Queen bee sting ?

[Apple]

CAN ANYONE POINT ME TOWARDS (peer reviewed) ARTICLES ON QUEEN BEE STING OR VENOM

I am aware that virgin queen honey bees can kill other queens with their sting, however I can not find anything related to queen bee stings of humans!

I am not up to speed on bee anatomy, and wonder if the mated queen can use her sting, or is this the reserve of a virgin.

The question has arisen when speaking to an Australian Consultant, now working at the desensitisation facility ( Immunology "Eden" Dept) at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth S Devon, who has a patient who claims to have been stung by a "queen honey bee", presumably on her maiden mating flight.

Interesting discussion, apparently they are now also looking for pollen/protein antigens in patients blood as they can not understand why some patients react so violently and others do not?

{Not alas that appears to be the usual cut and paste plagiarisms that seem to abound in more recent "beekeeping" books!!}

Any help towards this ( Queen sting) will be very much appreciated I can assure you.

Thank you


James

 

[Moggett]

Not happened to me but I read somewhere that they may sting you if you have handled other queens. I assume they are programmed only to sting other queens rather than something threatening the colony.

 

[itma]

The Queen's sting lancets aren't strong/stiff enough to penetrate human skin.
And the lancets have no barbs. (So venom is only pumped while the lancets penetrate - not like the workers' leaving the still-pumping muscles behind.)


1/ Who identified the stinging insect as a "queen honey bee" and what evidence do you have that this identification should be taken seriously?

2/ When (date) was this person stung?


Basically, I don't believe that a Q honey bee could have or would have been responsible.

Its also pretty unlikely.
Q is outside a hive for a few hours only, every what, couple of years? (And doesn't hang around, messing with people - she is on a mission.)
Whereas tens of thousands of workers are out and about every day that it is warm enough …


Oh, and the venom glands aren't recorded as producing different venom.

Does the Aussie Doctor have a wicked sense of humour?

 

[Moggett]

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?263532-Can-Queen-bees-sting

Some reports of being stung on this and linked threads....

 

[MuswellMetro]

? Queen bumble

does the patient know the difference between a honeybee and a Bumblebee

i have seen a person claiming to have been stung by a wasp who still had the honeybee sting in his neck pumping away

 

[itma]

The Queen's sting lancets aren't USUALLY strong/stiff enough to EASILY penetrate human skin.

Fixed that for the literalist absolutists!

 

[Apple]

The Queen's sting lancets aren't strong/stiff enough to penetrate human skin.
And the lancets have no barbs. (So venom is only pumped while the lancets penetrate - not like the workers' leaving the still-pumping muscles behind.)


1/ Who identified the stinging insect as a "queen honey bee" and what evidence do you have that this identification should be taken seriously?

2/ When (date) was this person stung?


Basically, I don't believe that a Q honey bee could have or would have been responsible.

Its also pretty unlikely.
Q is outside a hive for a few hours only, every what, couple of years? (And doesn't hang around, messing with people - she is on a mission.)
Whereas tens of thousands of workers are out and about every day that it is warm enough …


Oh, and the venom glands aren't recorded as producing different venom.

Does the Aussie Doctor have a wicked sense of humour?

Thanks Itma, you of course are quite correct.

The patient has been undergoing desensitisation for wasp venom, as she was stung by a large flying insect, suspected to be a hornet as the beast flew away after stinging twice (on the Busty area), and went immediately into traumatic anaphalaxis ( ambulance job!) This would have been around noon one day in August 2013.

This October ( 2014) she was stung by a honeybee when assisting her husband ( with a bright torch!) to move a colony from one apiary to another
( He runs around 60 colonies) She did not go into shock, but did feel giddy and took 2 antihistamine ( Certirizine) and 2 predisolone supplied in her kit, but did not feel the need to use the Epipens.

Subsequently she has shown a very high titre to bee venom, but low to wasp venom


Her husband is a beekeeper and says he had to remove a hornet nest from a neighboring garden the following week, as the neighbors small child had been stung by a hornet ( the insect was swatted immediately after the stinging incident)

I met the consultant chappie at a dinnerparty, and he was interested to know my views and what other flying bee like insect could have been the culprit?

I wonder if it could have been a Tree Bumble as we have quite a few here in the South West?

