# The first time you handled bees, what happened?



## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

In a previous thread I asked how to install a nuc. Matt NY proceeded to share his very first close encounter with bees when he installed a nuc. I found it very interesting and was wondering if anybody else would post about their first time (with bees only please :no.

Details like; what you were doing with the bees, what you were wearing for protection, if you had a mentor with you, what you would do differently, etc……. opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

Thanks,
Fred

P.S. I tried to start this thread yesterday in the "How to Start Beekeeping" forum. A message popped up telling me it would have to be approved by the moderator but it never posted. I'm not sure why. Sorry if this is an inappropriate thread for this forum.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Da Yooper said:


> P.S. I tried to start this thread yesterday in the "How to Start Beekeeping" forum. A message popped up telling me it would have to be approved by the moderator but it never posted. I'm not sure why. Sorry if this is an inappropriate thread for this forum.



Fred, if you read the first post in the first thread of that forum, it says:

"This is a moderated forum, so only the moderator can start a new thread. Our goal here is to expand on the threads that have already been started. New threads will be added along the way."

General newbee questions need to be posted in 101.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My first time getting bees was a cut out. I was wearing a veil and gloves and getting stung badly. I had no idea what I was doing. No mentor. I had read The Hive and the Honey Bee, Starting Right with Bees, and ABC XYZ of Beekeeping and all the ABJs and Bee Cultures available in the local library. But I had no practical experience. Probably not the wisest thing, but that was typical of me at that age.  I figured the best way to learn something was by jumping in and doing it. I think I was right. Shortly after I bought a full coverall with a zip on veil from Walter T. Kelly and a bigger smoker. The next cut out went much better.


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## power napper (Apr 2, 2005)

The first honey harvest was shameful. It was in 1959.
My oldest brother had bought an old house in the country that had several home made bee gums--foot wide oak boards nailed together to make a three foot long cavity for the ,colony. The top had two sticks nailed in the shape of an X for the bees to build comb on and a one inch square hole was cut into the bottom side for an entrance. These gums were nailed onto the south side of a shed about two feet above ground level
We had no knowledge of bees, no equipment and decided to wait until winter to get some honey.
When cold weather settled in we ripped one apart to collect our honey.


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## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

Barry said:


> Fred, if you read the first post in the first thread of that forum, it says:
> 
> "This is a moderated forum, so only the moderator can start a new thread. Our goal here is to expand on the threads that have already been started. New threads will be added along the way."
> 
> General newbee questions need to be posted in 101.


I'm sure I must have read that but have been reading so many things over the last few weeks I can't remember what is what. I guess what confused me was when my first post was moved to that forum. I thought I had posted it in the wrong one and it got moved and didn't want to repeat my error.

Thanks for clearing it all up.



> I figured the best way to learn something was by jumping in and doing it. I think I was right.


I'm the same way. I'll/we'll be jumping right in with no experience.



> Shortly after I bought a full coverall with a zip on veil from Walter T. Kelly and a bigger smoker. The next cut out went much better.


I'll definitely reconsider what I was planning on wearing (and not wearing).

Thanks,
Fred


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## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

power napper said:


> The first honey harvest was shameful. It was in 1959.
> My oldest brother had bought an old house in the country that had several home made bee gums--foot wide oak boards nailed together to make a three foot long cavity for the ,colony. The top had two sticks nailed in the shape of an X for the bees to build comb on and a one inch square hole was cut into the bottom side for an entrance. These gums were nailed onto the south side of a shed about two feet above ground level
> We had no knowledge of bees, no equipment and decided to wait until winter to get some honey.
> When cold weather settled in we ripped one apart to collect our honey.


What a great memory. Did you get any honey? How about stings?
Fred


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## bigbore (Feb 25, 2008)

I attended a class offered by the local bee club in the spring. When the class was over, I had purchased 2 packages through the club. I picked them up on Friday and called my mentor to see if he could help me install them. We went to the location where I was setting up the hives. I had on a full set of coveralls a tie on vale and gloves. He had on a long sleeve shirt. Before we opened the first package we lite up the smoker and he smoked his hands up good. We opened the first package removed the queen cage took out the cork and pinned it in the hive. We set the rest of the package on top of a deep foundation put the cover on and he said I did this one. It's your turn. 
I removed the queen cage dropped it back into the bees got it out pulled the wrong cork put it in the deep dropped the package of bees on the ground. I picked them back up fortunately most stayed in the box. Put it inside the second hive closed it up and walked away.
Scared to death did not know what I was doing but I was giving it a try.


