For most people a swarm of bees would be enough to have us running for cover. But for Norman Gary, the world's leading expert on bees, this is the culmination of years of studying and an amazing ability to control the insects' every move.
The retired professor, 77, from Citrus Heights, California, can coax 100,000 bees on to his body without receiving a single sting and can even get them to perform complex manoeuvres He received his PhD at the age of 26 in the study of bees, or apiculture, and is world renowned as a bee wrangler - making him the first port of call for many Hollywood producers. After many years of perfecting this skill Mr Gary is able to direct a single bee to make ninety degree turns, or control a swarm of one million.
'People always ask me how many times I have been stung by bees and my best estimate is around 75,000 times,' he said.
'Even though I can cover myself in 100,000 bees and expose people to sometimes ten times that number, there is very little danger.
'That is because there is no interest for the bee to become aggressive towards myself, or anyone, as long as their hive is not threatened.'
Working with everyone from the BBC, to Animal Planet and on blockbusters such as the X-Files, Norman always makes sure that medical attention is at hand when dealing with large swarms.
He said: 'There are always medical professionals nearby when we are filming with large numbers of bees.'
Professor Gary retired in 1994 to follow his dual passion of music and to write, releasing his latest book 'Honey Bee Hobbyist' last year.
'However, most stings are because people become careless and do not follow my instructions,' he said.
'On a film set with tens of thousands of bees flying around people don't watch to see where their hands are and are often stung on their extremities.'
He also offers some advice on how to minimise the pain if you do get stung.
'The trick is to remove the bee sting as quickly as possible after being stung, because the sting barb continues to burrow into your skin and pump out poison for around 60 seconds after the bee has stung you.'
Through his years of study at the Cornell University and at the University of California, and over 40 years in the field, Norman has devised two methods of wrangling the bees.
He said: 'One method to control the bees, is to use a food reward system. The food is actually a sugar solution flavoured with a plant extract like peppermint.
'I coax the bees out of their hives inch by inch until they begin to fly to retrieve the food.
'The second method which I helped to pioneer is to use a formula of queen bee pheromone that is extremely attractive to them. Using this pheromone wrangling method I can corral up to one million bees in one swarm.'
Bees are easier to control in natural lighting than inside under the glare of studio lights.
'One of the most complex stunts I have ever done was on the set of the X-Files movie with Gillian Anderson.
'I needed the bee to move out of her collar, down her back, do a ninety degree turn, walk a short distance across her back, make an upward ninety degree turn, and then to move up her back and then under her collar. It was an extremely complicated manoeuvre.'
English - KOMPAS.com
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