One fearless beekeeper has people buzzing about her impressive, yet frightening ability to scoop up hundreds of bees with her bare hands.
Erika Thompson, a beekeeper and founder of Texas Beeworks, posted a series of videos to TikTok showing off her impressive bee handling skills that have since gone viral, Today reported.
In her most recent post, the Texas native is seen gently transporting a colony of over 50,000 honey bees from a backyard shed to a new hive without wearing any gloves or protective gear.
“Bees having been living in this backyard shed for at least two years,” Thompson says in the video. "The landlord wanted to call an exterminator, but the family who lived here wanted to save the bees so they called me.”
The unbeelievable post has been viewed over 62 million times.
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Thompson elaborated why she doesn't wearing any protective gear.
“The beekeeping gear is big and bulky and I lose a lot of dexterity and mobility, which is really important when you're working with these tiny creatures," she told the outlet. "So if I can, it is my preference to wear (as little) gear (as) possible."
Many viewers have been left wondering how she doesn’t get stung.
"Most honey bees are very gentle," Thompson added. "They're docile and they don't want to sting you. I've been doing this for a long time and over the years I've learned to read the bees' behavior and these were just very calm, gentle bees. They were also very cooperative and got into their new hive. This was just one case where I could work without gear and it was safer for me and the bees."
She added, "It feels like trust and acceptance and I just feel so privileged to be able to work with them."
Thompson lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, who she ironically met on the dating app Bumble.
"He was my first and only Bumble date," she said. "I am the luckiest person in the world, he's wonderful."
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