Bee bearding

Bee bearding is the practice of wearing several thousand honey bees on the face, usually as a sideshow-type demonstration at agricultural shows. Hive bees are attracted into position by a queen in a small cage worn under the chin.[1][2]

History

Though beekeepers since ancient times have allowed bees to rest on their bodies to demonstrate their rapport with the insects, the practice of congregating measurable quantities of bees on the face was initiated by Petro Prokopovych, a Ukrainian beekeeper, in the 1830s. The practice spread to various "freak" exhibitions at Russian carnivals by the end of the 19th century.

Records

Indian man Vipin Seth set a world record for wearing a mantle of bees weighing 61.4 kilograms.[3]

The current record for the "heaviest mantle of bees" is held by a Chinese national, Ruan Liangming, who was filmed by Guinness World Records wearing an estimated 637,000 bees, including about 60 queen bees, weighing about 63.5 kilograms, in May 2014.[4]

As of August 31, 2017, the record for the longest time wearing a beard of bees was 61 minutes.[5]

References
  1. "Brave beekeeper". Life. 36 (12): 98. 21 September 1953.
  2. BBC - CBBC Helen's Beard of Bees
  3. "Chinese man covered with 460,000 bees for honey stunt". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  4. "Chinese Man Dons 240-Pound Suit, Fails to Set Record". Newsweek. 28 May 2015.
  5. "Canadian man wears beard of bees for world-record 61 minutes". UPI. 31 Aug 2017.

Further reading
  • Frank Sennett, "No. 80: Bee Bearded," 101 Stunts for Principals to Inspire Student Achievement (Corwin Press, 2004), 116-117.
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