Beekeeper death in Utah

[Intheswamp]

Willard, Box Elder County, Utah Beekeeper dies from stings received during inspection... :(

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=29961123&nid=148

God bless her family,
Ed

[kebee]

Very sorry to hear about this, she may have been almost out when she came into the house and her husband didn't recognize it.

Ken

[blueblood]

Dang...sad.  I would be interested to know what type of suit/gloves she was wearing.  I catch a little flack it seems at times for wearing my full get up, the Ultra Breeze and Meyers Gloves which have to date, protected me 100% through some tough jobs.  I simply don't want to test my immunities to venom.  I am a light complected person that has issues with allergies and bee stings, while seemingly "text book" normal site reactions happen with me, I don't wan't to temp the fates and have my body decide it doesn't like venom.  I love this craft sooooo much and it would be a real downer for me to have to quit.  I know some folks have better reactions with multiple stings but it's just not for me.     God bless her family now as they try to cope and pick back up. 

[efmesch]

   Very upsetting.  Young woman, young child, young husband......one can never know. 

[Jen]

Blue, she was only wearing a veil and gloves :(  I do that as well. Seems when it 80 degrees and no wind the bees just couldn't care less if I'm in the hive. Vid also said that no queen was found in this hive. So Sad

[tbonekel]

That is very troubling. I'm not allergic, but think about the things that can go wrong when I am working the hives by myself. I've already been to the er once because of bees and not because of stings, but my misuse of a ladder. My heart goes out to her family.

[apisbees]

This is so sad a story.
My thoughts and prayers are with her family.
As beekeepers we need to know when to back away from a hive and when to run. We get complacent in the fact that most times the bees are calm and complacent. If the bees should come out with a vengeance we need to recognize this behavior and move out of their protective territorial area and get prepared to go back in fully protected. the natural instinct is to thy to put the hive back together but receiving mutable stings while doing so because of being not fully suited is not a good thing.

[Slowmodem]

A sad story to be sure.  I'm with Blue, I always suit up.  I hate to be stung.  My belief is that it never hurts to take a benadryl, and it makes a sting itch much less.

[LazyBkpr]

      I have been tested multiple times with multiple stings. Taking as many as claimed she had.  I know that does not mean I do not need to be careful.
   I was told at a young age that if I never got stung, when I finally DID get stung it could be really bad, so I have never tried to avoid a "few" stings. I have in fact gone into a hive knowing they were grouchy hoping I would get two or three stings, when I had not been stung in a month or two..
    I have noticed, getting stung after a long winter I have more of a reaction than at the end of fall. By fall I typically have no reaction at all, so have always believed that the old fellow who brought me into bees knew what he was talking about.
   There seems to be some well versed people here in allergies and their effects..   
      I am honestly not greatly bothered by a sting or two, provided of course the location of the sting is not..... sensitive..  Lip, eyelid etc..    I have often wondered if wearing protective gear ALL the time to avoid ALL stings would eventually cause my reaction to being stung to be worse, or even deadly?

   My worst episode was 30 to 40 stingers removed, I have no idea how many stings in total..  I got a bit sick about 3 am, then went back to bed... other than that I felt fine, no swelling etc...   If I struggled to avoid being stung, what would happen when I received that many stings, as the poor lady we just heard about did?

[Gypsi]

at minimum I wear jeans tennis shoes, bee jacket with veil hood and gloves.

If working africans I wear boots full suit zipped veil and gloves, and add duct tape over openings and where gloves meet sleeves.

[litefoot]

Wow, this whole episode has me thinking about my situation. My backyard hives are just across a 7 ft dog ear wood fence from my neighbors who have several young children playing out back all the time. They're good neighbors, but I can tell by their conversation that they "notice" the extra bees hanging around their flower and garden area. Then this past week, they were out back when a "tornado" of bees passed from my yard over to their yard; eventually ending up in a tree back over the fence in my yard. They hustled the kids inside and were genuinely frightened; probably because of the "Killer Bee" movies. Can't say I blame them. But I did take time to explain to them the nature of swarms and that this is a time when they're probably least likely to get stung. But what if one of his kids had gotten stung and is allergic? I'm up to 7 colonies in my back yard and will probably need to split into 2 more before the end of the season. Maybe I need to consider moving my backyard operation somewhere else.

[pistolpete]

A sad story for sure.  I read somewhere that 200 stings is equivalent to a rattle snake bite.  So even 40 is nothing to take lightly.  I think the most I've had is 5 (the first and only time I went into a hive after sun down).   I have almost no reaction to stings, but I share littlefoot's worries.  My back yard hive is across the lane from a playground.  that's why I am not expanding my apiary and doing my absolute best to avoid swarms.

[tecumseh]

sadly this will happen.  as litefoot suggest anyone keeping bees in highly populated urban areas need to view this as a warning < you can control what and when you do things but you have no control over your neighbor letting their child or pet into the back yard to play.  and of course you never know about how others think.... as was suggest to me yesterday when one of my neighbors (in shorts and tennis shoes and a short sleeve shirt) wanted to come up and chat while I was totally dismantling a hive.  what sometime does or does not go thru some folks mind is a real mystery to me.

[blueblood]

what sometime does or does not go thru some folks mind is a real mystery to me.

