Swarmed!

reginarh · Jul 19, 2014

I'm not sure bee's can hear, but they can feel vibration. What happened to the copter had nothing to do with vibration.
When bee's leave with a new queen, to start a new nest, they can fly for miles, hundreds of feet high.
What got your copter was......pheromones
If you cut one bee with your blades, the body parts of that dead bee give off a pheromone that tells the rest of the hive (swarm) "we have been attacked" and they go into defensive mode. Since the only thing around was your copter, they attacked it. As your copter sliced and diced more bee's, the pheromone scent got stronger and more attacked you copter.
Hope this explains it... Great video though.

Slauterhause · Jul 19, 2014

reginarh said:
I'm not sure bee's can hear, but they can feel vibration. What happened to the copter had nothing to do with vibration.
When bee's leave with a new queen, to start a new nest, they can fly for miles, hundreds of feet high.
What got your copter was......pheromones
If you cut one bee with your blades, the body parts of that dead bee give off a pheromone that tells the rest of the hive (swarm) "we have been attacked" and they go into defensive mode. Since the only thing around was your copter, they attacked it. As your copter sliced and diced more bee's, the pheromone scent got stronger and more attacked you copter.
Hope this explains it... Great video though.

That is incredibly interesting, thanks for chiming in! I've been a little timid about taking it up the past couple days for fear of a repeat, but it sounds like what happened was more of a fluke. Still, that's very interesting.

Slauterhause · Jul 20, 2014

reginarh said:
I'm not sure bee's can hear, but they can feel vibration. What happened to the copter had nothing to do with vibration.
When bee's leave with a new queen, to start a new nest, they can fly for miles, hundreds of feet high.
What got your copter was......pheromones
If you cut one bee with your blades, the body parts of that dead bee give off a pheromone that tells the rest of the hive (swarm) "we have been attacked" and they go into defensive mode. Since the only thing around was your copter, they attacked it. As your copter sliced and diced more bee's, the pheromone scent got stronger and more attacked you copter.
Hope this explains it... Great video though.

Well....I took it out again today, clear sky, definitely no swarm of bees anywhere in eyesight. I got to about 100 ft and *BAM* swarmed again. The video is similar to the last, nothing new, except this happened within 5-7 seconds of launch. I'm not sure what this does to the pheromone idea, as I definitely scrubbed it with pheromone cleaner after the last massacre. I'm still new at this, but I've had half a dozen or so flights from my back yard without incident, and now this. I'm definitely concerned/bummed, there is a vintage grand prix going on today and I wanted to film it yet I cannot due to the invisible bee defense screen that apparently hovers over my house. :twisted:

jonboy73 · Jul 20, 2014

Slauterhause said:
invisible bee defense screen

- sorry but that me lol.

:idea: what about taping a can of bee killer spray to a leg and just before take off, pierce the can? :lol:

i'll get me coat...

reginarh · Jul 20, 2014

OK... one other explanation is you may have a colony of african killer bee's in your area. Vibrations will set them off. Before you fly next time take a good look around for bee activity. If you can't find any. hover your copter at about 10 feet, with you well away from it, and see were they come from. If you find the hive, call animal control to remove it, as these bee's can be very dangerous.

Slauterhause · Jul 20, 2014

reginarh said:
OK... one other explanation is you may have a colony of african killer bee's in your area. Vibrations will set them off. Before you fly next time take a good look around for bee activity. If you can't find any. hover your copter at about 10 feet, with you well away from it, and see were they come from. If you find the hive, call animal control to remove it, as these bee's can be very dangerous.

I've seen these critters, and they look like regular bees, but knowing nothing of bees (except fear) I have no way of knowing one from another. Thanks, I'll try your suggestion tomorrow.

EMCSQUAR · Jul 20, 2014

It must be a frequency issue that's bothering them. Have you flown it elswhere to see if occurs. I've seen guys like this one actually go after bees/hive to eliminate them - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXec7zBaPxA

happydays · Jul 21, 2014

You'll have to rename your Phantom 'Honey'...

Werz · Jul 21, 2014

Slauterhause said:
reginarh said:

OK... one other explanation is you may have a colony of african killer bee's in your area. Vibrations will set them off. Before you fly next time take a good look around for bee activity. If you can't find any. hover your copter at about 10 feet, with you well away from it, and see were they come from. If you find the hive, call animal control to remove it, as these bee's can be very dangerous.

Click to expand...

I've seen these critters, and they look like regular bees, but knowing nothing of bees (except fear) I have no way of knowing one from another. Thanks, I'll try your suggestion tomorrow.

Despite their aggressive swarming tendencies, Africanized bees have never made it out of the American Southwest. They can't take cold winters. I doubt very much these were "killer bees."