A Short Note on Stinging.

Chad Cryer

I always forget just how painful it is to be stung. With respect to the stings, beginners must first be told that being stung is a painful experience and that no amount of time or experience lessens the initial pain of being stung. However, it must be impressed upon beginners that stings are entirely preventable. With the correct overalls, the correct boots, and the correct gloves with all the necessary zips zipped, and all ties tied it is impossible to be stung. Remembering this, as well as the need to brush any bees off you before de-robing and always changing clothes indoors if possible, you can minimise, if not forgo entirely the ordeal of being stung.

Remembering little of this, I recently attempted to go through my bees wearing gardening gloves. I did this because my normal gloves had disappeared; I was also using my car keys in place of my hive tool. The gardening gloves not only failed to protect my wrists which were stung repeatedly, but the canvas backs of the gloves provided little shielding against the stingers which stung the backs of my hands repeatedly too. If you don’t take chances you won’t get stung.

If you are wearing a smock with no bottoms then remember to wear two pairs of trousers, bees can easily sting through jeans and corduroy. Bees love to crawl into gaps in clothing, they will find the hole where you haven’t pulled the zip up sufficiently and join you inside the veil, (a most exhilarating experience and great fun for onlookers.) They will also discover the gap that appears between your smock and trousers when you lean forward, and run up the inside of your top to join their friends which made it through he zip’s gap and meet you inside your veil. Or, they will discover that nicely exposed patch of skin that is revealed on your back as you crouch down.

If you undress indoors, any bees able to fly will fly towards a window, the same is true of getting undressed in cars, (ask Chris about getting undressed in cars) but remember, injured and partially squashed bees are still able to sting so just be careful when pulling off your boots or pulling the smock over your head. The pain associated with stinging depends on whereabouts on your person you are stung, ankles and wrists tend to itch most, but for all-out pain wait until you are stung on the ear. I have never experienced pain like it - even child birth. If you ever receive a sting to the ear, feel free to ring for my sympathy.

My advice would be never to chance it. The fact that bees sting should never deter you from keeping bees (unless you are extremely allergic,) instead, it should make you more respectful of their nature. If you ask an experienced beekeeper if being stung ever reduces in pain, they will always say that it doesn’t, (and if they don’t say this then they are lying) what lessens is the later response. Two years ago when I was first stung, not only did it hurt like billyoh at the time, but I would have to put up with a week’s worth of swelling and itchiness thereafter, thankfully, as I have been stung repeatedly (over two hundred times last year) for failing to take my own advice my immunity has increased and I no longer swell or itch. Mind you, when I am by myself I do still like to cry. Immunity may change of course, we are all aware of the possible incidence of anaphylaxis, but as many non-beekeepers as beekeepers are stung, we cannot start jumping around worrying about that too much.

If you have someone with you in the apiary, ask them to check your back for resting bees; if you are alone and think you may have a few malicious pillions then why not simply roll on the grass before going inside or getting into the car? Crude but effective. Good luck!

Chad Cryer