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## kopeck (May 26, 2007)

Da Yooper said:


> What a great memory. Did you get any honey? How about stings?
> Fred


I have a feeling it wasn't a great memory. From the sounds of it they killed the colony.

I bet they got some honey though.

K


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

My first experience was with hives that a friend put in my backyard. He had an old veil that he gave me, and I would watch him work the bees standing still with my hands in my pockets hoping not to get stung. One day he asked me if I wanted to pull a frame, so I agreed. I asked if I would get stung and he said "You might, but try to stay calm and move slowly" I had no gloves and slowly pried the frame, then grabbed each end. To my surprise, the bees movved out of the way of where I was grabbing the frame. As I lifted it out some bees crawled onto my hands, but none of them stung me. I'll never forget that moment. After that, I was hooked. I plan to have around a dozen hives this year.


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

before my nextdoor neighbor got a hive,then another,...i was at mr johnsons house, across the street from home.he was a sweet old man who had lost his right leg when he was 11,during the depression,gone to work when he was 14 at the fulton company,fabricating, had a dog named Loo-Loo who made bikinis for lady bugs, and reading glasses for fleas,shapened mesquito beaks on his grinder at night for a nickel each,used his battery charger to help lightning bugs, we were sitting in his front yard, which was mostly dandilions,and he saw me nervously watching a bee flying around. he stuck his hand out to it and it landed right on him.he held it out to me so i could see it.he then showed me how i could slowly cup my hands around a bee on a flower and pick it up without getting stung.he had me catch a couple and that was the last time i was scared of bees.until 2 summers ago when a whole swarm rolled down my back and i was on the top rung of a six foot ladder,holding a big heavy box.maybe i should get a bee suit.my wife wasn't scared.she was laughing and filming the whole thing.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

I was an auto mechanic and one day I perked up and said outloud that I'd like to get a beehive. Another mechanic in the shop spoke up and said he'd give me one if I came to his house the next weekend.

I arrived at his house and he showed me and we both cut combs out of a beehive box and top board that had no frames in it. A swarm had moved in to this stored hivebox with topboard and bottom board. We cut the combs and tied them into frames with lightweight cotton string. He gave me the hive and i moved it home in the back of my minitruck. He also gave me a hive tool.

A neighbor of my Mom's was talking and I told him of my experience. He was a beekeeper and he gave me hive at that time also and a smoker and a tool.

I read The Hive and the Honeybee and the ABC XYZ and back ordered a years worth of ABJ. I worked my bees. I was scared to death but so facinated and had lots of beginners luck!


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

My first time handling bees was installing a nuc. I had previously been lurking at various online bee forums, and had taken a beginning beekeeping class, but hadn't been "up close & personal" yet with bees. I picked up my nuc from the supplier, put on a veil, old white shirt, jeans & gloves. I was just a bit nervous, but it was simple - just take frames of bees out of one box and put them into another. 

Changing the subject: are you aware there's a U.P. Bee club? I always recommend that new beeks get involved with a local club, when possible, so they can connect with other nearby beeks.
http://www.michiganbeekeepers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=30


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

What happened the first time I opened a colony of bees? I fell in love. )


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## Docking (Mar 13, 2008)

My first time of actually getting in to bees was a cut out. my dad had a small hive for a summer when I was 10 or so but I did not do any thing with it really. Two christmas ago my cousin's boyfriend was gathering scrap metal and found an old water tank that had a hive in it. I bought it for 3 dollars. I took it to my in-laws property until it was April. I one after night after they stopped flying and stopped the hole with a newspaper and started cutting the end with a saws-all. I left it connected til the next morning. I wore a Dandant jacket and a pair of fencing gloves (messed up the gloves with all the honey). I had never seen a queen bee in person in my life so I was scared I would miss her. It took me almost 2 hours to cut out and check all those combs! There was enough bees in there to have 2 strong hives. After packing bees and combs in the first deep, I poored a 2 gal bucket full of bees in an empty deep on top of the frames. oh and my first smoker was an empty coffee can.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

I was bare face and handed while installing a package after reading that they would be calm if engorged on syrup. I sprayed them down lightly but enough that they were quiet and involved with drinking the syrup. My 6 year old son who was standing 15 yards away was also bare faced and handed. I had told him not to move no matter what. Well, I'm dumping them out and everything is going well untill I hear a slight grunt from my son. I look over there and I see what appears to a bee on his eyelid. He's being a trooper and holding still as instructed until he gets a sting in the eyelid. All Hell broke loose after that. He got hit in the eyelid and eyebrow. I didn't get any stings, but I did get a heaping bowl hubris and hard learned experience.