On a lighter note, after 15 years of law enforcement thus far, I am in agreeance with Tec....I come across some real doozies...

[riverbee]

my heartfelt prayers go out for this family. this was a heartbreaking and frankly, scary article for me to read.

interesting though, i do know the young beekeeper they interviewed for the story, kyle kanno.

it is very unfortunate that many of us have no idea if we are allergic or hypersensitive until the day it happens, and are typically not prepared for it. not sure how she could have been prepared under the circumstances, very sad.

even those of us who have worked bees and regularly receive stings, the immune system is so complex.  from the article it would seem she suffered from 'mass envenomation', and from my own reading of allergic reactions, can also lead to secondary complications, like kidney failure, 'renal insufficiency'.

many of us, use no protective gear, or smoker and take for granted that we will  be alright.  i would agree with what has been said about being cognizant of our neighbors our beekeeping practices, and what tec said.

[Lburou]

I'm sad for the family and the loss of a human life.  But, let me point out that the author of the piece has cited no cause of death as determined by competent medical authority - a good example of hysteric fluff masquerading as fact.  We don't know whether or not an underlying condition actually caused the unfortunate cessation of this young life. 

If chocolate or bee stings will shorten life, then, I don't expect to live much longer. 

[litefoot]

I'm sad for the family and the loss of a human life.  But, let me point out that the author of the piece has cited no cause of death as determined by competent medical authority - a good example of hysteric fluff masquerading as fact.  We don't know whether or not an underlying condition actually caused the unfortunate cessation of this young life. 

If chocolate or bee stings will shorten life, then, I don't expect to live much longer. 

True. As a matter of fact, there is a comment on the article in KSL.com from a person who knows the victim who commented that she had MS and that part of her reason for keeping bees was for sting therapy.

[Intheswamp]

I'm sad for the family and the loss of a human life.  But, let me point out that the author of the piece has cited no cause of death as determined by competent medical authority - a good example of hysteric fluff masquerading as fact.  We don't know whether or not an underlying condition actually caused the unfortunate cessation of this young life. 

If chocolate or bee stings will shorten life, then, I don't expect to live much longer. 

I've been wondering about an underlying condition, too, Lburou.  Forty stings don't seem like it would be fatal unless she was allergic.  The husband stated that she seemed fine when she came inside...I was under the impression that allergic reactions started relatively quickly and with forty stings it seems she would have been visually in trouble when she came inside.  But, with the report of bodily functions shutting down it does sound like an allergic reaction.  I wonder if she suddenly hit *her* system's critical point in regards to venom tolerance.   

[Zulu]

I picked up on this yesterday morning , very sad.

It must be said that as keepers we need to learn how to read a hive too. If the hive warns you, be prepared, and they do warn you.

I am from Iddee's camp and seldom suit up at all, and can work 20 or more times not taking a single sting if I am cautious and methodical.

I have had my days too though, 3 times in all , taking well north of 30 stings each time, one was a cut out in an apartment with no power in mid summer, and I dressed down to just short pants, and most stings were as a result of crushing them during comb cutout or stuck to me as they fell due to sweat or honey all over me, there was no way to be dressed in a suit that day. Lawn mower was another , and I bailed as they lit me up.

But when I work my phone is with me, my suit is there if needed and I have Benadryl and Zantac in my box , plus an epipen too ( for others not me :-)

I did two shake outs this week, both hives had laying workers , but despite their queenless status ,  both hives were well behaved , not a sting to be had between them, if I were to hazard a guess , there is so much nectar coming in at present, they are happy.

I won't let visitors come close unless they at minimum put on a veil, and I have gloves for them too if they want to handle the frames.

Learn to read the temperament of the hive and use a small bit of smoke too. And be safe.

[riverbee]

thank you zulu for your post, i appreciated it, and good advice.

lee~
"I'm sad for the family and the loss of a human life.  But, let me point out that the author of the piece has cited no cause of death as determined by competent medical authority - a good example of hysteric fluff masquerading as fact.  We don't know whether or not an underlying condition actually caused the unfortunate cessation of this young life.
If chocolate or bee stings will shorten life, then, I don't expect to live much longer.  "

sad for the family BUT.......?
"a good example of hysteric fluff masquerading as fact"? "Underlying condition".......
yes, sometimes the media really fluffs things, especially stinging incidents. no fluff in dying from an incident that started with keeping bees and being stung for whatever reason, and losing your loved one.

"if chocolate or bee stings will shorten life, then, i don't expect to live much longer"
less than i hour, if anaphlyaxis, and 30 minutes or less without treatment.  mass envenomation, maybe 3 or 4 days.

MAYBE HAD MS
it is  medical belief that those with immune system illness's/diseases are more susceptible to anaphylactic or systemic reactions from stinging incidents.

MAYBE HAD AN ALLERGY....
one sting, that's all it takes for some. that's all it took for me and some others here on the forum to wind up in an er room being treated for anaphylactic shock or a systemic reaction. ain't pretty.

not going to apologize for what i said here. my opinion,  how insensitive and flys in the face of anyone truly allergic to stinging insects, and lives to tell about it.  no fluff here. 

hope i didn't kill this thread, just being honest.  this story and loss of life serves as a reminder to all of as to what can happen. 

aw riverbee went off the deep end.......dang right i did.....hope someone carries an epi pen or two cuz of my going off the deep end.