swarming it. I didn't know what to do but land asap.

I had the same thing happen with some large insects. They stayed with the drone all the way to 400 ft. I think they are attracted to the sound.

PAW · May 26, 2020

Why do bees buzz?
You'd be buzzing mad too if someone took your honey and neck'd her.

I know, old joke from junior high...

Zee_Bass · May 26, 2020

Here is a very short clip of the instant I realized I was being swarmed. I have a lot more video if requested just have to dig through an edit something together.

EDIT: Full clip being uploaded now. Will post when done.

Zee_Bass · May 26, 2020

Full Clip

Lionfish · May 26, 2020

Howdy .
My wife and I have a modest honeybee ranch here in Alberta .
We have had bees for quite a few years now .
I would agree with the honeybee theory but not so much on the swarm or queen and drone one .

From first hand experience with a Parrot Anafi ( that was before I realized DJI was the way to go ) , .
One day I was out flying and decided to take some hive pictures for my wife for the seminars she does.

Well I was about 200 meters away from the drone I flew up and over one group of hives and took a few shots from directly above .
I walked closer with the idea of taking some shots closer and more at eye level .
As I got nearer I could hear a ticking noise from the drone, and I was about to land and figure out the noise when I saw it totally surrounded by honeybees , so the ticking noise was the bee guts and bodily fluids hitting the props .

Well I decided the best choice was to run , and send the drone home RTH .
Well after a 250m run which I’m not accustomed to my Anafi landed and it was thick with bee smoothie, there was still a few bees still intent on killing the evil drone .

So my theory on this is that the whine of the motors and or the spinning props must sound like a very real threat to the bees .when the Anafi was close to the hive they went all out to protect their home, queen, young and food stores .

So I believe that the sound from our flying machines is the problem.
I’m not sure if it would be possible to compare the two noises to see how close our drones match the sound of known bee enemies.

Oh last thing don’t worry about the bees that were killed , there most probably not that many killed and at this time of year the hives have more bees than you can imagine a standard hive can have forty to sixty thousand bees at this time of year and every day hundreds more are hatching .

Zee_Bass · May 26, 2020

Lionfish said:
Howdy .
My wife and I have a modest honeybee ranch here in Alberta .
We have had bees for quite a few years now .
I would agree with the honeybee theory but not so much on the swarm or queen and drone one .

From first hand experience with a Parrot Anafi ( that was before I realized DJI was the way to go ) , .
One day I was out flying and decided to take some hive pictures for my wife for the seminars she does.

Well I was about 200 meters away from the drone I flew up and over one group of hives and took a few shots from directly above .
I walked closer with the idea of taking some shots closer and more at eye level .
As I got nearer I could hear a ticking noise from the drone, and I was about to land and figure out the noise when I saw it totally surrounded by honeybees , so the ticking noise was the bee guts and bodily fluids hitting the props .

Well I decided the best choice was to run , and send the drone home RTH .
Well after a 250m run which I’m not accustomed to my Anafi landed and it was thick with bee smoothie, there was still a few bees still intent on killing the evil drone .

So my theory on this is that the whine of the motors and or the spinning props must sound like a very real threat to the bees .when the Anafi was close to the hive they went all out to protect their home, queen, young and food stores .

So I believe that the sound from our flying machines is the problem.
I’m not sure if it would be possible to compare the two noises to see how close our drones match the sound of known bee enemies.

Oh last thing don’t worry about the bees that were killed , there most probably not that many killed and at this time of year the hives have more bees than you can imagine a standard hive can have forty to sixty thousand bees at this time of year and every day hundreds more are hatching .

Yeah I wish I knew how I attracted them or if I somehow flew near a nest when gaining altitude out of my neighborhood. I'm paranoid now when flying because I don't want to have to clean that mess up again!

Bledsoe1qb · May 30, 2020

Wow!! Looks like they got their butts whipped by Mr Mavic

CAG · May 30, 2020

Most honey bees in this part of the country are a hybrid of the European and the African honey bee. They react much different to anything they believe is an invasion and do so with a major swarm. You cannot out run them and they will wait for you if you jump in the water or inside cover.