I finished up installing the package and went home with a hurting son to a quickly unamused wife to order my son a beesuit. Lesson learned? Always be prepaired for the unexpected.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

My first time with bees was with Dr. Tarpy from NC State University. His bees were amazing, and it really made me feel comfortable handling them.

Only problem was when I later got my own bees, they ended up not being quite as nice as Dr. Tarpy's bees. I was handling the bees somewhat roughly, as NCSU bees didn't mind, but mine did.


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## idav5d (Nov 24, 2008)

justin said:


> a whole swarm rolled down my back... ...my wife wasn't scared.she was laughing and filming the whole thing.


Now that's You tube fodder if I ever saw it!

My grandfather (who I lived with) was a frustrated,unsuccessful beekeeper in the 60's. He passed away in the spring of 1970, and his contractors tool box was put in the back yard. A large feral swarm promptly moved in, and was watched intently by my cousin and I, both 10. One day after many dares, we each grabbed a corner of the lid and lifted it open. The bees came boiling out and my cousin ran,while I took a couple of slow steps back and looked in fascination. I remember him running, screaming (125 or so stings) and rolling in the grass (heavy with dog poop). I remember one or two stings from bees that crawled up my shirt, but mostly the honey on the broken comb glistening in the sun. I always seemed to find a beekeeper when I was in the Marines, and when my kids were old enough (for my wife's comfort) started seriously satisfying my curiosity with the bees again.


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## walking bird (Mar 2, 2008)

I don't have a great story to tell... fortunately

Got my package from UPS, sprayed it down, dumped it in the hive body, hung the queen cage, closed it up.

Only issue that came up--- I snuck a peek a little later and the queen cage had fallen, so I had to reopen the hive and get her back up between the top bars.

Other than that--- event-free. Just the way I like it!


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## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

indypartridge said:


> Changing the subject: are you aware there's a U.P. Bee club? I always recommend that new beeks get involved with a local club, when possible, so they can connect with other nearby beeks.
> http://www.michiganbeekeepers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=30


I did speak to the U.P. chairman on the phone. He was very nice and we talked for a long time. The problem is I'm right on the border of Wisconsin. Everything is so far. The class the University of MI extension is holding in the UP is a three hour drive. The classes I've found in Wisconsin are the same. I fell like we're on an island here when it comes to beekeeping.

Thanks for all the stories. I can't wait to be able to tell ours in May.

Fred


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

well first off my original mentor back on the western slope of the applachian mountains (the very western edge of THE washington plantation to be exact) name was frank beheler (bee-healer) and he kept german black bee. furious little beast and at the age of 11 I was even then a very curious cat.... but I really had absolutely no knowledge, no experience and no protective gear to deal with bees. my mother (who was the county home demonstration agent and who was at the time was operating the very first pilot project for a program that would later be called Head Start) sewed me up a veil out of some thin gauzy material (kind of embarrasing since I seem to recall that this head dress made me look more like a new bride than a beekeeper) and I use some oversized leather work gloves which worked kind of ok when I took an oversized long sleeve shirt and stuff this in the cuff of the gloves.

we went into frank's back yard.. opened a couple of hives and he showed me how to lift the frames and to pay special attention to not squishing 'his girls' (as he called them). I looked down thru the tops of the hives and thought... man there is so much going on in there that a person could study just that one thing for an entire lifetime and still have a lot to learn. got stung a bit around my wrist where the shirt sleeve had become unstuffed... not to bad as I recall (the swelling was minor). frank lent me a whole armful of information (old magazines and a copy of abc-xyz) which I took home and whole heartly consumed. 

the black cat's curiousity however had been tweaked.


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## xC0000005 (Nov 17, 2004)

Well, let's see.
The first time I ever saw a swarm up close and personal. (I was not a beekeeper at the time.

The first time I ever handled bees is covered here.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I'll let you know in April.


