Fear of bees (or of bee stings), technically known as melissophobia (from Ancient Greek: μέλισσα, melissa, "honey bee" + , Ancient Greek: φόβος, phobos, "fear") or apiphobia (from Latin: apis for "honey bee" + Ancient Greek: φόβος, phobos, "fear"), is one of the common fears among people and is a kind of specific phobia. It is similar to fear of wasps (which is often called spheksophobia). Both are types of entomophobia, which is itself a category of zoophobia.
Fear of bees
Other names
Apiphobia Melissophobia
Honeybees are relatively docile, particularly when pacified with smoke or other methods, although even experienced beekeepers will typically wear protective gear to avoid painful stings
Most people have been stung by a bee or had friends or family members stung. A child may fall victim by treading on a bee while playing outside. The sting can be quite painful and in some individuals results in swelling that may last for several days and can also provoke allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis.
Ordinary (non-phobic) fear of bees in adults is generally associated with lack of knowledge. The general public is not aware that bees attack in defense of their hive, or when accidentally squashed, and an occasional bee in a field presents no danger.[1] Moreover, the majority of insect stings in the United States are attributed to yellowjacket wasps, which are often mistaken for a honeybee.[2]
Unreasonable fear of bees in humans may also have a detrimental effect on ecology. Bees are important pollinators, and when, in their fear, people destroy wild colonies of bees, they contribute to environmental damage and may also be the cause of the disappearing bees.[3]
A widespread fear of bees has been triggered by rumors about "killer bees". In particular, the Africanized honeybee (AHB) is widely feared by the American public, a reaction that has been amplified by sensationalist movies and some media reports. Stings from Africanized bees kill one to two people per year in the United States,[4] a rate that makes them less dangerous than venomoussnakes, particularly since, unlike venomous snakes, they are found only in a small portion of the country.[5]
As the bees spread through Florida, a densely populated state, officials worry that public fear may force misguided efforts to combat them. The Florida African Bee Action Plan states,
News reports of mass stinging attacks will promote concern and in some cases panic and anxiety, and cause citizens to demand responsible agencies and organizations to take action to help ensure their safety. We anticipate increased pressure from the public to ban beekeeping in urban and suburban areas. This action would be counter-productive. Beekeepers maintaining managed colonies of domestic European bees are our best defense against an area becoming saturated with AHB. These managed bees are filling an ecological niche that would soon be occupied by less desirable colonies if it were vacant."[6]
Treatmentedit
Exposure therapy has been proven as an effective treatment for people who have a fear of bees. It is recommended that people place themselves in a comfortable open environment, such as a park or garden, and gradually over a prolonged period of time move closer to the bees.
Using a camera or smartphone to photograph bees has also been shown to be helpful; as viewing the bees remotely (via a screen) provides a comfortable way to build up confidence. Over time, people may also find themselves moving closer to the bees to get better pictures.[7]
This process should not be rushed, it may take many months spent watching bees before people feel comfortable in their presence.
Learning about bees also helps build up an understanding of their ecology, rationalise the fear and appreciate that they do not want to sting people. A recommended way of overcoming child's fear of bees is training to face fears (a common approach for treating specific phobias);[8] programs vary.
fear, bees, stings, technically, known, melissophobia, from, ancient, greek, μέλισσα, melissa, honey, ancient, greek, φόβος, phobos, fear, apiphobia, from, latin, apis, honey, ancient, greek, φόβος, phobos, fear, common, fears, among, people, kind, specific, p. Fear of bees or of bee stings technically known as melissophobia from Ancient Greek melissa melissa honey bee Ancient Greek fobos phobos fear or apiphobia from Latin apis for honey bee Ancient Greek fobos phobos fear is one of the common fears among people and is a kind of specific phobia It is similar to fear of wasps which is often called spheksophobia Both are types of entomophobia which is itself a category of zoophobia Fear of beesOther namesApiphobia MelissophobiaHoneybees are relatively docile particularly when pacified with smoke or other methods although even experienced beekeepers will typically wear protective gear to avoid painful stingsSpecialtyPsychiatryTreatmentExposureMost people have been stung by a bee or had friends or family members stung A child may fall victim by treading on a bee while playing outside The sting can be quite painful and in some individuals results in swelling that may last for several days and can also provoke allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis Ordinary non phobic fear of bees in adults is generally associated with lack of knowledge The general public is not aware that bees attack in defense of their hive or when accidentally squashed and an occasional bee in a field presents no danger 1 Moreover the majority of insect stings in the United States are attributed to yellowjacket wasps which are often mistaken for a honeybee 2 Unreasonable fear of bees in humans may also have a detrimental effect on ecology Bees are important pollinators and when in their fear people destroy wild colonies of bees they contribute to environmental damage and may also be the cause of the disappearing bees 3 Contents 1 Africanized honey bees 2 Treatment 3 See also 4 NotesAfricanized honey bees editA widespread fear of bees has been triggered by rumors about killer bees In particular the Africanized honeybee AHB is widely feared by the American public a reaction that has been amplified by sensationalist movies and some media reports Stings from Africanized bees kill one to two people per year in the United States 4 a rate that makes them less dangerous than venomous snakes particularly since unlike venomous snakes they are found only in a small portion of the country 5 nbsp As the bees spread through Florida a densely populated state officials worry that public fear may force misguided efforts to combat them The Florida African Bee Action Plan states News reports of mass stinging attacks will promote concern and in some cases panic and anxiety and cause citizens to demand responsible agencies and organizations to take action to help ensure their safety We anticipate increased pressure from the public to ban beekeeping in urban and suburban areas This action would be counter productive Beekeepers maintaining managed colonies of domestic European bees are our best defense against an area becoming saturated with AHB These managed bees are filling an ecological niche that would soon be occupied by less desirable colonies if it were vacant 6 Treatment editExposure therapy has been proven as an effective treatment for people who have a fear of bees It is recommended that people place themselves in a comfortable open environment such as a park or garden and gradually over a prolonged period of time move closer to the bees Using a camera or smartphone to photograph bees has also been shown to be helpful as viewing the bees remotely via a screen provides a comfortable way to build up confidence Over time people may also find themselves moving closer to the bees to get better pictures 7 This process should not be rushed it may take many months spent watching bees before people feel comfortable in their presence Learning about bees also helps build up an understanding of their ecology rationalise the fear and appreciate that they do not want to sting people A recommended way of overcoming child s fear of bees is training to face fears a common approach for treating specific phobias 8 programs vary See also editList of phobiasNotes edit Where are the Bees Archived 2007 07 02 at the Wayback Machine a transcript from Impact Television a weekly TV series by University of Florida Bee or Yellow Jacket Stings Archived 2006 12 13 at the Wayback Machine a hospital advise The Birds the Bees and the Flying Foxes Pollinators in Jeopardy PDF Holt Rinehart Winston Retrieved 22 March 2014 Warner Amanda Beekeepers warn of summer threat Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group Archived from the original on 14 July 2011 Retrieved 22 March 2014 Bee Keeping Bee Busters 2014 retrieved March 22 2014 Florida African Bee Action Plan Archived 2007 07 01 at the Wayback Machine by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Moore L J Kosut M 2014 Among the colony Ethnographic fieldwork urban bees and intra species mindfulness Ethnography 15 4 516 53 doi 10 1177 1466138113505022 Fighting children s fears fast from Monitor on Psychology Volume 36 No 7 2005 by American Psychological Association 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