Thank you Dawn. Guess that describes it to a “C” ?
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I was under the impression that if your not allergic to bee stings, over time your body builds up an immunity. Or is that an old wive’s tale ?
I think that it is true. However the reverse is also true- in that long term exposure to low levels of bee venon can make a person who wasn’t allergic- allergic. Apparently the partners and children of commercial beekeepers can develop an allergy to bees after years of secondary contact with very low levels of venom- encountered when handling clothes (washing bee suits) and similar that a commercial beekeeper has worn. Supposedly this can be avoided by getting a full sting every so often- and apparently some beekeeping families have a ‘get stung day’ every month or three… The idea amuses me- can you imagine if you looked over the fence and saw a neighbor administering bee stings to their family in the backyard? you’d think it was some kind of cult.
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Thanks. So is it’s poison like other catfish? Or very different, like everything else in Australia?
I learnt something too…I didn’t know they were in Tasmania…
I would think all catfish poison much the same. We often got a jab from fresh water cobblers as a young ones hunting for custations in the streams. Now there are no cobblers or crustations in the steams so you could say it much safer in the water now. 
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Are they made of custard? Or are they more like crustaceans? As in crayfish/crawfish etc?? 
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crayfish/crawfish. Had I said gilgies no one would know what I was talking about so I said custations,
and crustations Goodness knows what I was typing.
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PS: It is Australia Day after all.
This one just stung me having crawled up my back under my shirt. Used toothpaste.
Does anyone know what sort of bee it is? It looks unusually black, so much so that my family reckoned it wasn’t a honeybee.
In Tassie we have Blacks (English Black or European Black), Italian, Caucasian and Carniolian - in that order of preponderance (and blends of all I suppose).
http://www.aussiebee.com.au/beesinyourarea.html
Or is it a wasp?
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Thanks @skeggley. I can’t see anything there resembling it.
I can’t imagine what sort of wasp it would be. I have actually found it hard to find a poster or drawing of the different sorts of honeybees (like those I listed) to compare and contrast.
Perhaps.
I had great difficulties identifying some native bees by googling and in the end I found a west Australian native bee FB group which identified the bees for me.
thanks very much @skeggley , some great stuff there…
An antihistamine would be a definate last resort for me. I keep away from drugs and that nasty just knocks me out for a few hours! Lol
I now understand the concept of angry/defensive bees 
I will not be getting Sicilian black bees and will stick with Buckfast.
When you are 50 metres away, and you still get stung under your eye which hurts like hell, when taking off your hood for some water and are still recovering after 5 days, the easier option is the better option I think.
Day 1 - I think it’s bad, and it hurts! Only looks like someone punched me in the eye a little bit.
Day 2 - it’s really bad! Swollen, photos don’t do it justice.
I went to sleep with music because I couldn’t get the sound of bees buzzing and bashing into my suit out of my head, non-stop for hours 
I could feel the bees buzzing through my gloves. Literally, tried to rest in the front of the van, and when the fellow got in after he’s finished, another 20 followed him inside before he could close the door and continued to attack.
I made the mistake of not bringing my antihistamine, etc because I thought I was just transferring some bees to their new brood box. But ended up working for about 6-7 hours in overcast weather, with a sirocco cloud overhead, which is probably what made the bees mad, or the fact they knew a heavy downpour was coming…
We got 2 swarms which would have died - good, but 3 stings, and a swollen face - bad.
Don’t think I could do venom therapy unless my reaction to bee stings changed somehow, and the pain wasn’t excruciating hurt to move my eyeball.
(not me below with the swarm) I like his hood design though, which keeps the bees further away from the neck 
Happy beekeeping everyone! p.s. it’s my birthday tomorrow, and my face is almost normal thank god!
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Hi Faroe, many happy returns for tomorrow.
Congrats on getting the 2 swarms. Not good about the sting. In that second photo, you would almost pass as Dawn’s sister. Good to see you almost back to normal again. cheers
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I got a sting like that on my eyelid once and the eye swelled up so bad I couldn’t open it the next day. It seems stings near the eye are one of the worst places- for me at least. The bony parts of my hands are also bad. Now I go full spectrum on any stings like that: first I remove the stinger, then I wash the area, then I use my BiteAway heat treatment gizmo, then I apply ice, then I take antihistamines! I got stung again near the eye last year and did all those things: and the next day I was back to normal- no swelling.
That’s a very nice looking swarm: fat with bees. It’s amazing how much faster and stronger big swarms are to grow compared to ones half the size. A large one will be producing honey in a month- a smaller one will take the whole season to build out a brood box.
happy birthday for tomorrow!
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@Faroe, this is what @JeffH means.
I had to take steroids to get my eye to open again. Even my tear ducts were blocked with the swelling - I had tears running down my cheek all day, even when I wasn’t crying from the pain.
Happy birthday Faroe!
That botax will keep you looking young and feisty 
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