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## hankdog1 (May 17, 2008)

Well i'm gonna say my first experiance went off pretty easy as i bought 3 swarms off a very nice local woman. All went well i set them up on a huge rock on the farm facing the morning sun with no problems. Well a few days later i checked them to find one of the hives didn't have a queen so she kept her word and replaced them. I bring it home and let them sit cooped up on the back of the truck for the nite. So morning rolls around it's saturday and i need to get the hive in place and unstop the entrance. I loaded it on my Mule (ATV) and took it to the rock and with only a hive tool placed it and opened the entrance. Now notice i didn't mention a smoker cause i figured i could get out of there before i got tagged. Wrong!!!! They hit me seven times before i got it open and away from the hive. I looked like i had been in a fight with a prize fighter. Not to mention i had to help a buddy of mine with his bees. Needless to say he got a good laugh at my expense and i learned the importance of a good smoker. :doh:


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## timgoodin (Mar 10, 2007)

My first experience with bees was two years ago. I obtained a package from Kelleys and it was a full day event. We left home early and drove 3 hours to pick up the package, 3 hours on the return trip. When we arrived home I was extremely excited and also scared at the prospect of not doing the install correctly and getting STUNG. I watched a video at Kelleys and had been reading books for months. The moment had arrived just at the dusk I lit a smoker...got my sugar water spray ready, put on a bee suite, veil, gloves taped the legs arms everything shut and did the install. My family watched from the protection of the cab of the pickup and took some pictures. I looked like an astronaut in my getup. I remember being so scared that I would get stung! That is the main thing I remember...fear of the sting. The install went smooth and was over in a brief few minutes. I did not get stung and was relieved that I had done it.


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## swamprat (Jan 5, 2009)

we wear renting a pasture from a beekeeper last year.every day i would talk with him and his helper.one day i told him id like to keep bees. did a lot of reading and asking questions.one day his helper said come with me and ill show you.we walked slowly in to the bee yard opened a hive and pulled out a frame.he was pointing out the deferent cells of brood and said hear hold this and handed me the fram.bare handed i stood ther holding the frame.amazed i though i can do this.later i thanked him for giving me the confendents to handle bees from that moment on i was hooked.

Dwayne.S

vernon N.Y.


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## dcross (Jan 20, 2003)

My friend and I were going to do this together. 

Went through the hives together the first time, lot of running around and waving of arms. We each got stung once, on a fingertip.

His whole arm swelled up like a balloon, he ended up getting an IV a day or two later and an "allergic" diagnosis.

Good times He doesn't help much anymore though.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

My first experience with bees was when I was given two hives that were abandoned in an overgrown field in farmland about 20 miles south of me. A local beekeeper helped us fix up the rotten hives as best we could for transport, then the father in law and I went back to get the hives after dark to get them. At the time I had a large box van with 12 foot bed that we loaded the hives into. During the transport, bees were escaping and making their way up front through the man door and to the dashboard lights. We were getting some stings, so we decided to stop and put on our bee suits for the rest of the trip. A few miles further down the road, a hive shifted and bees were coming up front in such large numbers it was affecting my driving. We stopped and got out with bee suits on, opened the back and started to fix the hives.

As we were running around in bee suits with flashlights, I started to notice porch lights coming on, and dogs barking. Just then, thought came to mind, followed by a chill that ran up my spine, followed by an increasing bit of fear. A flash back of sorts to December 9, 1965 in a rural area called Kecksburg Pennsylvania, a UFO was said to have landed and caused a great deal of commotion with the locals, And here we were ‘in Kecksburg’ on the ‘same road’ very near to that same location of this UFO landing, in the middle of the night, dressed up in our radio active space gear. Fearing we might get shot at, I told the father in law, “forget about the bees, lets get the hell out of here” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_incident


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## Hobie (Jun 1, 2006)

My first experience with bees was attempting to remove them from a tree that was being taken down for one of my work projects. The tree guys cut a limb which tore the tree, opening up the hive. and they retreated. I had no idea what I was doing, and was sweating bullets. They lifted me up in the high lift and I removed the comb into a borrowed nuc, with all these tree guys watching me. I was trying to tie the comb in with string, and it got balled up into a huge mess. I tied the comb in sideways (not knowing better.) I got many bees, but not the queen. The group absconded from my hive about a week later. Didn't get stung, though! But I do hope I've learned since then.


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## Double D (Feb 12, 2009)

Six hours and six stings later I finished my 1st cut out from a fallen tree on Tuesday. Put them in a deep and brought them home. Although I never saw her, I am pretty sure I got the queen. It rained yesterday, but today bees are flying with a few returning with pollen.