As for humour it was definitely antipodean!
It would have to be for a immunologist in a country with venomous bears, blue ring octopus and stinging cone shells, not to forget the platypus and box jellyfish!!!

Thanks


James

 

[Apple]

? Queen bumble

does the patient know the difference between a honeybee and a Bumblebee

i have seen a person claiming to have been stung by a wasp who still had the honeybee sting in his neck pumping away

Since her husbands interest involves a claimed 60+ honeybee colonies I would imagine it was not a honeybee, apparently she had been stung by honeybees a number occasions prior to this, without dire effect.
I am passing on the information I have gleaned, and I am trying to get an introduction to the couple if patient confidentiality will allow it!

The report was of two initial stings by a "hornet", I am trying to work out what member of the bee family ( having bee venom) could have attacked her?
Any ideas?


James

 

[Little John]

I am not up to speed on bee anatomy, and wonder if the mated queen can use her sting, or is this the reserve of a virgin.

It's not unknown for mated queens to accidently sting themselves in the leg - usually when being marked or clipped. They can then enter a state of paralysis, feigning death, sometimes for as long as 20 minutes.
If left alone, they will recover. But if placed under a size 11 boot, they will not.

LJ

 

[MuswellMetro]

Since her husbands interest involves a claimed 60+ honeybee colonies I would imagine it was not a honeybee, apparently she had been stung by honeybees a number occasions prior to this, without dire effect.
I am passing on the information I have gleaned, and I am trying to get an introduction to the couple if patient confidentiality will allow it!

The report was of two initial stings by a "hornet", I am trying to work out what member of the bee family ( having bee venom) could have attacked her?
Any ideas?


James

one of the solitary bees?, their venom seem different to AMM,see pdf

 

[Amari]

:

Thanks Itma, you of course are quite correct.

As for humour it was definitely antipodean!
It would have to be for a immunologist in a country with venomous bears, blue ring octopus and stinging cone shells, not to forget the platypus and box jellyfish!!!
Thanks
James

I know that Koalas have a bifurcate penis (and the females have two vaginas), but venomous??

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

:

bifurcate (2:

no need for that language - this is a family forum you know

 

[jonnybeegood]

Thanks Itma, you of course are quite correct.

The patient has been undergoing desensitisation for wasp venom, as she was stung by a large flying insect, suspected to be a hornet as the beast flew away after stinging twice (on the Busty area), and went immediately into traumatic anaphalaxis ( ambulance job!) This would have been around noon one day in August 2013.

This October ( 2014) she was stung by a honeybee when assisting her husband ( with a bright torch!) to move a colony from one apiary to another
( He runs around 60 colonies) She did not go into shock, but did feel giddy and took 2 antihistamine ( Certirizine) and 2 predisolone supplied in her kit, but did not feel the need to use the Epipens.

Subsequently she has shown a very high titre to bee venom, but low to wasp venom


Her husband is a beekeeper and says he had to remove a hornet nest from a neighboring garden the following week, as the neighbors small child had been stung by a hornet ( the insect was swatted immediately after the stinging incident)

I met the consultant chappie at a dinnerparty, and he was interested to know my views and what other flying bee like insect could have been the culprit?

I wonder if it could have been a Tree Bumble as we have quite a few here in the South West?

As for humour it was definitely antipodean!
It would have to be for a immunologist in a country with venomous bears, blue ring octopus and stinging cone shells, not to forget the platypus and box jellyfish!!!

Thanks


James

A tree Bumble look nothing like a wasp, honey bee or hornet, I don't see how someone would mix these up, if that's the case then it could have been any type of Bumble bee?? The average Joe public cant identify most flying insects, bees/wasps or whatever, I would hope someone married to a beekeeper would know the difference surely.

 

[Amari]

no need for that language - this is a family forum you know

Oh dear! Profound apologies. I now realise there are many, maybe the majority, (Forum poll needed here ?) of very gently nurtured folk contributing to this forum.

 

[theeggman]

no need for that language - this is a family forum you know

JBM we are in early Dec.and shed theory comes into play, TOO much time in the beesheds.

 

[kazmcc]

I've just read that queens carry 2 to 3 times the volume of venom in their poison sacs The Biology of the Honey Bee, and it does mention they have only tiny barbs so they can keep stinging, and the plates are firmly attached so the sting can be retracted after use which is why they do not die after stinging. I've only read the first few chapters and it says nothing about queens stinging humans so far.