Stupid, stupid, stupid

JMN · June 12, 2007, 07:03:57 PM

I don't usually call myself stupid, but after yesterdays event I have to. I went with a friend of mine to help him and learn taking off honey. During robbing of the hives I had a couple bees get under my veil. So I walked a few feet away and took my veil off to shake them out. What a bad idea that was. I got over 100 stings on my head and face. I am still recovering from the stings today and still pulling out the stingers. That sure was the hard way to learn to never take off your veil to get one or two bees out because the one or two stings are a lot better then 100.

Second lesson I learned was to re-queen more often than he is doing it. He did not re-queen in several years and his bees are very agressive and I meen very, very agressive, almost to the africanized bee standard. They followed me over 100 feet and they did not stop until I had a chance to put my helmet and veil back on. My friend tells me that because his bees are over 150 miles away he doesn' get there often enough to re-queen and also they are producing very well.

Third lesson, if you wear a bee suit be sure to zipper the veil to the suit.

Signed: Stupid

BeeHopper · June 12, 2007, 07:14:39 PM

Quote from: JMN on June 12, 2007, 07:03:57 PM
I don't usually call myself stupid, but after yesterdays event I have to. I went with a friend of mine to help him and learn taking off honey. During robbing of the hives I had a couple bees get under my veil. So I walked a few feet away and took my veil off to shake them out. What a bad idea that was. I got over 100 stings on my head and face. I am still recovering from the stings today and still pulling out the stingers. That sure was the hard way to learn to never take off your veil to get one or two bees out because the one or two stings are a lot better then 100.

Second lesson I learned was to re-queen more often than he is doing it. He did not re-queen in several years and his bees are very agressive and I meen very, very agressive, almost to the africanized bee standard. They followed me over 100 feet and they did not stop until I had a chance to put my helmet and veil back on. My friend tells me that because his bees are over 150 miles away he doesn' get there often enough to re-queen and also they are producing very well.

Third lesson, if you wear a bee suit be sure to zipper the veil to the suit.

Signed: Stupid

Next time smoke yourself, helps mask the alarm odor. :-D

Mici · June 12, 2007, 07:26:46 PM

fourth lesson (learned by the friend): don't copy my friend JMN :mrgreen:

i don't know, but bees that crawl up the veil, are usually there just by chance, none of them has ever stung me, although i do get a bit nervous.

Kirk-o · June 12, 2007, 07:46:42 PM

All my Bees are wild swarms except two from Dee Lusby Just because they are mean dosen't mean they are AFRICANIZED.I a;ways take the time to put my gear on and get my smoker working good.If you are prepared and have the right gear on you can deal with some pretty agressive bees.Next time take the time to suit up smoke them right don't bump or be in a hurray take your time you will have more fun less pain.Sometimes poor beekeeping can make them aggressive also I know this from experience
kirko

good luck next time

JP · June 12, 2007, 08:05:55 PM

my guess would be that the bees were not smoked properly. Calm them with smoke, then go ahead and poke. :mrgreen:

JMN · June 12, 2007, 08:20:57 PM

Quote from: JP on June 12, 2007, 08:05:55 PM
my guess would be that the bees were not smoked properly. Calm them with smoke, then go ahead and poke. :mrgreen:

Now that you mentioned, my friend never smoked the front of the hives, only under the cover. I guess this going to be my 4th lesson.

JMN · June 12, 2007, 08:30:06 PM

Quote from: Kirk-o on June 12, 2007, 07:46:42 PM
All my Bees are wild swarms except two from Dee Lusby Just because they are mean dosen't mean they are AFRICANIZED.

I know they're not africanized bees, I just used that word to illustrate how agressive they were.

JP · June 12, 2007, 08:50:09 PM

smokem' twice and they be nice. :-D

pdmattox · June 12, 2007, 09:45:31 PM

Quote from: JP on June 12, 2007, 08:50:09 PM
smokem' twice and they be nice. :-D

Boy I like that quote! That is what I do, smoke the entrance and then the top when you lift the lid. The bees are always a little defensive when robbing honey. Thier are no stupid mistakes, just learning opertunities.