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## franktrujillo (Jan 22, 2009)

:well it was back when i was 7 years old of course i loved insects didn't care what type well it was a nice fun day playing with my cousin so we decided like u slowly cup our hands over miss honey bee and we was both stung aat the same time :doh:now at then married moved colorado had kids met beekeeper from california who moved 11 hives over here warning! keeping bees doesn't make u a bee keeper well he showed me wht he knewnow i see it was very little after 2 year of research well all hives died starvation 
so now im teaching him a few things about bees he gave up and sold his equiptment now i just came thru winter from a 3# package i received in may


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## Jas0n Bresson (Feb 3, 2008)

I was putting honey in my herbal tea one winter morning and thought. How did this honey get in that bottle:scratch: After alittle internet research I was hooked. I joined a bee club and took there intro class. Started with a package that I won in the club raffle and followed that a month later with 2 nucs. The package went smooth. The nucs, not so much. The forcast for pick up day was a chance of showers. It was cloudy when I picked them up and pouring when I got home. To complicate matters I got a last minute invite to a redsox game so I was rushing everything. In my haste I put a 5 gallon pail of syrup on the front seat and drove down to my barn. I hit a bump and the pail tipped over and dumped its entire contents all over the interior of my company truck. Hived them in about 5 minutes between rain drops, left my truck to deal with latter and off to the sox I went only to wait 3hrs for a rain delay. Three years and 20 hives later I can still smell honeyb healthy in my truck. I'm still hooked but not as rushed


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## wcubed (Aug 24, 2008)

*What Happened?*

Been wanting to tell this yarn for 20 years.

Bees in a tree are always a challange, but if you have no knowledge of the fiesty nature of the creature, its a long ride home. A case where ignoance is definately not bliss. Had read two books years earlier - Ormand's and taylor's "Joys'. Acquired some acerage on the AL/TN line. Now's the time.
Didn't know that clubs or magizines existed. Winging it blind.

Had a sandblasting hood with a small plexiglas view window and leather work gloves. Let me at that tree with my trusty chain saw. Got lucky on both my tree cuts. The upper to fell the tree and the lower to trap the bees both showed punky wood in the center. So far,so good. Tacked on the plywood end and gently put the six foot log on the truck bed.

Had prepared a platform in advance, 30 yards up a slope from the spring. Wrestled the log up the slope and kicked off the bottom panel to set the log on the prepared base. All hell broke loose. Apparently the punky wood at bottom had disintegrated in transit. They boiled up my pantlegs and had no trouble getting under my hood loosely on my shoulders. Worked me over - big time. They even attacked the truck 30 yards away (must have smelled like the bad guy)

The reputation of German black bee was mentioned by Tehcumsa above. these were they! How they maintained genetic integrity in an area almost totally saturated with italians is a mystery. Havn't seen any since.

To add insult to injury, they died out. The first of two false starts.

Walt


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## DebCP (Apr 4, 2009)

*Just installed our first nucs two weeks ago*

Hello,

My husband and I just purchased our first bees-we decided on getting two nuc hives to keep things simple...and it was. We picked up the bees-let them out where the hives were going to be located that day. The next day we transferred them from the nuc boxes to the hives and had no problems. We used our smoker on each hive just before opening it up all the way and transferring the frames. I decided I needed the comfort of a full suit, although in hindsight it was really overkill. My husband opted for a veil and a long sleeve shirt and did just fine. We have Carniolan bees, which are supposed to be very gentle-and they are.

Deb CP


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## Josh Carmack (Dec 19, 2008)

*Attacked*

A in state migratory beek placed an ad for 30 established colonies, and all equipment selling for 3000.00 We had just hived a swarm that landed in our apple orchard and were interested. We went to visit the guy at the said 30 hives located in the Bottom as we call it. Which is a low lying area near the Mississippi River that floods annually. He had just completed robbing the entire apiary when we arrived. We stepped out of my truck and spoke to the man briefly when he warned us not to get to close, we indignantly replied that we were ok with the risk and began to speak terms. He suddenly warned me they were coming for me and not to react wildly. I stood boldly through the first couple of stings and then one got me inside my nose and I could no longer bear it, I flicked and flopped and flailed wildly which attracted a mass comparable to a swarm. I ran to my truck and jumped in, we later met at a filling station and I had began to swell profusely. The ER doc counted 37 stingers. Thats not including the ones that fell or or knocked out. I joined the Navy shortly after and that was fairly well the end for me. I was recently given an old neglected hive and inspected them with a homemade veil and got back into beekeeping. My family raised them in the past but I didn't have a lot to do with them. I just extracted about 40 pounds of very strong dark honey from them today. The last time I worked them with wool gloves and totally forgot the whole "they don't like animal fur thing" I was stung several time on the hands about 15 minutes into the inspection/ cleanup. I was intentionally stung twice to day to help with arthritis.


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