Sting Count...

[Jen]

Ya Baker, a stinger can continue to pump in venom for up to 7 hours, although it will not pump as vigorously as that first intitial sting. There is a muscle on the end of the stinger, where it was attached to the bee, that keeps working the the stinger in.

[LazyBkpr]

  Alcohol!  I found a cure!

   OK... WOOT!!!!!
    I am going to use this as a QUOTE, and irrefutable PROOF that Alcohol and immunity to bee venom go hand in hand..   So that my evening RUM is a NECESSARY part of LIFE!!!
   So long as I keep bees, I MUST have my evening RUM!! EVERY DAY!!!!

   yes, CpnO is my new Hero!

[apisbees]

To add to what Jen said a fresh dead bee can also sting if you come in contact with the stinger and stick yourself.

[Jen]

Yep Apis    it's because of the barbs on the stinger, so when the barbs contact the skin the stinger pulls off and even tho the bee is dead, the muscles on the end of the stinger can still work.

[riverbee]

"To add to what Jen said a fresh dead bee can also sting if you come in contact with the stinger and stick yourself."

not recent, but don't ask me how i do know this is true..........

[lazy shooter]

I think I have been stung by everything that flies in my area, also bitten by spiders, twice, and numerous scorpions.  The most painful sting was either from one of those "cow killer" ants or a bumble bee.  A honey bee sting is the least painful of all for me.  The sting initially burns a few minutes, and in 30 minutes there is no visible evidence that I was stung.  That being said, after reading of River's and others problems with stings, I try not to get stung.  I have never been able to feel any benefit to my arthritis or other pains from bee stings.  As of this moment, the benefits of apitherapy are non existent.  Therefore, fewer stings are my objective.

As per sting count, I have probable been stung five or six times this year.

[Lburou]

Another war story...

Since we are telling war stories and baring our scars, I thought I'd chime in to report one of the dumbest (beekeeping) things I've done....ever.

It was my first hive.  It needed to be moved.  My neighbor and I couldn't move it until after dark -in case you don't know, its a bad time to move a hive be cause bees crawl at night.  Well, the bees got a little upset and with no attempt to block the entrance, they proceeded to crawl up my arms, stinging as they went.  The neighbor got a sting on his wrist.  I got a tweezers and pulled it out -his entire forearm swelled incredibly big for the next few days.  I counted 75 stings going up my arms and neck. Luckily, most of them were through my shirt and there were not many stingers.

I get stings every day I work the bees because of working barehand.  I've enjoyed some relief from arthritis in my hands, but that relief seems to be lessening. 

[Jen]

Salute Lazy  I like to hear when people make a clear decision about medicine.

[efmesch]

I envy those of you who can still keep an accounting (even if not totally accurate) of the stings you've received.
On my first introduction to beekeeping (summer 1972) my mentor was taking off honey and I was not properly garbed for the event.  I absorbed over 100 stings that day.  After I had reached a rough counting of "over 10,000", I stopped even thinking about them.   That was about twenty years ago.
But Perry is right---they may not last long, but they still do sting.  :'(

[LazyBkpr]

I agree Ef, they do still sting.   
   I believe in taking a ting now and then.  After reading, and talking to my doctor, I believe that there is something to building up an allergic reaction if EVERY sting is avoided completely.

[DonMcJr]

1 1/2 Stings in 4 years. I either have nice bees or y'all have mean nasty bees! LOL! Both them were this year too...one installing a Package in 48 F weather and another inspecting and that's the 1/2 cause she got my rubber glove and it just nicked my hand enough to know she tried...

Man as I type I keep seeing a lot of "Insects" Buzzing my live camera feed for the Deer in the Food Plot...better go make sure my one loaded Double Nuc didn't swarm...

[CpnObvious]

I didn't add number 8&9 from Monday... #8 (hive #2) - I let her suffer slowly for her death... she was out for blood.  I have NO IDEA what I did to deserve getting stung in my left arm.  #9 (hive #1), on the other hand, I put her out of her misery quickly... She was innocent (as with most of my stings, I was at fault).  I didn't know she was walking on my shirt near my belt line, and when I bent over to put a hive body on the ground, I took one in the left side of my gut.  I kind of felt sorry for her.

As far as bees being mean... My hive #3 has been exceptionally testy for the past month.  I even put a veil and long-sleeve cotton gloves on Monday BEFORE going into it (I never wear anything other than nitrile gloves when I go into my hives, Yeah, picture THAT and sleep on it!  )... and it was a darn good thing I did!  Must've totaled at least 15 that I watched try to repeatedly sting my gloves.  What I thought was funny, though, was that a couple of them could never get their stingers to grab into the material, so that just walked around STAB! STAB! STAB!

[riverbee]

use your smoker on the area you have been stung......

"Smoke can also be used to mask the alarm pheromone left after a beekeeper has been stung. Because the gland that releases the alarm pheromone is at the base of the sting, some of this pheromone marks the area where you are stung. Other bees that detect this signal (pheremone) may also sting the tagged area. Therefore, hands, clothing, and bee gloves that have been stung should also be smoked to mask the alarm odor."

[brooksbeefarm]

Went to a outyard yesterday, thought i would have 8 med supers of honey. but only took 4 supers. Been dry here until last week, got 3 inches of rain so maybe the aster will kick in. I paid dearly for the 4 supers, it was 92F  down in a woods (no breeze) and they were mean, quit counting after 16 hits through wet jeans. Jack

[Jen]

Oh yeah Jack, that's a lot of stings! Take it easy and don't be surprised if you feel a little fluish tomorrow ~ check in with us would ya? 

[brooksbeefarm]

No problem here Jen, my 3 brothers and nephew just left, we play pitch ( card game) every Friday from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Mom made us promise to stay closes net so were carrying on a family tradition, family members and neighbors always got together on Saturday nights to play pitch (5 point). my brothers and 38 first cousins played kick the can, hide and seek, ect. ate home made ice cream, watermelon, and all the cool aide you could drink This was before TV . I have a little itching but thats about it other than being in the loser category at the card table all night. Jack

[Jen]

Good to hear your feeling okay Jack. But still check in tomorrow okay?... pretty please 

[brooksbeefarm]

Extracted the 4 supers of honey yesterday afternoon (two 5 gal. buckets of honey). The itching from the stings is gone, still have honey to take off. The way customers are buying 8 to 20 quarts at a time to make sure they have a winter supply? i don't know if i will have enough honey to sell at the Fair Grove festival the last weekend of this month? Hope the bees are in a better mood when i take the rest of the honey off, i'm thinking because of the dry weather and most of the bees are home and bearding that they blamed me for all there trouble, that gave me Perry's avatar look. Jack