Rule number one: No Swatting.

I was in a bee yard a few months ago standing about 100 feet from the hives when I got stung. I didn't swat the bee but I did quickly remove the stinger from my leg. The bees last act before dieing what to release the panic pheromone. Before I could react I was suddenly surrounded by thousands of bees. No one had a smoker lit and I wasn't wearing protection because I wasn't planning on being around the hives. The other beekeepers asked me to go sit in the car, which at the time seemed like a good idea. After I left the scene, the Bees calmed down. This story illustrates just how quickly an alarm pheromone can signal bees to attack. First of all I don't think it is natural to moved hives around. Stress could be a factor in causing the attack. But when you make your living moving hives around for pollination, you make overlook some behavior problems because it may cut into your profits. I hope the young man recovers.