I was stung on the neck today

[JamezF]

Not sure why. I was standing near the house minding my own business about fifty metres from any of my hives and out of any line of sight when I was hit by something small just below the jawline and then felt a sharp pain. I brushed whatever it was away and it fell to the ground in front of me, which was the first time I realised it was a bee. She struggled to right herself, having fallen "wings down", whilst I tried to check whether a sting had been left behind. It appeared not. Having regained her feet she flew straight up at me again, bounced off my chest and disappeared.

I don't think she was deliberately targetting me and assume the sting was perhaps because she'd got a bit caught up in my beard. I'm wondering if she was already injured or coming to the end of her life and perhaps couldn't control her direction of flight particularly well. Or perhaps she was confused or defensive because I had my back to the Sun and I just made a large dark shape as far as she could determine. Quite odd though. I've had bees get caught in my hair once in a while, but I don't think I ever had one hit any of the rest of me out in the open before.

James

 

[enrico]

Not sure why. I was standing near the house minding my own business about fifty metres from any of my hives and out of any line of sight when I was hit by something small just below the jawline and then felt a sharp pain. I brushed whatever it was away and it fell to the ground in front of me, which was the first time I realised it was a bee. She struggled to right herself, having fallen "wings down", whilst I tried to check whether a sting had been left behind. It appeared not. Having regained her feet she flew straight up at me again, bounced off my chest and disappeared.

I don't think she was deliberately targetting me and assume the sting was perhaps because she'd got a bit caught up in my beard. I'm wondering if she was already injured or coming to the end of her life and perhaps couldn't control her direction of flight particularly well. Or perhaps she was confused or defensive because I had my back to the Sun and I just made a large dark shape as far as she could determine. Quite odd though. I've had bees get caught in my hair once in a while, but I don't think I ever had one hit any of the rest of me out in the open before.

James

got one on the back of the neck earlier in the season. I reckon I was on the path between the hives and my pond!

 

[blackcloud]

I occasionally step into someone's flight path- and get blamed or the collision

 

[Blunt Spike]

I think I would lash out if I got caught up in your beard .

Similar thing happened to my early in the year. The flow had just started and I took some empty supers to one of my apiaries. I put them down 30 feet away from any of the hives and I stood and watched the comings and goings on the bee highway to and from the hives for a minute.

Walking back to my car I was about 100 yards from the hives and not in the direction of the main flight path when something bounced off the back of my neck, then flew into the back of my right ear and stung me. I picked her off my neck. I guess she either didn't see me in time and the sting was a natural defence instinct or she took exception to me getting too close to her colony.

I always wonder if it is kinder to squish them at that point as they must die slowly or if by squishing them it releases even more pheromones which will likely result in more bees getting defensive and therefore more dying slowly after stinging.

 

[JamezF]

I always wonder if it is kinder to squish them at that point as they must die slowly or if by squishing them it releases even more pheromones which will likely result in more bees getting defensive and therefore more dying slowly after stinging.

In my case I don't think the sting actually got torn out of her body. I find that sometimes when I've been stung through my bee suit -- the barbs on the sting don't engage sufficiently to hold it in the skin. I've assumed when that happens that the worker will get away with it and live to sting another day.

James

 

[Skinfaxi]

I have found that after inspections when i sit outside about 25m away a few bees like to bug me. Just wack them dead and all is well or run around doing the crasy arm wave dance thing

 

[Swarm]

Just don't miss.

 

[WoodenBeam]

I got stung up the nose at the start of this week, right on the cartlidge between the nostrils - have to say that did bring a tear to the eye. In fact I can honestly say that’s the most painful sting I’ve ever had

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I got stung up the nose at the start of this week, right on the cartlidge between the nostrils - have to say that did bring a tear to the eye. In fact I can honestly say that’s the most painful sting I’ve ever had

now you know why elephants are terrified of bees.

