70 -year -old Iron Trader, Ravi Shankar Aggarwal, who is known for his time ban and soft -spoken manner, stepped out of his car on the morning of April 1 in Kanpur for a morning walk.
When he fell a few steps behind his peers near the cantonment area’s trees and integrated flanks, a fierce herd of bees landed without warning.
Agarwal, dressed in light cotton, fell on the road in the form of stings. By the time he was taken to a nearby military hospital, the man, who was killed for decades of decades of decades of trade cycles and industrial heart of Uttar Pradesh, was declared dead.
Agarwal’s death, although suddenly, was part of a calm, unstable pattern that has emerged across India in recent months.
In the last three months, bee attacks have increased and three deaths have occurred in Uttar Pradesh. Two deaths including Aggarwal are from Kanpur.
The month of May brought at least six different attacks across the state alone.
The injured were two Indian Administrative Service Officers, and several state police service officers in Lalitpur, Bundelkhand.
Several trainee forest guards in Mirzapur in eastern Uttar Pradesh landed in the hospital in May. Bees, it seems, farmers or official, not distinguishing between a morning walker or forester.
The pattern has become so worrisome that the Uttar Pradesh government has now proposed to add bee attacks to its list of recognized disasters. In a recent meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary of the state, it was proposed that the victims of such attacks would be eligible for compensation under the disaster relief provisions- 4 lakhs in case of death.
According to the proposal, bee attacks will now be treated with wild animal encounters and house collapsing events.
Scientists, who study bee behavior, see recent aggression not as random, but as an ecological warning.
Chandra Shekhar Azad University’s Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, an Antomologist Dr. According to Ankit Upadhyay, the increase in attacks is directly associated with environmental stress.
“Bees are struggling to find food,” they explained.
He said, “The cycle of flowers is severely interrupted with temperature and irregular rainfall. With low bloom, bees have to face lack of nectar that leaves the colonies on the shore – to protect, hypersensitive and primed,” he said.
As a result, aggression, he said, is a stressful reaction to the scatter. When hungry hives are disturbed – by pedestrians, by traffic, by construction and by birds – they respond out of instinct for survival. In Kanpur, like many urban and rural ecosystems, bees are not just attacking, they are reacting.
Scientists, who work with daily bees in controlled settings, stated that the signs of crisis are not abstract principles, but observable changes.
“We are working here with pet species – Apis Melifera and Apis Serarana – and even showing the movement,” Dr. Upadhyay said, who oversees students training at Ekari sites in Kanpur.
“Generally, these bees are humble and do not attack. But with an increase in temperature, they react rapidly, especially during feeding. When we focus the sugar, they sometimes flock to the herd, sometimes already aggressively, then settled. Spike in hostility was not specific,” they said.
The behavior is consistent in the field, Upadhyay said, suggesting that environmental stress is ending their domestic nature.
“Bees are under pressure – and like any species, they are favorable under pressure,” Dr, an Associate Professor of Rani Laxmi Bai Central University for Agriculture in Jhansi. Akhilesh Singh explained, who has studied a large -scale bee behavior in Nagaland and Bundelkhand.
“India hosts four main types of honeybees, but it is APIS Doresta and APIS Floria which are naturally more aggressive. Doresta, especially, is a strong defensive instinct. It does not hesitate – it does not complicate, and is once provoked, the colony is not closed.”
The APIS makes Dorsta particularly malignant, Singh said, the use of biochemical signaling during an attack. “Each sting releases an alarm pheromone – a fragrance mark that asks the rest of the colony to join. In such cases, the initial sting does not end the event; This is the beginning of growth.
Scientists say that as the food becomes rare, bees are now flocking more often and covering more distance than before.
“Bees usually foray within a three -kilometer radius of their hive,” Dr. Upadaya explained.
“But when the flowers are low and the nectar runs less, they expand their discovery – and this increases the possibility of encounters with people,” he said.
In many recent cases, bees were not defending a hive – they were in transit, unstable, scanning for food. Even when hungry flocks feel threatened, they respond with immediate aggression.
The incidents in Lalitpur and Sonbhadra, where many people stung, are Stark Reminder of this pattern.
“You will see that many of these attacks are taking place in areas that are less crowded,” he said.
“This is because bees are moving away from less areas and are going through quiet, more rural places, where their movement is ignored until it is too late.”
In Chanduli, East UP, a team of engineers came into attack during regular construction. Dr. Singh said, “his equipment was causing ‘vibrations or vibrations” – who are extremely sensitive to bees. ” “For a stressed flock, even a drill sound or shake can feel like a danger,” he said.
Researches have noticed how rising temperatures affect bees – their flight, behavior and ability to find food – but scientists say a lot of study needs to be studied, especially in India.
“We know that heat makes bees more restless. It affects how they fly, how active they are, and how well they can collect nectar,” Dr. Akhilesh Singh said.
“But we do not fully understand that this heat continues to continue with time – especially in noisy cities where their natural habitats are already shrinking.” In most current studies, he said, come from cold countries where bees have to face different circumstances. Singh said, “In India, bees live in a very hot and more unstable environment. Their reactions can be very different – not only strong, but completely different in nature,” Singh said.
He and Dr. Both Upadya agreed that India needed long -term research focused on local bee species in various regions and seasons.
“We are seeing changes, but to clearly understand them, we need more detailed studies. Right now, we are looking at the warning signs. What we want is really a clear picture of what is happening.”
A senior meteorologist at CSA University, Dr. SN Sunil Pandey said that this year’s heat started long before normal.
“In March, April and May, the temperature was already six to eight degrees up,” he explained. “Even when the heat of the day fell after a while, it remained high for most of the day. The cooler was not found as they usually do.”
This continuous heat, scientists said, have added stress on bees and one can be a reason that they have become more aggressive.
The effect of heat is also visible in the fields of flowers.
CP Awasthi, District Horticulture Officer of Kannauj, an area known to use flowers to make ITR (traditional perfume), said the rising temperature has clearly hurt the production of flowers.
“There is definitely a decline in the yield of flowers,” he said. “Amrit production is below, and the pollination process is also affected.”
Scientists of the Indian Institute of Pulse Research did not officially allow the media to talk, this concern resonated. He said that bees have played an important role in pollination, and that role is being interrupted.
“Bees have their own way of cooling – they discuss their wings from 1,200 to 1,300 times per minute,” said a researcher. “But with the constant heat in the air, even the sexual mechanism is beginning to fail.”
Amid growing concern, scientists are also giving clear advice to the public-especially those who enter the forest or semi-rural areas. “Avoid wearing strong perfume or black clothes,” Dr. Upadaya said.
“Both attract bees. Darker colors may be seen threatening them, and aromatic products confuse their senses, causing them to attach more likely – and possibly attack.”
If a herd descends, the most important thing is to remain still. Dr. Singh warned, “Do not swat or wave your arms. Any sudden movement is seen as aggression.” “Lie flat on the ground and stay seductive. The conflict only makes bees more defensive.”
Without rubbing the skin, using leaves to gently brush the sting, it can help reduce the spread of toxin. And if there is a water source nearby, take shelter in it – usually not in water. Singh said, “These are the basic steps, but they can be life -saving.” “The key is not to panic. Bees are not being attacked – they are reacting to fear.”
