Honey Bee Conservation

Don’t worry.  the fact is, only very few people are actually ‘truly’ allergic to honey bee stings.  This is when people stung by honey bees can go into Anaphylactic shock.  This is a condition that must be treated immediately by emergency workers and a shot from Epi-pen is necessary.

Again, very very few people experience this reaction.

Most common is the still annoying itching, burning sensation and swelling of the sting area.  This is not an allergic reaction, this is a local reaction to the venom from the bee.

The best way to treat this is to carefully remove the stinger from the sting area.  Use your thumbnail or a pocketknife to scrape the stinger out. Do NOT squeeze or put pressure on the part of the stinger left outside of the sting, that will only squeeze more of the venom and make the itchiness, etc.. feel worse.

Clean off the sting area immediately to remove the pheromone that the bee left, that way other bees will leave you alone.

Now is a good time to take some Benadryl. You can apply a cold compress to the swollen sting area to reduce the swelling.  In as little as a few hours to maybe a couple of days, the sting will be done with.

Why Do Honey Bees Sting?

Contrary to the reports by over hyped media, honey bees do not attack.  Not even the so called “Killer Bees” (which in reality are simply called Africanized Honey Bees) actually go looking for people to sting.

In most cases, honey bees couldn’t care less about us.  We might be interesting to them in terms of scent (sweat, sugary soda or gum ,etc on our breath or perfumes and so on) but that is only an interest in the scent, not an interest to sting.

Honey bees will sting to defend their hives and as a last resource, themselves, and even then, sometimes not.

The mis-understanding comes in when we don’t actually see the hive they are defending.  If people get in the way of the entrance to the hive, which may be hidden from view behind a bush or a wall, etc.. and we walk or stand blocking it’s path, they will defend that.

If we physically tap, bump,  knock on or otherwise disturb a hive, even if we don’t realize it’s a hive, they will defend it.

If we accidentally  (or for those bad kids, intentionally) step on or otherwise squish a bee, you can get stung,. Either intentionally by the bee, or more likely, because the bee died and the stinger got you anyway.  Sometimes a sting from a bee can be as un-intentional as bumping a hive you didn’t know was a hive.

Remember, not all stinging insects are honey bees.  As a matter of fact, most people have a hard time telling the difference between some honey bees and Yellow jackets.  To them, it’s yellow, flying and has a stinger. So they assume a bee and it’s usually not.

How To Prevent Getting Stung

First and foremost, pay attention.  When we are outside, we are never alone.  Just because we don’t see any other people does not mean other living creatures aren’t there.

If you see a bee just flying around and comes near you, first thing: Stay Calm.  As stated earlier, it’s just curious and as long as you are not very close to the hive, it pretty much has no interest in stinging anyone or anything.

If you see a few bees buzzing around and you think you might be near a hive, slowly and calmly walk about 100 feet away from that area. Don’t walk in a straight line either, make a left or right turn for about 10 or 20 feet here and there.

If you are playing frisbee and crash into a hive and the bees start pouring out, run as fast as your feet can carry  you to the nearest doorway and go in.  Find as much benadryl as you can and remember to never play frisbee over there again.

About Bee stings in General

The bee is killing herself if and when she stings.  Yet, she does this in times of ‘threat’ to the hive without hesitation.  It’s just ‘programmed’ into bees  that is the action to take when the nest is ‘invaded’.

When she stings, the stinger is attached to a small organ that contains bee venom, which in turn is packed within the hard little shell of her body.  to have the stinger pulled out of her, requires the organ be pulled out as well as some other internals.  It’s a ‘kamikaze’ act if there ever was one.

The venom sac also releases a pheromone, a scent, into the air that other bees intent on guarding the nest c n follow and continue the air defense ( in the way they view it, they are only defending their home).

Once the stinger is ‘stung’ into it’s target, the venom sac keeps pumping out venom and the stinger is barbed in a scissor fashion so it can keep working deeper into the target, trying to make the most effect, even after the bee herself is gone.

This is why we say not to pull or squish the stingre/venom sac, but scrape it out with the least pressure possible instead.