That stinging feeling: Rising mercury, nectar shortages trigger bee attacks

Hindustan Times

19-06-2025

Ravishankar Agarwal, a 70-year-old iron trader known for his punctuality and soft-spoken manner, stepped out of his car on an April morning in Kanpur for a morning walk.
As he fell a few steps behind his companions near the tree-lined flank of the Cantonment area, a furious swarm of bees descended without warning.
Agarwal's death, though sudden, was part of a quiet, unsettling pattern that has emerged across India in recent months.
In just the last three months, bee attacks have surged and three deaths have been reported in Uttar Pradesh. Two of the deaths, including Agarwal's, are from Kanpur.
The month of May alone brought at least six separate attacks across the state.
Among the injured were two Indian Administrative Service officers, and a number of state police services officers in Lalitpur, Bundelkhand.
A number of trainee forest guards in Mirzapur in eastern Uttar Pradesh landed in hospital because of the swarm in May. The bees, it seems, are not distinguishing between farmer or official, morning walker or forester.
The pattern has become so alarming that the Uttar Pradesh government has now proposed adding bee attacks to its list of recognised disasters. In a recent meeting chaired by the state's chief secretary, it was proposed that victims of such attacks would be eligible for compensation under disaster relief provisions—up to ₹4 lakh in the case of death.
According to the proposal, bee attacks will now be treated alongside incidents involving wild animal encounters and house collapses.
Scientists, who study bee behaviour, see the recent aggression not as randomness, but as an ecological warning.
The surge in attacks is directly linked to environmental stress, according to Dr Ankit Upadhyaya, an entomologist at the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur.
'Bees are struggling to find food,' he explained.
'The flowering cycle has been severely disrupted by soaring temperatures and erratic rainfall. With fewer blooms, bees face nectar shortages that leave colonies on edge—starved, hypersensitive and primed for defense,' he said.
The resulting aggression, he noted, is a stressed reaction to scarcity. When hungry hives are disturbed—by pedestrians, by traffic, by construction and by birds – they respond out of instinct for survival. In Kanpur, as in many urban and rural ecosystems, the bees are not just attacking, they're reacting.
The scientists, who work with bees daily in controlled settings, said the signs of distress are not abstract theories but observable shifts.
'We're dealing with domesticated species here—Apis mellifera and Apis cerana—and even they're showing agitation,' said Dr. Upadhaya, who supervises student training at apiary sites in Kanpur.
'Normally, these bees are docile and don't attack. But with the rise in temperatures, they react sharply, especially during feeding. When we offer sugar concentrate, they sometimes swarm aggressively at first, then settle. That spike in hostility wasn't typical before,' he said.
The behaviour is consistent in the field, Upadhyaya added, suggesting that environmental stress is overriding their domesticated temperament.
'Bees are under pressure—and like any species, they adapt under pressure,' explained Dr Akhilesh Singh, an associate professor at Rani Laxmi Bai Central University for Agriculture in Jhansi, who has studied bee behavior extensively across Nagaland and Bundelkhand.
'India hosts four main types of honeybees, but it's Apis dorsata and Apis florea that are inherently more aggressive. Dorsata, in particular, has a strong defensive instinct. It doesn't hesitate—it retaliates, and once provoked, the colony doesn't stop.'
What makes Apis dorsata especially formidable, Singh said, is its use of biochemical signaling during an attack. 'Each sting releases an alarm pheromone—a scent trail that tells the rest of the colony to join in. It's not just one bee defending—it's a cascade.' In such cases, the initial sting isn't the end of the event; it's the beginning of escalation.
Scientists point out that as food becomes scarce, bees are now swarming more often and covering greater distances than before.
'Bees usually forage within a three-kilometre radius of their hive,' explained Dr Upadhaya.
'But when flowers are fewer and nectar runs low, they expand their search—and that increases the chances of encounters with people,' he said.
In many recent cases, the bees weren't defending a hive—they were in transit, unsettled, scanning for food. When hungry swarms feel threatened, even by accident, they respond with immediate aggression.
The incidents in Lalitpur and Sonbhadra, where multiple people were stung, are stark reminders of this pattern.
'You'll notice many of these attacks are happening in areas that are less crowded,' he added.
'That's because the bees are migrating away from depleted zones and passing through quieter, more rural spaces where their movement isn't noticed until it's too late.'
In east UP's Chandauli, a team of engineers came under attack during routine construction. 'Their equipment was causing 'kampan'—tremors or vibrations—which bees are extremely sensitive to,' said Dr Singh. 'To a stressed swarm, even the sound or shake of a drill can feel like a threat,' he said.
Researches have looked at how rising temperatures affect bees—their flight, behaviour and ability to find food—but scientists say much more needs to be studied, especially in India.
'We know heat makes bees more restless. It affects how they fly, how active they are, and how well they can gather nectar,' said Dr Akhilesh Singh.
'But we don't fully understand what happens when this heat stress continues over time—especially in noisy, crowded cities where their natural habitats are already shrinking.' Most of the current studies, he said, come from colder countries where bees face different conditions. 'In India, bees live in much hotter and more unstable environments. Their reactions may be very different—not just stronger, but completely different in nature,' Singh said.
Both he and Dr Upadhaya agreed that India needs long-term research focused on local bee species, across different regions and seasons.
'We're noticing changes, but to understand them clearly, we need more detailed studies. Right now, we're seeing warning signs. What we need is a clearer picture of what's really happening.'
Dr SN Sunil Pandey, a senior weather scientist at the CSA University, said this year's heat began much earlier than usual.
'In March, April, and May, temperatures were already six to eight degrees above normal,' he explained. 'Even when the daytime heat dropped a little later, it stayed high for most of the day. didn't get cooler like they usually do.'
This constant heat, scientists said, has added to the stress on bees and may be one of the reasons why they've become more aggressive.
The impact of heat is showing in flower fields too.
CP Awasthi, district horticulture officer of Kannauj, a region known for using flowers to make itr (traditional perfume), said the rising temperatures have clearly hurt flower production.
'There's definitely been a drop in flower yield,' he said. 'Nectar production is down, and the pollination process has also been affected.'
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, though not officially allowed to speak to the media, echoed this concern. They said bees play a crucial role in pollination, and that role is being disrupted.
'Bees have their own way to cool down—they buzz their wings 1,200 to 1,300 times per minute,' a researcher explained. 'But with constant heat in the air, even that coping mechanism is starting to fail.'
Amid growing concern, scientists are also offering clear advice to the public—especially those venturing into forested or semi-rural areas. 'Avoid wearing strong perfumes or black clothing,' said Dr. Upadhaya.
'Both tend to attract bees. Dark colours can appear threatening to them, and scented products confuse their senses, making them more likely to approach—and possibly attack.'
If a swarm does descend, the most important thing is to remain still. 'Don't swat or wave your arms. Any sudden movement is seen as aggression,' warned Dr. Singh. 'Lie down flat on the ground and stay motionless. Struggling only makes the bees more defensive.'
Using leaves to gently brush off stings, without rubbing the skin, can help reduce the spread of venom. And if there's a water source nearby, take shelter in it—bees typically won't follow into water. 'These are basic steps, but they can be life-saving,' Singh added. 'The key is not to panic. Bees aren't looking to attack—they're reacting to fear.'