I told him if a bee hangs around, and seems like it is going to bomb him, to bow his head, shut his eyes, breathe gently with his hands over his mouth and nose, and stand very still, and it will go away as a rule. If a bee persists you can open your eyes a little, and slowly walk away. They hone in on the carbon dioxide on our breath, to find their target.
I do need to tell him that no one ever won a boxing match with a bee. If a bee comes straight at you, often there is nothing you can do. Just get the sting out as fast as you can. Regards Wilma
That is how I got stung on my face. I was standing at least 50 feet from the nearest hive, and out of the blue, she flew in bass-ackwards and thrust her pointy bit in deep, close to my eye. Didn’t even see or hear her coming, and I wasn’t deaf (or blind!) at the time. Some bees are just dirty, rotten mongrels!
Wise advice from Wilma - boxing or wrestling with bees is a very idea. I got the sting out in probably less than 10 seconds - I was only about 20 feet from a mirror, so I was able to check. Still swelled like a good’un, but you have praised him for his behaviour, and I think that is very precious in teaching children how to behave. Sorry it happened, but you all made the best of it.
Well he wants a hive now. Yes I have experienced a bee or bees bombing me. That bee came straight at him. Poor kid. He would not let his mum at it, and so got an extra dose of poison. He was very brave though, and yes some bees are little mongrels and will just go for it. Jeff told someone that trick the other day, and that person informed him that it worked. We have used it many times, and it always works, unless you get a little mongrel. I told Daniel well you know what, that bee is dead now, so that is some consolation.
Maybe some bees like to go out in a blaze of glory , I guess you have to pack a lot in in 6 weeks.
Great to hear your grandson Daniel now wants a hive, passed the initiation
So Jeff what did Grandma say, will it help me?
Nice to catchup with you and Wilma. Our bees are going great guns😀
Are I remember now your discussion re covering you mouth while breathing. Will definately try that.
I should have read further up this discussion first.
Hi, thank you & no worries Gaz. It was certainly nice to catch up with you & your wife.
I’m glad the bees are going well for you.
There’s no stopping a bee that just attacks without warning. We’ve had a few of those lately. I guess in those cases, get the sting out quickly & apply something. I found that Sensodyne toothpaste works well. A lady the other day told me that aloe vera works for her. I have some growing, I’ll try it next time.
It’s still hectic up here, I have another busy day ahead of me. I have some hives to split plus I suspect they’ll have full boxes of honey frames to remove & bring home to extract.
I feel like we should be getting close to the end of spring, after 7 weeks of hectic splitting & robbing etc. The irony is that it still hasn’t officially begun yet.
Here is a surprising find from this weekend, this live drone walking in the snow, likely freshly kicked out. Hard to believe he wasn’t kicked out earlier, especially after a couple of -20C days the week before.