Why Are Beekeepers' Suits White? A Simple Answer

The other day I was talking with a friend that is interested in beekeeping. He was really eager to get himself a beekeepers suit “just like the ones you see in the pictures,” he said. But then, all of a sudden, he was struck by an interesting discovery. “Why are all beekeepers suits predominantly white?” he asked me. White is cool, but its prevalence in beekeeping attire has nothing to do with pretty sweet fashion trends.

So, why are beekeepers’ suits white? Beekeepers’ suits are white because in order to protect their honey and beehives, honey bees have evolved to defend themselves against the various animals that want to eat their honey. These animals usually have dark fur; thus, bees are a lot more likely to attack people wearing dark clothing.

We, beekeepers, are practical people, so everything related to the craft needs to make functional sense. There’s actually a lot more to beekeeping suits and protection from bees than many of us realize.

Two Main Reasons for Wearing a White Beekeepers’ Suit

Even if you are somebody who is inclined to wear white, you may want to listen up. Let’s start with the first and most common reason:

1. Bees Are Not as Aggressive Towards White

Bees have had enough time to evolve and adapt to surviving in many different environments. To do that, they had to learn who their natural enemies in the wild are. The idea was to anticipate and recognize predators in order to survive. Bees’ natural predators are:

• Bears,
• Skunks,
• Raccoons, and others.

The most obvious thing about these animals is that they all have dark fur. It is believed that bees started to associate darker colors with their natural predators. Anything that has a dark hue is an antagonist to them.

This is why dark or black clothing aggravates bees more than most people are comfortable with. This is especially the case if you are intent on working with a beehive. Wear a black T-shirt and you will be in for a treat! Albeit, not a good one, trust me. Even embroidered dark letters on your back on a T-shirt or hoodie can lead to undesired attention from bees and lead to a few too many stings!

While tinkering with your bees’ homes, you really want to maintain a low profile. White colored suits will provide you just that. It seems that bees never had the opportunity and evolve to deal with white predators, as white is not that common in nature, at least not in their natural habitat. Hopefully, bees won’t have to worry about white bears attacking their hives any time soon.

On the other hand, bees are not that gullible. They understand that something is happening when there is a human near their hive, even if you are just examining the condition of the brood and the food stores or searching for signs of disease. By wearing white, you are not camouflaging the reality of what you are doing to the precious honey they’ve worked so hard to collect.

White clothing will not make you 100% invisible or stop them from getting agitated, so, as a word of caution, always be careful how you work with the bees and the beehive.

2. Sun Protection

Every beekeeper that I know has already accepted their fate: numerous work hours under the scorching sun. Wearing a full-body beekeepers’ suit will help you understand the term heat on a whole new level. In some parts of the world where the temperatures can go really high, beekeepers usually don’t even wear suits at all.

White is the best light-reflecting “color” you can wear. Anyone that has ever tried to work for prolonged periods under the sun will tell you that clothing in darker hues is a no-no – and black is definitely out of the question.

White suits will not only make the bees a little less aggressive, as I have found out, it will also keep you a little cooler under the sun because lighter colors absorb less heat from the sunlight.

3. Color Dyes

Bees have a strong sense of smell. Some experienced beekeepers believe that the main reason why honey bees don’t like dark colored clothing is due to the scent of the dye that was used for coloring.

One thing that bothers me in particular is the fact that if black is the worst choice of color to wear around bees, why do some suits have black netting in front of the face? The answer is a bit unsatisfying: black doesn’t reflect the sun’s light into the eyes as much. It appears that safety is a balancing act when it comes to beekeepers’ suits.

Do Bees See Colors Like We Do?

You will be amazed to discover that human and bee eyes have some interesting similarities. They also have many differences. But, first, how do we see colors exactly?

Interestingly enough, color perception is based on how much a specific pigment absorbs and reflects the light. When light hits a particular object, part of the light is reflected, and the other is absorbed. The reflected light is what we recognize as color.

1. Bees See Colors, Just Like Humans Do

Scientists are captivated by the eyesight of bees and have been studying it for many years. Bees have a broader range of color perception than humans. One of their hidden advantages is that they can actually see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to us.

Being able to see ultraviolet light is a considerable advantage when it comes to collecting nectar. Did you know that some flowers’ nectar reserves can be obtained only by animals that see ultraviolet light? Honey bees are perfectly equipped to deal with this kind of work.

2. Bees Can Distinguish Colors Much Faster Than Humans

Bees’ ability to see color is the best in the world, and it is five times faster than ours. They can discern flowers very quickly.

Humans see in the spectrum range of 700 to 400 nanometers, and bees can see from 600 to 300 nanometers. The section of the spectrum between 400 and 300 is where ultraviolet light is found. If bees are deprived of UV light for extended periods of time, they will stop gathering nectar, stay in the hive, and basically starve themselves.

Bees can see flowers in astonishing detail while flying at high speeds, too. In fact, flying is believed to allow them to see better. They are very good at seeing in three dimensions and judging depth and distance, and they can also detect polarized light, which they use as a navigational system to orient themselves.

Which Colors Attract Bees?

The colors that are believed by scientists to attract bees best are violet, blue, and purple. Bees are trichromatic, just like humans. Here’s what that means exactly: bees and humans base their color perception of the surrounding world in a combination (or variations) of three primary colors.

As we have just established, bees can see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to us, and because of that, there is a small difference in sight between them and humans. While we base our perceptions on combinations of blue, red, and green, bees do so with green, blue, and ultraviolet.

An interesting thing you will notice here is that because of this, bees do not see the color red. However, they can distinguish between some variations of red, like yellow and orange.

Do Only Dark Colors Make Bees Aggressive?

Although the real-life experience of many beekeepers has shown that black clothing, accessories and even embroidery can make bees extra grumpy, there is a whole myriad of other things that can make them react more aggressively towards you. Other things that can lead to bees being more aggressive than usual are:

• The season;
• The stage of a colony’s life cycle;
• The weather conditions;
• Robbing bees;
• The time of the day;
• Strong fragrances, body odor, deodorants, alcohol, clothing washed with strong fragranced detergents and softeners, and more;
• The odor from crushed bees or stings;
• The temperature outside;
• The condition of the queen or her absence; and
• The overall health of the bee colony.

Keeping all of these in mind, you can take proper precautions and work with your beehives when the conditions are favorable enough so as to lead to fewer stings and less dead bees. Check out my post on how to calm down aggressive bees – clik here.

Does a White Bee Suit Offer the Best Protection?

Bees don’t really like any dark clothing, accessories, or materials. They can also get aggravated by lingering smells, strong fragrances and sweaty clothing, so make sure you wash and properly clean your suits and clothes.

Be especially careful if you have already been stung or if have crushed any bees as this will leave bee pheromones on your suit that will warn other bees and signal them to attack you in order to defend themselves.

• White or clothing in lighter tones and hues made of plant materials like cotton, for example, are the preferred type of clothing to be used around bees.
• Any darker toned clothing or that made of wool is not recommended.
• Any dark accessories should be removed, too, like watches, boots, gloves, etc.

Having said all that, it is crucial to understand that following all the recommendations pointed out here does not mean that bees will never try to sting you. You will just have to get used to it. I have and so will you.

I hope that I have clarified why do beekeepers wear white and gave you more insight into how bees see us, the beekeepers. If you have any questions, you can reach me via the contact form and make sure to subscribe below so you never miss a post from Beehour.com!