Joe4flight · May 30, 2020

BassNasty said:
Just about got it cleaned up. Props came back perfect after scrubbing with some IPA.

Edit: Isopropyl alcohol not
Indian pale ale lol
Very funny! I was also wondering why you used an IPA Beer to clean your props. IPA’s are my favorite beers!

Earthman · May 30, 2020

WobblingWillie said:
They were probably yellow jackets. They swarm and attack if agitated for any reason.

I agree that it was more likely Yellow Jackets.

Off topic, but I hate when people call every stinging insect they see a “bee.” Except for the Africanized Bees, bees are generally beneficial and are not aggressive unless you are disturbing their hive or you step on them.

You can kill an unwanted nest of stinging insects without drama by sprinkling a teaspoon of boric acid in or around the entrance to their nest in such a way that they have to walk thru the white powder. Or, you can squirt a little boric acid into the nest using a squeeze bottle. It is safest to do either of these at night and/or when it is cold. Boric acid is the active ingredient in the insecticide marketed for killing silverfish and other crawling insects in your home. You can buy this stuff at at Home Depot, etc. for a few dollars, so there is no need to risk your expensive drone.

Zee_Bass · May 30, 2020

Earthman said:
I agree that it was more likely Yellow Jackets.

Off topic, but I hate when people call every stinging insect they see a “bee.” Except for the Africanized Bees, bees are generally beneficial and are not aggressive unless you are disturbing their hive or you step on them.

You can kill an unwanted nest of stinging insects without drama by sprinkling a teaspoon of boric acid in or around the entrance to their nest in such a way that they have to walk thru the white powder. Or, you can squirt a little boric acid into the nest using a squeeze bottle. It is safest to do either of these at night and/or when it is cold. Boric acid is the active ingredient in the insecticide marketed for killing silverfish and other crawling insects in your home. You can buy this stuff at at Home Depot, etc. for a few dollars, so there is no need to risk your expensive drone.

I've used boric acid in the past for ants and it was highly effective.

Also, see the picture I posted or the dead bees from my driveway. Confirmed honey bees.

OldBlueHeron · May 30, 2020

I feel bad for the honey bees and I still love my Anafi.

DanaMc · May 30, 2020

BassNasty said:
I was playing around with RTH accuracy just a bit ago while my daughter swam and I realized the MA2 had a swarm of bees around it! Has anyone experienced this before?

I did not expect to see what I did once my drone landed.

Here are a few pics. After reviewing the SD card you can clearly see them swarming it. I didn't know what to do but land asap.

Bees lose every time. I’ve seen video where a drone was used to flush them out of a nest and eliminate them. Quite effective.

pescobar61 · May 30, 2020

Docwatt said:
Happened to me with my MMini in Melbourne....was carnage (for the bees!) and messy for the Mini. Had a good video clip but couldnt work out how to upload it here? Hope this works!
https://youtu.be/Ep6J7DQLK7w

Nobody can watch your video because is private access.

kamidoko1974 · May 30, 2020

It happened to me with wasps...

Ray Dunakin · May 30, 2020

There's also a slight chance they might have been the "Africanized" bees, which are known to be aggressive and attack noise sources.

mavicn00b · May 30, 2020

The bees are no match for the Chinese Robo-bee ?

filgerm · May 30, 2020

I would have expected the bees to swarm a loud Mavic Air instead of the quieter Mavic Air 2 - which I'm saving up to get. Just sold the Mavic Air! Cheers!

Flytelandon · May 30, 2020

GadgetGuy said:
There is a YT video of a guy using a Mavic Pro to destroy a wasp nest under the eaves of his two story house, by using it as a chainsaw, to cut into, and slowly chew up the hive! Works well!

Seen that, chopped away at it

HOG2K · May 30, 2020

BassNasty said:
I was playing around with RTH accuracy just a bit ago while my daughter swam and I realized the MA2 had a swarm of bees around it! Has anyone experienced this before?

I did not expect to see what I did once my drone landed.

Here are a few pics. After reviewing the SD card you can clearly see them swarming it. I didn't know what to do but land asap.

WOW!! Wife and I are sitting here in bed watching the news when I read this, she said it must be matting season lol. Heck of a way to go... did you get some good video of them attacking it?