Also, since honey bees are not native to the Americas, the Native American diet must have been poor in the variety of fruits. What wild fruits, berries existed prior to honey bees in the Americas?

I see that you wrote back in February; I hope my response gets to you.

Let me start by telling you that I am a beekeeper also.
The honeybee is generally a gentle one, and the act of stinging is a last resort of self, or hive, defense. It is a last resort because it is an act of suicide for the bee. When a honeybee stings, it leaves the stinger and venom sack in place; leaving the bee with a fatal wound. If you have had to remove stingers from your dog, then it was most likely a honeybee. If not, it may have been another stinging pollinator. If they were in fact the honeybees, one would have to ask several questions on why the bees would sting your dog. I intend no offense, but the bees have not targeted your dog, but are responding to an act of aggression. One question would be, “do you and your neighbor live on small lots?”, “where are the hives located with respect to your dog?”, “If they are far away, can he get close?”. All bees are not very excited about loud noises, does your dog bark at the hives? this will incite a negative response. If you are both on small lots, and the hives are along you property line, there should be a barrier to discourage such interactions with the animals or people and the hive. This is just some basic information and just some places to start.

On your other comment,
Having no knowledge of your situation outside your post, I will take your word that the honeybees have honed in on something on your property because the neighbor admitted to following his bees there. This behavior is not uncommon, but is equally unusual. In this situation, the bees have sourced something that they find undeniably tempting. One potential source is water. Do you have a pool or other water source? are they heading there? Does your neighbor have a water source for them? The honeybee needs water to make honey. The water source usually would not end up as a line of bees, but you may see unusual numbers around. It is most likely a food source that they smell. Is there a particular location they are going to? If one can follow the line, one could probably find where they are going. How long has you neighbor had honeybees, and does this happen all the time?, every year around the same time?, or is it a new phenomenon? I see you wrote the post in February. I don’t know where you live, but where I am February is very cold for the Honeybee. Virtually all honeybee activity is halted below 40degrees Farenheight because they cannot move, even if they wanted to. Above that, you may see them active, but I usually don’t see my bees doing too much below 60 degrees. They like to stay in the hive where its warm. If the temperatures where you live are still cool enough to tempt the honeybees to stay inside, then it may be that they were hungry and went looking for food. February is the time of year in beekeeping (in my location) that we check on the hives because they may be running out of their honey stores, and need supplemental food to keep them alive. In my part of the world, if I didn’t feed them the wouldn’t be able to go looking for food and starve to death. If you location is warm enough in February, the bees may risk the temperatures to find food. Under this situation, they may also be a little short on temper because of their hunger (just like humans).

Say for example, your neighbors’ honeybees were hungry, it was warm enough outside to fly, and you were baking tasty treats and goodies in your kitchen that would make any sugar loving, sugar smelling creature come running (especially any men in your life). Suppose your kitchen was warm enough to leave the windows open and a scout from your neighbors hive caught a whiff of the goodies on the wind (the honeybee have a amazing sense of smell). If they had any access to this sweet stuff, the hive would quickly learn of its location and you would see a beeline. I use this example because a beekeeper friend of mine told me this story, it is true. He followed his bees to his neighbors’ kitchen, after the neighbor complained that they were all over the place. The problem was resolved quite quickly by providing the bees with food of their own.

Please don’t despair because there is a solution. It may be something happening at your place, it may be at you neighbors. But like my friends experience, it may be a combination. Again, the honeybee is quite a friendly pollinator. I can sit or stand four feet in front of the entrance to my hives (without protective gear) and the bees fly around me like a tree stump as they head into or out of the hive. They are more interested in collecting pollen and nectar to keep the colony alive than they are in my presence. The honeybee is quite an incredible creature, maybe you should ask you neighbor to bring you to the hives; the more you know, the less intimidating they are. Before I started in beekeeping, I was terrified of bees, hornets, and wasps. I still don’t like hornets or wasps much (mostly because they are MUCH more aggressive, some of them are carnivores, and they sting many, many times). The honeybee I am not bothered by at all.

David is right; a jar of honey is definitely in order for you.

Richard

I’m sorry you have had a bad experience with your neighbors bees. Unfortunately the “pollen” that you have seen on your laundry is actually bee defication. It is fairly harmlesss but not actractive on clean sheets. I would talk with your beekeeping neighbor and see if he/she can move their hives to an area away from where you keep your dogs and laundry. Please keep in mind that honeybees contribute greatly to all our well being and ask your neighbor to give you a jar of honey for the sacrifice you have made to keeping honeybees alive.

David

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/fluvalinate-ext.html

http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/coumapho.htm

These chemicals were authorized by the EPA under a section 18 emergency
label 20 years ago! Its sad that we still have an emergency listing for
these toxic materials. Section 18 is used in times of a so called agricultural emergency. In my opinion the emergency now is the massive contamination mentioned in the article below. The legal use of these chems is in the form of a plastic impregnated strip.

Many of the larger beekeepers do not want to pay the high cost for the
strips and buy the raw chem in bulk jugs and make their own shop rag
treatments which is placed in the hives – this is illegal since its not
a listed application and the application is not controlled.

Numerous beekeepers are fined each year in MN, Nodak and Sodak for illegal use of these materials.

The study noted in the interview of chemicals found in beehives neglected to mention that beekeeper applied chems were number 1, 2 & 3 in the amount of chemicals found in bees hives. Bee keepers are killing their own bees! As a professional full time beekeeper for over 30 years, there is no mystery to me why feedlot beekeepers bees are dying!!!!!

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1524991/honey_bees_suffer_from_pesticide_buildup/

Honey Bees Suffer From Pesticide Buildup

Posted on: Monday, 18 August 2008, 17:20 CDT

Honey bees industriously bring pollen and nectar to the hive, but along
with the bounty comes a wide variety of pesticides, according to Penn
State researchers. Add the outside assault to the pesticides already in
the waxy structure of the hive, and bee researchers see a problem
difficult to evaluate and correct. However, an innovative approach may
mitigate at least some beeswax contamination.

The researchers presented their analysis of pollen, brood, adult bees
and wax samples today (Aug. 18) at the 236th national American Chemical
Society meeting in Philadelphia. Those results show unprecedented levels
of fluvalinate and coumaphos — pesticides used in the hives to combat
varroa mites — in all comb and foundation wax samples. They also found
lower levels of 70 other pesticides and metabolites of those pesticides
in pollen and bees.

“Everyone figured that the acaricides (anti-varroa mite chemicals) would
be present in the wax because the wax is reprocessed to form the
structure of the hives,” says Maryann Frazier, senior extension
associate. “It was a bit of a shock to see the levels and the widespread
presence of these pesticides.”

or for a video version of Maryann Fraziers important study:

skip the first 40 minutes to get to the beekeeper chemical contamination part of her presentation

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4115244451959719523