Range of reactions to stings

[Phayze]

I am amazed at how many times people are getting stung!

twice last year on fingers minor irritation 0 this year but I do wear gloves now and am more careful when inspecting frames so as not to trap any bees between finger and frame

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I am led to believe that the sting potency is related to the age of the bee . The period between it being a house bee and being a forager IE, when on guard duty, being at its most potent ?
VM

Seem to remember from the course I did that one of the triggers to become a guard bee is the development of the sting. Or did I dream that?

 

[small_newworld]

Does the bee smell provoke allergy symptoms?

Does anyone have reations to just the 'smell' of bees alone??


Not swelling or pain but reactions similar to hayfever- runny nose, irritated lungs, sneezing...?


The scent of the hive on opening is quite potent and then if the bees are at your face they smell very potent- can they spray venom if they cant sting you? ie through a veil?

 

[Merlin]

The experience has changed with me over the years - started 25 years ago with the usual swelling and a bit of pain which turned to itching within a day or so. Got plastered eventaully with 30+ around the head due bees getting into a veil and that episode triggered a dimunition in reaction for some years. But in recent years I find that if stung about or near the head I get a reaction where I can feel it moving through me like a prickling effect and the heart races . If I get some anti histamine down me asap normally this is gone in 30 mins. But this I think demonstrates a U curve of reaction that is I believe quite common in high sensitivity at first, which diminishes with more stings, then returns as age catches up and the body says don't want any more of this please.

The anti histamines and phone therefore now always accompany me on inspections these days

 

[susbees]

I have a wealth of information [digested from over 600 medical papers - nothing like being a nerd :0) ] on wasp stings but I'm not entirely sure how transferable that information is to bee stings or if it is of interest.

Regards,

Karol

Look forward to you transferring your interest to bee sting research

 

[Mike a]

can they spray venom if they cant sting you? ie through a veil?

I was watching a very angry bee last year who was desperate to sting me squirt its venom when it was hanging off the front of my veil. The jet of liquid was very fine and lasted less than half a second but it missed me and my suit completely. After the bee flew away I could still see a very tiny droplet still on my veil.
I'm sure it wasn't relieving itself as the droplet on my veil was clear.

 

[JCD]

"Does anyone have reations to just the 'smell' of bees alone??
Not swelling or pain but reactions similar to hayfever- runny nose, irritated lungs, sneezing...?"

Funny you should mention this, as I had this reaction a couple of weeks ago. I was stung on my hand during the same inspection, and thought it might be a reaction to the sting, although I've never reacted in this way before either when opening the hive, or when being stung. An antihistamine tablet controlled the reaction with a couple of hours. As for my stings, I swell up, and itch, and stay swelled for 3 days. The severity depends on where I was stung.

 

[Nickod]

I must admit, I get stung a lot. I assumed other beeks I talk to are not quite honest about how often they are stung, but maybe I'm just clumsy. I probably get stung once a week on average and now, after 3 years, I'm almost immune. On most occassions, there is no reaction, but sometimes, I might have itching and swelling the following day. Stlll a lot less than in my first year when each sting would itch like mad for 3 days.

I think there may be other reasons for the differences in how frequently people get stung. e.g temperament of the bees and temperament of the keeper:

My bees are very relaxed most of the time. I've seen some very aggressive bees in another hive and virtually all of my stings one year came from helping with this hive. They seemed to know where and when the suit would touch the skin and almost dive bomb (in reverse) to ensure the sting went through the cloth.

I guess I don't like being stung and try and avoid it. Which probably doesn't help and probably makes me more nervous around the bees. If I got stung more and got more immunity I'd probably be a better beekeeper.

 

[madasafish]

I get stung a lot on my bare hands. Having changed soap this year to plain unscented, I have had no more stings... but then the weather is lousy so few bees to see and no inspections possible.

I will review end of the 2012 season.

