Good News! I got stung!

[Cellectronic]

I fount that too, A sting for me is fairly painless then 24 hours later the sting area is swollen hot and itchy. The sting on the forarm was my worst, I thought my whole arm was going to explode.

 

[Susan1]

I normally a bad reaction to stings lots of swelling and even bruising and red wealds ....everything. I am really careful now. However I keep getting stung through my gloves mostly on my right hand and am wondering are these stings working as desensitizing as they are not to sore .

 

[OldMech]

Strangely enough.. I have yet to be stung by my own bees.. Granted, I just started with 4 hives in may At this point, I dont even wear a veil or gloves to inspect the hives. I never imagined the bees would have as much tolerance for me invading every week or two.....
However...
A friend called, said he had a swarm he wanted removed... I didn't ask enough questions...
Box prepared, brush ready.. bees under a large branch.. BIG swarm!! Yes, I wore my veil and gloves.. despite being told that swarms are docile... Unfortunately.. as i gently swept those bees off the bottom of that branch.. where it met the trunk of the tree... I revealed the HOLE in the tree that happened to be their hive....
Well... my veil is an inexpencive one... turn your head, the bottom opens up.. so when I see the hole,and 3000 bees fly up out of the BOX i just deposited them in.. REALLY angry... I turned to look at said friend with a confused look.. to see him sprinting away, hat and arms waving like mad... about then.. thirty or so bees fly UP under my veil....
The official count on removed stingers from my head an hour later was 36.. I am quite certain I would have been better off letting the thirty or so bees IN my veil sting me... but.. instinct was to get the Veil OFF.. bad move!!! Neck, shoulders ears and top of head all received multiple stings before I got into the trees and out of their line of sight.. Cov ered face with gloves. eighteen stingers in gloves.. didnt count the ones in my coat or pants... I am going to be humble (besides stupid) and say I was stung 45 times... Stings burned a bit, but nothing that was excruciating...
Spent an hour explaining loudly the difference between a SWARM and a HIVE to EX friend...
"Oh.. well, its a hive then, its been there for about ten years........."

To make a long story .. longer.. I felt fine until about 3 AM.. then I got sick.. Nauseous, and finally threw up about four times.. sweat, cold... fell asleep.. woke up feeling a bit worse for the wear.. no swelling to speak of...
Went back three days later to put a cone on the tree.... In the ensuing fiasco.. I ended up being stung three to seven times every time I went to check to see if they were entering the bait hive.. Seven days, and I tried lemon grass, Used comb, Frame of brood, getting the bees on it and putting it into the box... they all exited...
They ended up being exterminated.. but I TRIED!!!!
Needless to say.. I dont think I am allergic to bee stings... and I am quite happy to return to managing my friendly cuddly hives and leave the trap outs to someone else.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Holy cow, OldMec!

Get yourself a proper Sherriff suit.

Your nonchalance borders on total recklessness, IMHO.

Dusty

 

[BrianO]

The thrill of the first sting .... !! I think !!

On holidays at the moment in Tuscany on a working farm Agriturismo. Hive here and of course have been fluting around it, up close to it yesterday and got my first sting ever.... On the end of my nose ! Brushed the sting out which I could then examine clearly perched on end of my finger, no worse than a nettle sting and did not swell ( luckily ).

Bee stung me I reckon without any alighting as in alighted and stung me in the same motion. I thought there was supposed to be some sort of formalities in the process !!

As in buzz around angrily, land on me, stare at me for a few seconds and then the dreaded act.. Oh no.. Not over here, they just get straight down to business no foreplay !!

Interesting to see how active the bees are in the heat, the house is clad in a Virginia creeper currently in flower and in the evenings the collective humm of foraging bees is incredible

 

[notmilk]

Oldmech that's a hard lesson learnt! But at least it gives you a great story for regaling your mates in the pub!

 

[itma]

Get yourself a proper Sherriff suit.

Dusty, that just might be misinterpreted in Iowa.

 

[MandF]

I had a first yesterday, was in the extraction room shuffling frames around and I managed to stick my thumb on a sting no longer attached to a bee! Anyone else done that?!

 

[OldMech]

heh.. rest assured I will have a full suit before I ever attempt to collect another swarm... I would like to think a "real" swarm would not be as aggressive as that hive was... If you were within a hundred yards of that hole in the tree you could count on getting stung.. hence.. the reason they wanted it gone. Have not been beekeeping long, but am certainly happy my bees are not that aggressive. After all was said and done.. I was not unhappy to see those bees gone.
One heck of a test to see if your allergic!!!


Sheriff suit?? Well.. I reckon.. theres a Sheriff what passes through here quick like bout once ever other week.. you reckon his outfit might help me? Might be a bit o scrappin when we gets him outa it though. Will have to call in a bit o help.. but if yall say it'll help......