Real Simple Doesn't Know a Bee - Public Travesty

In my current issue of Real Simple (July 2010) I was horrified to read an article entitled:  "Bug-Repelling Basics" on page 119.  Their web page brags that the article is "an expert guide on how best to protect yourself."

Reaction #1:  In a chart entitled:  "Know your enemy" they say of honeybees:  "Honeybees like the colors of flowers but they can't see red (so you're safe next to the geraniums)" - implying mistakenly that you are not safe anywhere else.  As beekeepers know, honeybees are very unlikely to sting you unless you are standing in their flyway right in front of their hive.

Reaction #2:  In that same chart they say, "Never swat at one or the whole colony might chase after you for several hundred feet to defend their nest."    REALLY?  Maybe Africanized bees in south Florida - but not in most parts of the country.

Reaction #3:  On page 124 there is a HUGE picture of a yellow jacket.  With an arrow pointing to the yellow jacket, the print reads:  "Bees don't discriminate.  They are just as liable to sting your dog as they are you......."

OMG - I am not a Facebook poster, but I am heading for their Facebook page right now to share my comments about promoting continued ignorance about the difference in yellow jackets and honeybees.