 

[blackcloud]

Usain bolt couldn't outrun a bee - don't even bother.
I have a group of mature Lelandi I push through when followed or used as a taxi.It brushes them off and they don't seem to like the other side of the trees
It's useful for dis-robing at the end.
You just step back out in your civvies like Mr Benn (Not the scarecrow politician) and they don't recognise you!!

 

[JamezF]

Usain bolt couldn't outrun a bee - don't even bother.
I have a group of mature Lelandi I push through when followed or used as a taxi.It brushes them off and they don't seem to like the other side of the trees
It's useful for dis-robing at the end.

I have often found this sort of thing to work, too. Even walking under some shady trees is enough to confuse them to the point where they leave you alone. Mostly

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

James. At least you got off more lightly than Salman Rushdie

 

[JamezF]

James. At least you got off more lightly than Salman Rushdie

True enough. I was quite shocked to read about that. I have to assume it was still something to do with the fatwa. I was fairly miffed with Rushdie myself after I'd wasted a good few hours of my life slogging through "Satanic Verses", but demanding his murder is going a fair bit over the top.

James

 

[pargyle]

I took one on the neck today .... there was a lot going on around the entrance of one hive and I was concerned it was robbing so I stepped in for a closer look and must have got in the way of one ...managed to scrape the sting off almost immediately, nipped indoors and took 2 antihistamine and slapped a load of annthistan on the place of the sting ,,, I was expecting the worst but apart from a few minutes of pain initially nothing developed - there's a tiny raised spot where I was stung tonight but nothing else .... I got lucky I reckon.

I went back for another look about half an hour later and it was all calm and normal ... not sure what was going on ....

 

[Newbeeneil]

I got stung up the nose at the start of this week, right on the cartlidge between the nostrils - have to say that did bring a tear to the eye. In fact I can honestly say that’s the most painful sting I’ve ever had

I agree, it’s happened to me several times. If I remember correctly it was Micheal Smiths most painful site as well.

 

[JamezF]

I agree, it’s happened to me several times.

It may be time to stop keeping queens up your nose. We all run out of pockets occasionally, but there must be other places you can try?

James

 

[JamezF]

Just read that Rushdie is on a ventilator, so clearly fairly seriously injured.

Now I thought "The Satanic Verses" was a tediously awful book, but I'll defend his right to write it and have it published.

What I don't understand is why anyone made a fuss about it in the first place. If nothing had been said then the only people who would have heard of it these days would be remaindered booksellers who hadn't got around to sending their copies off to be incinerated yet. To create such a fuss about something that most people had and never would care about suggests a deliberate interest in stirring up hatred, intolerance and violence.

James

 

[B_north]

Took one under the eye. I must have been in her flight path but I was no where near the hives, just minding my own business taking the pea vines out to the pigs. She came screaming in from the left right behind my glasses and got wedged up against my nose.

I saw one of those sting suction thingies on amazon, have no idea if they work, but I took a 3cc syringe and sucked the life out of the sting site just on a whim. I barely swelled up and after a couple of hours didn't hurt. Totally an anecdotal experiment, but hey, I might try it again next time.

 

[Skinfaxi]

A few years ago i went to feed a nuke. I had no suit on just tshirt and shorts. Suddenly they swarmed out and i got 8 stings on my legs in 2 seconds. They nuc lid went flying off in my reaction.I ran into the house with bees chasing me defeated. I told my wife and son what happened.
Then i heard buzzing in my short pants and pulled them off with another bee going for me. I killed it and peace found me. Then my wife in her dresaing gown went to put the roof back on. I stood in the kitchen watching how she could not figure out how to put it on. At this stage bees are all over going mad all around her. I asked my son to hell her. I offered him a bee jacket but he refused it. He went out 5m from my wife to help her. Then all of a sudden they attack him and hes doing the funny wavy arm dance thing. I can him and he comes running to the house getting hammeres by bees. Then he got into the house and they are in his shirt hair and i start slapping then silent. Defeated we both stand at the window watching my wife still trying to put the lid on,witb bees going crazy around her and not one sting. It was really funny. So 6 stings in my left leg from wasps the day before and 8 stings from my bees.
Classic good fun