[Cynthia Frederick]

Thanks. So . . . if someone sees a swarm, how do they know that a neighboring keeper is responsible? I know, if someone has a hive they may get blamed, but how would they prove it wasn’t their hive responsible? Or how would the sting-ee prove that it WAS? I see feral swarms pretty frequently . . . but it would never occur to me that they had come from a neighbor’s managed hive.

[Cynthia Frederick]

Hi! I’m a new-bee, no bees of my own and no knowledge of beekeeping yet . . . but as a concerned citizen, I wonder –
Aren’t the odds of getting stung the same whether the bee is feral or “kept”? And aside from proper hive management, a beekeeper can’t exactly control the actions of her bees while they’re at work, so liability would have to be very limited . . . as long as the keeper has been properly trained about how to minimize the danger to others, and can prove that she is doing so, the code would have to make it clear that the average sting is an act of god, or something . . .
I don’t know if my comments are useful or not – I’m asking questions as much as making statements. I’m trying to learn all I can . . .
If I were stung by a bee, anywhere, my first thought would not be “Whose bee was THAT!” Perhaps, if any form of formalized bee code is adopted, it could include tracking by the health department of reported stings, to address whether or not the public is really any more at risk from legal hives as they would be from feral or under-the-radar hives. Maybe establish a two year trial period to determine whether or not the perceived risk of injury is real?

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