 

[small_newworld]

I was watching a very angry bee last year who was desperate to sting me squirt its venom when it was hanging off the front of my veil. The jet of liquid was very fine and lasted less than half a second but it missed me and my suit completely. After the bee flew away I could still see a very tiny droplet still on my veil.
I'm sure it wasn't relieving itself as the droplet on my veil was clear.

Mike, I have seen liquid on the front of my veil around the time of starting to feel a bit allergic- I had thought that this was condensation of my breath however your observations seem to confirm my thoughts that they can leak it via their sting without actually stinging.

Perhaps someone else can confirm these suspicions???

 

[sandysman]

I am led to believe that the sting potency is related to the age of the bee . The period between it being a house bee and being a forager IE, when on guard duty, being at its most potent ?
VM

Bees have no venom when they first hatch out but the venom developes quickly over the first two weeks so I guess it also depends what stage of maturity the bee is at when you get tagged.

Andy

 

[victor meldrew]

Guard duty is oft quoted as commencing at day 18
VM

 

[simonwig]

Straying but.....
A friend, and not a beek, tells me of when his wife got stung by a bee.

Having dinner in a posh hotel, sat outside on the terrace.

Bee stings wife on the breast, through the blouse, just next to the important part of said organ…..

Not knowing what to do they run to the loos (ladies) and she pulls off the top to try and find the sting and pull it out. Not being able to see it, husband decides to suck out the poison, at which point hotel manageress walks in……… Hitler in a skirt, and somewhat disconcerted at the scene in front of her throws them out.

Consequences, all the staff next morning giggling as they check out……………….no names to protect the not so innocent!

Simon

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Not got it on YouTube, by any chance?

 

[simonwig]

Not got it on YouTube, by any chance?

Sorry, no, but if offered enough wine then I'm sure they could be persuaded to re-enact it!

 

[jprickard]

This year a few stings - the two on the ankle seems to annoy the most as they swell and are tender. I also have some on neck - these relaxed after 24 hours to a minor lump which are a minor irrantant.

Now the latest - checked on the apiary at 6pm this evening and all was OK until one of the girls decided to chase me - bottom first - and stung me on the eyelid.

The sting was removed only after about 3 mins, I took two spoons of Piraton ( from the childrens medicine cabinet) and placed a cold compress on the eye.

Right now 5 hours later it feels like a sty, under the eye is red and a little puffy so far so good. Now off to bed hoping that all will be OK in the morning. I hope that the Elephant Man look will not take over.

 

[itchyhives]

I'm sure I saw a nice picture on here last year with a sting to the head was it you Monsieur Abeille? Normally I don't really react apart from tightness and a slight burning sensation for a few hours but I did have one lady who somehow slipped inside my suit last year and stung me on the bridge of my nose? Interesting one side of my face expanded while the other stayed us ugly as it had always been.

 

[psafloyd]

It sounds good to me. There are several angles you could take and whilst all are interesting it could make a survey complicated unless you separate them

a) number of stings in a season - and factors contributing
b) reactions to stings and how they vary e.g. during season, over seasons, based on where stung, and type of bee!
c) practice in minimising likelihood of sting and impact of sting beforehand
d) practice in minimising impact of sting after the event

and there are probably more.

but I'd be happy to contribute.

What do some of the more experienced keepers think? Might well prove to be that greater numbers of stings come from poor handling from those who have not done a formal course. Of course, greater number of stings may come from those who are exposed x hours a day to bees and therefore have a greater chance of getting stung.

I got stung three times last year and I had three colonies. Maybe you get one per colony... I already had one from my new colony, but that was misfortune. I managed to trap a bee as I picked up the crown board and squeeze the sting in. It didn't stay in, but I got a bit of the venom.

Admin, if we can get a poll people are happy with, is there a way of sending it to everyone?

 

[itchyhives]

This is a difficult one, I only got 3 stings last year with 8 hives but it might depend on what level of protection people use. My girls were always more tetchy on **** too, and if they were opened up on days when the weather might not have been ideal. Also you have a massive difference in temperament between colonies some I would not handle without gloves and some I would.

 

[Nickod]

@jprickard
How is your eye this morning?


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