When a beehive has two queens, they fight to the death to decide who will control the swarm. You might not expect that to apply to beekeepers, but there’s some heat between one of the most popular beekeepers on TikTok and a Los Angeles-based woman. Erika Thompson has six million followers on the platform, and recently posted a video of herself removing a swarm of bees from a patio umbrella while dressed in regular clothes with no protective gear. That video has over 18 million views, and at least one person has a problem with it.
Los Angeles beekeeper Friday Chamberlain has now attacked Thompson on Twitter, saying she’s not being honest in her videos and accusing her of faking her videos. Chamberlain says, “What she is doing – opening up hives with her hair down, wearing dark clothes with exposed skin – is dangerous.” She also says that Thompson’s husband is pre-cutting the combs and helping her off-camera.
What do the other experts say? Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, research entomologist at the Bee Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says Thompson’s technique isn’t dangerous for “experienced beekeepers,” but that “it’s not recommended for just anyone to try.” While Thompson makes it look easy to be covered with bees, you might want to leave that to her.
Source: New York Post
