Apiary Etiquette - Rule 12
Watch the bees' behavior and react accordingly
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If the bees act in one of the following ways, react immediately as described below.  Above all, never swat at bees or make sudden movements.
A bee gets stuck in your hair or clothing
This may happen quite by accident, probably because you have broken another rule of etiquette, such as not dressing properly for the job or standing in their flight path.  Immediately and steadily back away from the hives, without swatting at the bee, screaming, convulsing, or otherwise freaking out.  When you are away from the hives, kill the bee by slapping it soundly.  Kill the bee before it escapes from your hair or clothing, as it will likely sting you when it is free.  Discard the dead bee outside the apiary and apply smoke liberally to the area on your body where the bee was killed.  Smoking the area will mask the alarm pheromone secreted when the bee was crushed.
Bees fly all around you, with some landing and crawling on you
This behavior normally means the bees have noticed you and are disturbed.  You should slowly walk away from the hives until the bees do not follow you, applying smoke to your body if they insist on crawling on you.  Do not kill bees unless they are trapped in your hair or clothing.  You may use the bee brush to remove them if they won't leave on their own, although this may irritate them.

The exception to this behavior is when you have the hive open and have removed several frames from the bottom brood box.  Field bees that are returning to the hive will see it opened and torn apart, and they will fly and crawl around aimlessly, since they have come home to find their hive in disarray.  Don't worry about the small cloud of bees around the hive entrance under these circumstances.  The bees aren't being defensive, they're just confused and put out.
Bees fly at you, hitting your veil or clothing
This is a defensive reaction, and the bees are attacking or preparing to attack -- you either seriously broke a rule of etiquette or something's wrong with your bees.  Using your smoker, blow smoke at the bees flying, close your eyes and blow smoke all over your head, then blow smoke on your clothing.  Back away from the hive until they don't follow you, and wait a minute or so until you see they are calming down. 
Bees sting you or your clothing
If a bee stings you, don't panic and immediately run, and especially don't make a lot of jerky, sudden movements.  This just increases your chances of being stung again.  Instead, calmly back away a few feet from the hive and use the edge of your fingernail, the hive tool, or a knife, to scrape the sting sac out from the side.  Never grab the stinger and pull it out -- this only injects more venom.  After the sting sac is removed and discarded away from your body and the hives, smoke the area of the sting to mask the odor of the alarm pheromone.  You can then continue to work the hive, unless you have an allergic reaction.
Bees chase you in numbers
Go quickly to the nearest enclosure (a vehicle or building), and get inside.  If an enclosure is not available, duck into trees or brush and walk in a zigzag pattern; this breaks up your body outline and movement patterns, and confuses the bees.  Do not jump into water; the bees will just wait for you above the water until you come up for air!  It is much more likely that you will drown than you will get away from a swarm of angry bees.

Apiary Etiquette
Periodic Apiary Inspections

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