Jeff L · June 12, 2007, 10:46:32 PM

100 stings on the head and neck, and you're still alive? Wow! 1 sting on me swells up like crazy and turns purplish the next day or two and lasts a week. What the heck did you look like after 100 stings? Serious question! I couldn't even imagine that happening to me. I'd be in the trauma unit or dead.

Jeff

JMN · June 13, 2007, 01:12:33 AM

Jeff,

I didn't look too bad after the attack, except for all those little stingers all over my head and neck, but I sure did get sick to my stomach. I throw up about an hour after the attack. How ever by this morning my head swell up to twice the size, but by this afternoon the swelling begin to subside.

JNM

wtiger · June 13, 2007, 02:14:26 AM

ouch. Glad to see you're still alive after that. 100 stings is a lot. It obviously wasn't all your fault. That's one hot hive.

Michael Bush · June 13, 2007, 07:58:01 AM

>Second lesson I learned was to re-queen more often than he is doing it. He did not re-queen in several years and his bees are very agressive

I don't requeen unless they are failing and mine are not agressive.

But if they WERE agressive, I'd requeen in a heartbeat.

Scadsobees · June 13, 2007, 09:18:15 AM

My son got a bee in his bonnet, and rather than quietly walking a few feet away and removing it (like you did), he just quickly ripped it off in a panic. We were right over the unhappy hive that we were ripping through. But I don't keep mean bees and he didn't get stung.

I can just imagine a body with a cloud of bees instead of a head... and then a body with a beachball on it instead of a head. I think if I mentioned to my wife my head swelling to double she would shriek in laughter because it is already so large already!! I wouldn't be able to get through a door!

Sounds like a bunch of painful lessons.....that is where it becomes purely business and no pleasure.

Hope you are feeling back to normal by this morning!!

Rick

Ross · June 13, 2007, 10:27:40 AM

Quotesmokem' twice and they be nice.

Spoken by a man that's never seen a really hot hive. When they're really hot, you have to nearly asphyxiate them. In fact, smoke makes some hives meaner.

Cindi · June 13, 2007, 10:40:37 AM

JMN. I am grateful that you didn't have a terrible reaction to so many things, like hospitalization. You have learned some valuable lessons. There will be many, many, more. I am good at learning lessons. sometimes I forget lessons, and repeat the lessons that I wish that I had paid more attention to.

Thanks for sharing your story. Have a wonderful day, great life. Cindi

JMN · June 13, 2007, 10:55:41 AM

Quote from: Scadsobees on June 13, 2007, 09:18:15 AM
.

Hope you are feeling back to normal by this morning!!

Rick

Thanks for the good wishes. I am feeling OK and my head down only to one and a half size, so I think in a couple days it will go back to normal.

JNM

fishawk · June 13, 2007, 12:51:54 PM

It is amazing how one panicks when those little things are in your veil . Been there.

Bee1 · June 13, 2007, 01:24:15 PM

Ouch! I hope this never happens to me.

Bee1-wishing you a speedy recovery.

JMN · June 13, 2007, 01:26:44 PM

Quote from: Cindi on June 13, 2007, 10:40:37 AM
JMN. I am grateful that you didn't have a terrible reaction to so many things, like hospitalization. You have learned some valuable lessons. There will be many, many, more. I am good at learning lessons. sometimes I forget lessons, and repeat the lessons that I wish that I had paid more attention to.

Thanks for sharing your story. Have a wonderful day, great life. Cindi

Thanks Cindi. I just hope that other people will remember: Never to take off your veil for one or two bees inside, there are hundreds more waiting outside. Of the total of 3 or 4 that got in my veil all day, only one stung me, the others just wanted to get out. If I didn't take off my veil to shake the 2 out, I would've had one sting instead of the 100 or more.

Thanks again, JNM